You can’t call yourself The Royal Butler
Queen wins court battle over former Charles aide
THE Queen has won a legal battle to stop Prince Charles’s former Scots butler from trademarking the name The Royal Butler.
Lawyers acting on behalf of the monarch took action against Grant Harrold after he tried to launch a butler and etiquette training business using the title.
Harrold, originally from Airdrie, worked for Prince Charles between 2005 and 2011 and is a regular guest on TV shows This Morning and Good Morning Britain, where he hands out etiquette advice.
He applied to register the trademark The Royal Butler and claimed he had been given permission to use it by senior members of the Royal Household as part of a settlement when he left his job. The Lord Chamberlain, acting on behalf of the Queen, filed an opposition to the application.
The monarch’s legal team argued Harrold was misleading the public into believing he still has a job working for the Royal Household and had their permission to use the name.
They insisted no consent was given by the monarch or the Cabinet Office.
The UK Intellectual Property Office, who rule on trademark disputes, have found in the Queen’s favour and refused the application.
Trademark hearing officer Allan James said: “The applicant seeks to rely on the fact that the settlement agreement does not include a term preventing him from continuing to use The Royal Butler as support for his claim that he was given verbal permission to continue such use.
“In my view, the absence of a term prohibiting use of The Royal Butler provides no support for the applicant’s claim that he received verbal consent.”
Harrold, 42, has been ordered to pay £2500 towards the Royal Household’s costs in the case. He said he plans to appeal the decision.
He reached an out-ofcourt settlement with the Royal Household in 2012 claiming he was forced out of his £24,000-a-year job after being bullied and threatened by colleagues.