Prince Harry’s ex-butler tells world to eat rice with ‘knife and fork or chopsticks’, sparking online backlash in Asia

Self-proclaimed ‘etiquette expert’ Grant Harrold, who once served Britain’s Charles, William and Harry, made the remarks in a post on Twitter

Responses ranged from outrage at ‘so-called civilising colonisers’ telling others what to do, to toilet humour surrounding wiping or washing

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Grant Harrold, self-proclaimed ‘etiquette expert’ and a former butler to Britain’s royal family Photo: Twitter

Published: 12:48pm, 10 Mar 2021Updated: 1:47pm, 10 Mar 2021

Social media users from across Asia have hit out at a former butler to the British royal family after he said on Twitter that people should not eat rice with their “hands or fingers”.

Grant Harrold, a self-proclaimed “etiquette expert” who previously worked for Britain’s Prince Charles and his sons William and Harry, made the offending post on Saturday. It has since garnered more than 10,000 replies.

“Ladies and gentlemen, remember we always use a knife and fork or chopsticks to eat rice,” he wrote, alongside a picture showing a nearly empty plate and someone using a knife to scrape the last grains of rice onto a fork. “We do not use our hands or fingers!”

Responses online ranged from outrage at “so-called civilising colonisers” telling other people what to do, to toilet humour referencing cultural preferences for wiping versus washing.

“Are you expecting us to take food advice from the same people that find baked beans really appealing?” asked one Malaysian Twitter user, while another from Indonesia pointed out that “most of us Asians, any Asians, eat using our hands”.

According to Statista, the average person in Asia consumes 60.4kg of rice a year, almost double the world average consumption of 38.4kg of rice per person. China is the world’s largest rice producer, followed by India and Indonesia.

One online commentator from India asked if Harrold was “trapped in colonial times” or if his remarks reflected “a sorry admission of the inability to use your hands for anything elegant”.

“These people like to impose themselves, even where it’s not necessary,” another post said. “We’re not going to listen to you. Save your knives and forks for your culture.”

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