Princess Diana’s former butler Paul Burrell claims Prince Harry “discarded” him after claiming he milked Diana’s tragedy for money. Burrell shared how hurtful it was to be accused of that.
Prince Harry wrote about Princess Diana’s butler in his memoir ‘Spare,’ claiming the butler tried to cash in on Diana’s tragedy
In his memoir Spare, Prince Harry wrote how it “made his blood boil” when Burrell released a book in 2003 titled A Royal Duty, about the time he spent with Diana. At the time, Prince Harry and Prince William called the book “a cold and overt betrayal.”
“Mummy’s former butler had penned a tell-all which actually told nothing,” Harry wrote. “It was merely one man’s self-justifying, self-centering version of events. My mother once called this butler a dear friend and trusted him implicitly. We did too. Now this.”
Prince Harry added, “He was milking her disappearance for money. It made my blood boil.”
Paul Burrell believes Prince Harry ‘discarded’ him
In an interview with The Mirror, Burrell said that Harry’s comments in his memoir, as well as referring to him simply as “mummy’s butler” and not by his name, made him feel discarded.
“Harry’s discarded me, but he hasn’t thought about all of those years that I spent with his mother, in private… loving her, caring for her, watching out for her,” Burrell said. “I’ve been dismissed and I’m sad about that.”
Former royal butler wants to share Princess Diana’s secrets with Prince Harry and Prince William
Burrell, who was recently diagnosed with prostate cancer, also shared his desire to connect with Prince Harry and Prince William to share Princess Diana’s secrets with them “before it’s too late.”
“My illness has focused my attention on telling the boys things before it’s too late — telling them what they really should know,” he explained. “I know some of it isn’t pretty, but if I leave this place and go somewhere else they’ll never know.”
Burrell added, “I think they should know. I think Diana would say to me, ‘Paul, you must make this a priority. You must go and see my boys.’”
The former butler said he hopes he can “fill in the gaps” for Harry and William. “I would love to sit down with William and fill in the gaps of those years that are missing in his mind,” he said.
“While he was away at school, he could ask me any question, and I will be able to answer,” Burrell continued. “Because I don’t have an agenda … I want just to say the truth. Some of the truth may be difficult, but if he doesn’t know, he’s not informed.”
“I’d like to tell them the truth,” he explained. “There are things that happened in their mother’s world, which they may not have knowledge of. And I think it just might fill in some blanks.”
Burrell also hopes that sharing Diana’s secrets will help heal Harry and William’s rift. “I think what I have to say could bring the boys back together, which Diana would have desperately wanted. I will only tell them the truth, that is all. I am not looking for anything in return,” he said.
