The Accused Butler

Paul Burrell, Princess Diana's Butler, stood accused of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of her personal items after her death. Paul was the man Diana called her rock. Nobody knew the Princess better. He was there when her marriage broke up and he was the Butler who served the Royal lovers but who said nothing. He must have known intimate details of the Royal couples lives, even what bedrooms were used. His arrest was a shock to the Royal set. Was it the case of a man who had gone too far or a man who was falsely accused? Read on and find out.

He lived on a roller coaster of emotions. With each up and down of the royal couples lives Paul was there for the ride. He began his working life downstairs and went on to mix with stars and became a celebrity in his own right. But how did one of the royal family's most trusted employees become accused of theft and betrayal? A year before his arrest Paul was interviewed at a hotel in London. He was a confident slick performer but guarded too, especially about Diana's private life and her love affair with James Hewitt. Since that interview, life has changed a great deal for Paul Burrell.

Paul Burrell's trial would captivate a country obsessed with social standing. The big question was whether he was a Butler who rose too high and grew too large or a naive servant who was being victimized by a vicious caste system. The coal fields of Darbyshire was the birthplace of a man who became a Butler to a Princess. Paul Burrell was born on June 6th 1958. He was the first of three sons to Graham and Barrow Burrow. His Father drove a coal truck and his Mother cleaned houses. The family home was on Chapel Street in Grassmore, a plain speaking hard working mining community where most boys ended up down in the mining pit.

Paul's Brother, Anthony Burrell says the house had no bathroom back then. If they wanted a bath they had to go outside and get timber and bring it in the house and light a fire to heat the bath water. 100 miles away from Grassmore is the royal Sandringem Estate home to the Honorable Diana Francis Spencer who is three years younger than Paul. Here bathtubs were in bathrooms and there was hot and cold running water. Diana's neighbors were the Royal Family, not coal miners. Coal mining would have been Paul's future but a trip to London changed his life forever. It was Paul's first ever visit to London.

Along with hundred's of other children he watched the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. Paul was bowled over by the spectacle, the uniforms, the music, and the pomp and ceremony. What was happening at the Queen's doorstep was way more exciting than Grassmore. Wide eyed, he gazed up at his parents and said "one day I'm gonna be working here". His Brother looked and him and told him he was dreaming. But Paul was determined. Back in Grassmore he stuck to his dream. At age 16 Paul got a job at the Chesterfield Hotel, a few miles from away. He applied for jobs at Buckingham Palace but got nowhere at first.

His family encouraged him to keep trying and he did. One day he got the letter. He had landed the job as a household footman. He was finally at Buckingham Palace. The pay was bad and the hours were long but the perks were plentiful. Eventually he worked his way up to becoming Diana's most trusted servant and personal Butler. He did everything for her and Prince Charles as well. He was privy to her innermost secrets and yet said not a word to anyone. Eventually Diana and Prince Charles grew apart however. Andrew Shaw, Paul's Attorney says that he was still in the middle of both.

Highgrove's nerve center was the Butler's pantry. This was where Paul kept his diary detailing the visits of everyone from the carpet cleaners to King Constantine of Greece. Paul took calls on the pantry telephone from the queen and other members of the Royal Family and there were other calls from Charles and Diana trying to track each other down. This put Paul in an impossible situation. Discretion on Paul's part was paramount. Paul knew what time Diana's guests arrived and what time they left. He was asked on occasion to pick up her lover, James Hewitt, at the station and bring him to Highgrove without anyone else knowing.

The world eventually found out what was happening. In 1992, during a trip to South Korea, the facade of the Wales marriage finally cracked. Diana could no longer bear to be in her Husband's company. They soon separated. Diana needed support and began confiding even more in Paul. After the split, Princess Diana moved to Kensington Palace. She was a single woman again and her sons, William and Harry, had the run of a twenty room apartment. She needed her own Staff and, of course, a Butler. Diana chose Paul as her Butler. So he moved, very proud at having been selected. But in reality he had no choice about leaving Highgrove.

Prince Charles considered the Burrell's to be firmly in Diana's camp and he didn't want them in his. Home for the Burrell's was an apartment just a short walk away from Diana. Andrew Shaw says his work started very early in the morning and last until the late hours of the night. It was a labor of Love. Paul was helping to organize the schedule of the most famous woman in the world. He was as her personal assistant as Butler and over time they became friends. The traditional lines between employer and employee became blurred. Paul looked after her most intimate needs. He overheard telephone calls because she let him and was therefore privy to her private life.

A typical evening at Kensington Palace would be James Hewitt arriving at her door and Paul opening the door and be quite welcoming. He would then walk down the corridor with Paul and Diana would come down the stairs. Paul would then ask what anyone wanted to drink and would be on hand if they required him at dinner. He would bring each course out and no one else was seen. On occasion he would come in and ask if there would be anything else at 10:30 or 11:00. Through it all he kept Diana's acquaintances and her relationships to himself. Paul had become the custodian of Diana's innermost secrets. But the burden of keeping these secrets was about to test even the most loyal of her servants.

Diane was by no means an easy person to live with or to work for for that matter. Paul Burrell worked closely with her for nearly a decade. In Diana's world that was something of a record. Paul had told his Family that working for Diana had not been easy and that she was a rather volatile creature. He wasn't beyond criticism in her eyes. Anybody in that position, in between a mistress and her lover, would be. The stress had to have grated on his nerves or else be a complete saint. He did complain somewhat about being scrutinized by the media so closely. His friends think that he managed by just walking away from a bad situations and going back to it when things calmed down.

He obviously had the right temperament to be able to deal with her. Paul accompanied Diana on her high profile missions abroad and often gave advice. He loved his job and valued their friendship. Diana had other staff at Kensington Palace, of course, but Paul was her most prized. Some of the other staff thought Paul was enjoying his stature a little too much. They accused him of copying the way Diana and the other Royalty spoke. They even accused him of copying Diana's handwriting. To make matters worse, he decorated his drawing room in the same style as Diana's and his walls were covered with photographs of them together. She also gave him lots of presents.

She apparently thought Paul was deserving of these gifts. Diana also took an interest in the Burrell boy's education and helped them get into the best London schools. She once asked where the boys did their homework and was told they did it on the kitchen table. She then, very kindly, gave him a mahogany desk that had been given to her or Prince Charles or the city of Aberdeen. Paul was indispensable to Diana. He dealt with many of her private matters. He even witnessed her will. For the Burrell's Diana was almost one of the Family and it was natural that she would be invited to Paul's wife, Maria's, 40th birthday celebration, a costume party at a London restaurant.

Diana's relationship with the Burrell family sometimes seemed closer than her own. In 1995 when Paul's Mother died Diana handled all the arrangements and consoled the family. The Burrell Family looked after Diana as much as she looked after them. Paul was still grieving for his Mother when six months later Diana was killed in an automobile accident. Paul had built his life around Diana and now she was gone. He had known the Princess for 17 years as an employer, confident, and friend. He was devastated. As soon as Paul heard the news of Diana's death he flew to Paris. He arrived before Prince Charles. Paul cleaned and dressed Diana's body and then helped lay her in the casket.

It was, said Paul, his duty. While others mourned in public he stayed in the background. He then had to be the entire Royal Family's counsel as everyone who was estranged to her wanted to know how badly they were estranged or whether she had really liked them. At the funeral Paul and his family were seated with the Royal Family and other Heads of State. He was the only non family member invited to witness the Princess' burial that day. Paul's relationship with the Spencer family changed after Diana's death. He knew that Diana's Mother, Francis Kidd, hadn't spoken for four months before her death.

When he discovered her Mother was destroying many of Diana's private papers and letters he feared that her family was taking over and even destroying her legacy. He felt that the Spencer family was jealous of his position with Diana and that they even resented the closeness that he enjoyed with The Princess. Paul emerged as the link between Diana's private and public world. He was given a job as a fundraiser on Diana's memorial fund, set up to raise money for her favorite causes. He enthusiastically swapped anonymity for center stage. He ran marathons for Diana's favorite charities. But some of his methods used to raise money turned some people to anger.

Paul had clinched a deal for tubs of margarine to be adorned with Diana's signature. Paul Burrell, ex butler, was quickly becoming Paul Burrell, celebrity. It wasn't going to be easy. Six months after getting involved in the trust, Paul Burrell's fundraising position was eliminated. Although he had been given $80,000 from Diana's estate, these were uncertain times for Paul. He had to find a way to support his wife and family, but he had no intention of returning to Royal service. So Paul wrote a book entitled "Entertaining With Style" and was booked on television shows to talk about it. Mohamed Al Fayad, Dodi Al Fayed's (who was driving the car the night of the automobile crash) Father calls it cashing in.

Wendy Richard, a family friend of the Burrell family, says he could have made a fortune if he would just really "dish the dirt" about Diana's life but he has never ever done that and never betrayed her trust. Paul says he edited his book carefully so as to make sure he didn't violate her trust in him. He also says he has been offered as much as a million pounds to do so but has turned down every offer. The book sold well and earned Paul a lot of money. He got an agent and became a much sought after public speaker. He could command fees of up to $5000 a speech and even lectured on the QE II. The makeover from Butler to celebrity was complete.

In 1998, Paul bought a townhouse in the village of Farmdom about 150 miles north of London. The Burrell's were a popular family and Paul was popular with the locals who seemed to like him. Martin Bouchier, a local pub owner says there is no put on about Paul and that he is just normal everyday people. Nobody could imagine what was to follow. A police raid that would shatter his lifestyle and a prosecution that would take him to the brink of suicide. Spink & Son, a prestigious international art dealer in the center of London was where, in November 2000 the police investigated the sale of a gold jewel encrusted Arab ship, a wedding present to the Prince and Princess of Wales.

It was worth about $800,000. It was priced at just $50,000. It was the start of a trail that would lead the police to Paul Burrell's front door. Martin Bouchier says the night of the raid was madness with police running all over the place and SWAT teams entering Paul's townhouse. His house was overrun by police. They were taking items of property away. The items were things that the Princess had entrusted to or outright given to him by Diana. The raid had a devastating effect on Paul. As it continued he became more and more depressed. He consider it his private property and there were things that he didn't want the public to know about or even see. The search lasted all day.

Paul just couldn't believe that someone could come into his house and take the things that Diana had given him. By the end of it Paul's Lawyer was seriously concerned about his state of mind. He thought Paul might be suicidal. Paul was charged with the theft of over 300 items from Diana's estate and other items from Prince Charles and prince William. It was a most bizarre collection of treasure and trivia. From a 19th century silver serving dish to a metal pepper grinder belonging to Prince Charles. There were five plates in a green box, CDs by the likes of Michael Jackson and Abba, matches, blouses, nightgowns, lipstick, and many, many photographs.

They were everyday items that because of their Royal connection would be worth a fortune on the open market. Paul and his legal team denied all the charges. Their was an explanation for everything they said. Many of the items were gifts from the Princess, like the desk that was given to his son. And the items that weren't outright given to him were entrusted to him to keep out of the public's prying eyes. Paul Burrell was now facing jail. He became public enemy number one and was facing bankruptcy. His health began to fail. He had great trouble sleeping and had recurring nightmares. He consulted with his Doctor who prescribed the appropriate medication to help him sleep.

He also lost the skin off his fingers, the palms of his hands and the soles of his feet. To keep his latest venture, a florist shop, afloat he had to remortgage his house and ask his wife to sell some of her jewelery. English showbiz legend Danny La Rue was at the grand opening to lend his support. He was a friend of the Burrell family and Godfather to one of their sons. Danny La Rue is England's most famous drag queen. He has been cross dressing for over 50 years and has entertained the Queen, Princess Margret, and Marlena Detrek. Bob Hope called him the most glamorous woman in the world. The flower shop undoubtedly got Paul's mind off the impending trial.

But nearly two years after the raid on his house the trial was set to start and the Royal Butler's fate would be decided. As the trial date approached the prosecutor readied it's case with the support of the Spencer family. Paul stood by his story. Paul's lawyer had to prove that Paul hadn't stolen a thing that they were simply gifts given to him over the years or things that he was keeping safe from the Spencer family. As the proceedings unfolded, the prosecutor pushed further and further into the intimate lives of the Royal couple. The London tabloids loved it but the speculation was that certain members of the Royal family were very concerned.

Then, suddenly at the end of the second week the wheels fell off the prosecution's case when the Queen herself came forward and said that she was aware that Paul was in possession of some of Diana's possessions. The trial ended abruptly. Paul's 21 month ordeal was over. The item's, however, remain in the possession of the police while Paul is trying to get back the items that were gifts from Diana. Paul continues to live in Cheshire, run his flower shop, make public appearances, and occasionally give interviews. The boy from Grassmore had followed his dream and became the loyal servant to the most famous Princess in the world. After her fateful death he was spared a great fall by the Queen of England herself.