Paul Burrell

Paul Burrell, RVM (born (1958-06-06)6 June 1958) is a former servant of the British Royal Household. He was a footman for Queen Elizabeth II and later butler to Diana, Princess of Wales. Since her death in 1997, Burrell has featured in the media, sometimes prominently, in connection with her, and since 2004 as an occasional entertainment show celebrity.

Burrell was awarded the Royal Victorian Medal in November 1997 for services to the Royal Family.

Background and career in the Royal Household

Burrell was raised in Grassmoor, Derbyshire, a coal-mining village. His father was a lorry driver and it was initially assumed that Burrell would go to work in the local colliery, but had decided aged eight years that he wanted to work at Buckingham Palace after a trip to London with his family, where he witnessed the Changing of the Guard.^[2] He attended William Rhodes Secondary School in Chesterfield and left, aged 16, with six O-Levels before attending High Peak College in Buxton where he studied hotel management.^[2]

Burrell entered Royal Service at age 18, as a Buckingham Palace footman, becoming the Queen's personal footman a year later. He was nicknamed "Small Paul", to distinguish him from a taller footman, who was known as "Tall Paul"^[2] According to his autobiography, he had received a simultaneous job offer from cruise line Cunard but his mother had burned it because "He'll chuff off on that boat and we'll never see him again".^[2] In 1987 Burrell joined the household of heir to the throne Charles and Diana at Highgrove House in Gloucestershire, where he acted as butler to the princess until her death in August 1997.^[2] He was awarded the Royal Victorian Medal in November 1997 for services to the Royal Family.^[3]

In 2001 Burrell opened a florists in Farndon, Cheshire.^[4]

Personal life

Burrell was married to Maria Cosgrove, who formerly worked for Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. The pair met while working in Buckingham Palace together. They have two sons, Alexander and Nicholas. When they married in 1983, established precedent dictated that one of them would have to give up their job with the Royal Family, but Queen Elizabeth II made an exception for them, allowing both to remain in Royal service, this situation earned them a measure of fame at the time. Burrell is a fan of Wrexham Football Club^[5] and St Helens Rugby Football Club.^[6] In 2017, Burrell announced he was marrying his partner Graham Cooper.^[7]

Diana, Princess of Wales

Burrell claimed that Diana, Princess of Wales had described him as "the only man she ever trusted", although since her death there is only Burrell's own writing to support this statement.^[8] Books produced by Burrell would state that she was very fond of him, and she would describe him as her "rock", but her mother, Frances Shand Kydd, detested him and believed that he was "just another hanger-on grasping at Diana's celebrity".^[9]

Events since the death of Diana, Princess of Wales

Royal Household and inquest related

Burrell has been routinely mentioned in the context of Diana, and has gained a measure of renown in the media. At times the coverage has been adverse, for example in a 2002 case where he was charged with theft related to Diana's possessions. The trial collapsed after evidence was given that the Queen had spoken with him regarding disputed events, and a public-interest immunity (PII) certificate was presented by the Crown Prosecution Service on the basis that disclosure of certain information would be harmful to the public interest.^[10][11]

In January 2008 Burrell appeared as a witness at the inquest into the death of Diana. Burrell said that he had approached a Catholic priest about a private marriage between Diana and the heart surgeon Dr Hasnat Khan,^[12] and he rubbished rumours that Diana was about to announce her engagement to Dodi Fayed.^[12] He was also questioned about a letter to him from Diana in October 1993, in which she said her husband was planning to have her killed to make the path clear for him to marry Tiggy Legge-Bourke.^[13][14] The coroner dismissed notions of a "secret" that Burrell knew about Diana that he swore he "would never reveal", as detailed at the end of his book, A Royal Duty.^[12] A number of other matters were discussed in relation to this case, many alleged and not proven. These included allegations of perjury at the coroner's court,^{[15][16][17][18]} and allegations regarding his personal life.^[19][20] Burrell stated he would not return to court for fear of being embarrassed and humiliated by the possible questioning.

On 18 February 2008 The Sun newspaper reported that Burrell had admitted, on tape, that he had not told "the whole truth" during his appearance at the Diana inquest; he also said he had thrown in a "few red herrings". Some reports suggested that Burrell could be charged with perjury.^[21][22][23] The Sun newspaper said it was handing the tape to the court on 19 February 2008.^[24]

Burrell received much criticism for copying Diana's letters and his integrity was called into question. The coroner, Lord Justice Scott Baker, said, "In the end there is an important issue as to the credibility of the witness."^[25]

Memoirs

In 2003, Burrell released his memoir A Royal Duty, which follows his career as a member of the Royal Family's staff. It deals in detail with his time as butler to the Prince and Princess of Wales at Highgrove House in Gloucestershire, his move to Diana's staff at Kensington Palace after her divorce from Prince Charles, and Burrell's acquittal on theft charges. The book was an international best-seller, and was updated in a paperback edition in 2004.

Media career

In 2004 Burrell was runner-up in series 4 of the ITV reality television show I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!. Burrell was a judge and trainer on Australian Princess in 2005, and in March 2006, appeared on Countdown in Dictionary Corner. In early 2006, he appeared as Richard Gere on ITV's Celebrity Stars in Their Eyes, singing "Razzle Dazzle" from Chicago, the film version of the Broadway musical. In September 2006 he appeared on Five's Trust Me - I'm a Holiday Rep, joining as a substitute for Samantha Rowley. In September 2015, Paul appeared in Celebrity Big Brother as part of a shopping task.

Bibliography

• Entertaining with Style (1999)
• In the Royal Manner: Butler to Diana (1999)
• A Royal Duty (2003)
• The Way We Were: Remembering Diana (2007)

References