Paul Burrell (born 6 June 1958) is a former servant of the

British Royal Household The Royal Households of the United Kingdom are the collective departments that support members of the British royal family. Many members of the royal family who undertake public duties have separate households. They vary considerably in size, f ...

and latterly

butler A butler is a person who works in a house serving and is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments, with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantries, pantr ...

Diana, Princess of Wales Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997), was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William, ...

Background and Royal Household career

Burrell was born and raised in

Grassmoor Grassmoor is a village in Derbyshire, England, approximately three miles to the south of Chesterfield, Derbyshire, Chesterfield its distance from London is 148.5 miles. Its original name, according to 16th-century parish records, was ''Gresmore ...

, Derbyshire, a

coal-mining Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extrac ...

village. His parents were Graham Burrell and Beryl Burrell, née Kirk. His father was a lorry driver and it was initially assumed he would go to work in the local

colliery Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extra ...

, but he had decided at the age of eight that he wanted to work at

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a royal official residence, residence in London, and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and r ...

. This was after a trip to London, in which he witnessed the Changing of the Guard. He attended William Rhodes Secondary School in Chesterfield before entering High Peak College in

Buxton Buxton is a spa town in the High Peak, Derbyshire, Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, in the East Midlands region of England. It is England's highest market town, sited at some above sea level.Alston, Cumbria also claims this, but lacks a regu ...

, where he studied hotel management. Burrell entered Royal Service at age 18 as a Buckingham Palace

footman A footman is a male domestic worker employed mainly to wait at table or attend a coach or carriage. Etymology Originally in the 14th century a footman denoted a soldier or any pedestrian, later it indicated a foot servant. A running footman deli ...

, becoming

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

's personal footman a year later. He was nicknamed "Small Paul", to distinguish him from a taller footman,

Paul Whybrew Paul Kevin Whybrew, (born 1959) is a British former member of staff to the Royal Households of the United Kingdom. He served as Page of the Backstairs to Queen Elizabeth II until her death on 8 September 2022. Role His role as personal page t ...

, who was known as "Tall Paul". In 1987, Burrell joined the household of

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...

and

Diana Diana most commonly refers to: * Diana (name), given name (including a list of people with the name) * Diana (mythology), ancient Roman goddess of the hunt and wild animals; later associated with the Moon * Diana, Princess of Wales (1961–1997), ...

Highgrove House Highgrove House is the family residence of King Charles III and Queen Camilla. It lies southwest of Tetbury in Gloucestershire, England. Built in the late 18th century, Highgrove and its estate were owned by various families until it was pu ...

, Gloucestershire, acting as butler to the princess until her death in August 1997. Burrell said that Diana, Princess of Wales, had described him as "the only man she ever trusted". Books produced by Burrell state that Diana was very fond of him, and that she would describe him as her "rock" for his support during trying times, but Diana's mother,

Frances Shand Kydd Frances Ruth Shand Kydd (previously Spencer, ''née'' Roche; 20 January 1936 – 3 June 2004) was the mother of Diana, Princess of Wales. She was the maternal grandmother of William, Prince of Wales and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, respectively ...

, detested him and believed that he was "just another hanger-on grasping at Diana's celebrity". In 2001, Burrell opened a florist's in Farndon, Cheshire.

Events since the death of Diana

Royal Household and inquest-related

Burrell has been routinely mentioned in relation to Diana. 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 Public interest immunity (PII), previously known as Crown privilege, is a principle of English law, English common law under which the English courts can grant a court order allowing one litigant to refrain from Discovery (law), disclosing evidence ...

(PII) certificate was presented by the

Crown Prosecution Service The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is the principal public agency for conducting criminal prosecutions in England and Wales. It is headed by the Director of Public Prosecutions. The main responsibilities of the CPS are to provide legal adv ...

. In January 2008, Burrell appeared as a witness at the inquest into the death of Diana. Burrell said, he had approached a Catholic priest about a private marriage between Diana and the heart surgeon

Hasnat Khan Hasnat Ahmed Khan (; born 1 April 1958) is a British-Pakistani heart and lung surgeon. He is widely known for his romantic relationship with Diana, Princess of Wales, from 1995 to 1997. Early life and education Khan was born on 1 April 1958 ...

,Diana considered marrying surgeon, says Burrell, ''The Guardian''
/ref> and denied rumours that Diana was about to announce her engagement to

Dodi Fayed Emad El-Din Mohamed Abdel Mena'em Fayed (; 15 April 195531 August 1997), commonly known as Dodi Fayed, was an Egyptian film producer and the eldest child of the businessman Mohamed Al-Fayed. He was romantically involved with Diana, Princess of W ...

. He was also questioned on a letter to him from Diana in October 1996, in which she said her husband was planning to have her killed to make the path clear for him to marry

Camilla Parker Bowles Camilla (born Camilla Rosemary Shand, later Parker Bowles, 17 July 1947) is Queen of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms as the wife of King Charles III. Camilla was raised in East Sussex and South Kensington in E ...

. 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''. Other matters were discussed in relation to the case, many alleged and not proven, including allegations of

perjury Perjury (also known as forswearing) is the intentional act of swearing a false oath or falsifying an affirmation to tell the truth, whether spoken or in writing, concerning matters material to an official proceeding."Perjury The act or an insta ...

at the coroner's court, and allegations about his personal life. On 18 February 2008, ''

The Sun The Sun is the star at the centre of the Solar System. It is a massive, nearly perfect sphere of hot Plasma (physics), plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core, radiating the energy from its surface mainly as ...

'' 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

. ''The Sun'' said it would hand the tape to the court on 19 February 2008. Burrell was criticised 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."

Memoirs

In 2003, Burrell released a memoir, ''A Royal Duty'', which follows his career as a member of the Royal staff. It deals with his time as butler to the Prince and Princess of Wales at

in Gloucestershire, his move to Diana's staff at

Kensington Palace Kensington Palace is a royal residence situated within Kensington Gardens in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. It has served as a residence for the British royal family since the 17th century and is currently the ...

after her divorce from Prince Charles, and the dismissal of the theft charges against Burrell. The book was sold internationally and was updated in a paperback edition in 2004. Its publication led to a rift with Buckingham Palace. Princes William and Harry accused Burrell of betraying their mother's confidences. In a joint statement before publication, they called the book "a cold and overt betrayal."

Media career

Burrell has appeared multiple times on the reality programme '' I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!'', first on the fourth series in November 2004, placing second after 18 Days on the show. In 2018, he participated in the fourth season of the Australian version, as an intruder on Day 17 of the show. He placed 9th, being evicted on Day 37. In 2023, he appeared in '' I'm a Celebrity... South Africa'', a special All-Star edition of ''I'm a Celebrity'' with other former notable contestants. He also appeared as a judge and trainer on ''

Australian Princess ''Australian Princess'' is an Australian reality television show that first premiered on Network Ten on 5 October 2005. It is produced by Granada Australia, who are responsible for other programs such as ''Dancing with the Stars'', '' Australia ...

'' in 2005, and in March 2006 appeared on ''

Countdown A countdown is a sequence of backward counting to indicate the time remaining before an event is scheduled to occur. NASA commonly employs the terms "L-minus" and "T-minus" during the preparation for and anticipation of a rocket launch, and eve ...

'' in Dictionary Corner. In early 2006, he appeared as

Richard Gere Richard Tiffany Gere ( ; born August 31, 1949) is an American actor. He began appearing in films in the 1970s, playing a supporting role in ''Looking for Mr. Goodbar (film), Looking for Mr. Goodbar'' (1977) and a starring role in ''Days of Hea ...

on ITV's ''Celebrity

Stars in Their Eyes ''Stars in Their Eyes'' is a British television talent series, based on Joop van den Ende's Dutch format '' Soundmixshow''. It featured a singing contest in which members of the public impersonate showbiz stars. The show premiered on 21 Ju ...

'', singing "Razzle Dazzle" from ''

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

'', the film version of the Broadway musical. A further TV appearance in September 2006 was followed by another in 2015. In February 2017, Burrell and his house in

Peckforton Peckforton is a scattered settlement (centred at ) and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The settlement is located to the north east of Malpas and to the west of Nantwich. Th ...

appeared in an episode of ITV's UK reality TV series ''

Through the Keyhole ''Through the Keyhole'' is a British comedy panel game show created by the TV producer Kevin Sim and originally presented by David Frost, Sir David Frost in the studio and Loyd Grossman on location. The location presenter explores celebrities' h ...

'' with

Keith Lemon Keith may refer to: People and fictional characters * Keith (given name), includes a list of people and fictional characters * Keith (surname) * Keith (singer), American singer James Keefer (born 1949) * Keith (gamer), American professional ...

. In August 2017, he appeared in Series 2 of the Channel 5 UK reality TV series '' In Therapy''. In November 2017, a television documentary, ''Diana: The Royal Truth'', for which Burrell was the primary source, was released in the UK.

Personal life

Burrell was married to Maria Cosgrove. They met while working in Buckingham Palace and have two sons. In 2017, a divorced Burrell announced he was marrying his partner, Graham Cooper, a corporate lawyer, he met ten years prior. This occurred on 2 April 2017 in

Bowness-on-Windermere Bowness-on-Windermere is a town and former civil parish, now in the parish of Windermere and Bowness, in the Westmorland and Furness district, in the ceremonial county of Cumbria, England. It lies next to Lake Windermere and the town of Wind ...

. In July 2019, Burrell sold his florist shop as a going concern and retired to live with his husband in

, Cheshire. Burrell is a fan of

Wrexham Football Club Wrexham Association Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Wrexham, Wales. Formed in 1864, it is the oldest club in Wales and the third-oldest professional association football team in the world. The club compe ...

and St Helens Rugby Football Club. His pastimes include travelling and painting churchyard scenes. In January 2023, Burrell announced that he had been diagnosed with

prostate cancer Prostate cancer is the neoplasm, uncontrolled growth of cells in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system below the bladder. Abnormal growth of the prostate tissue is usually detected through Screening (medicine), screening tests, ...

in 2022 and was receiving treatment. On 16 November 2023, during an appearance on the ITV British breakfast television programme ''

Lorraine Lorraine, also , ; ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; ; ; is a cultural and historical region in Eastern France, now located in the administrative region of Grand Est. Its name stems from the medieval kingdom of ...

'', he announced that he had been given the "all clear" regarding his cancer but would need further follow up and medical care.

Honours

He was awarded the

Royal Victorian Medal The Royal Victorian Medal (RVM) is a decoration established by Queen Victoria in April 1896. A part of the Royal Victorian Order, it is a reward for personal service to the Sovereign or the royal family, and is the personal gift of the Soverei ...

in November 1997 for services to the Royal Family.Paul Burrell official website archive
/ref>

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

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Burrell, Paul 1958 births 20th-century English LGBTQ people 21st-century English LGBTQ people Living people 21st-century English memoirists People from Derbyshire English male writers English non-fiction writers British butlers Converts to Roman Catholicism English domestic workers Florists English gay writers Members of the British Royal Household Members of the Household of the Prince of Wales British male non-fiction writers People from the Borough of Cheshire East People from Grassmoor People named in the Panama Papers Recipients of the Royal Victorian Medal Writers from London British florists