Paul Burrell, the former royal butler best known for his closeness to Diana, Princess of Wales, says an insult from Prince Harry drove him to publish a new memoir that reopens old disputes and adds fresh claims about the royal household.
In The Royal Insider: My Life with the Queen, the King and Princess Diana, released this week and serialised by the Daily Mail, Burrell recounts a range of memories from his more than two decades in service and from the years since. He told broadcasters and daytime television audiences he was motivated in part by anger after Harry repeated — in a statement supporting a legal case over press intrusion — allegations that Burrell had sold some of Diana’s possessions. Burrell calls the claim "flippant and damning" and says it defamed him.
Burrell, who faces both praise and condemnation in public life, is promoting the book with a series of interviews and will appear for a two-hour live conversation hosted by presenter Lorraine Kelly at Cadogan Hall in London. The memoir is his third volume; his first, published in 2003 after he was acquitted at the Old Bailey on theft charges, contained contentious claims including that Diana had predicted a plot to kill her.
In the new book Burrell details a secret meeting he says took place at Kensington Palace in late 2017 at the invitation of Princes William and Harry, who were then working on television documentaries about their mother. Burrell says the brothers asked him to help fill in gaps in their memories of Diana. He describes an emotional encounter in which William told him, "Mummy drew you too close to her, Paul... We won't do that with our household," and said the brothers could "take over" from him.
Burrell also recounts what he describes as a conversation between Prince Charles and Diana shortly after Harry’s birth. In Burrell’s account, Charles observed Harry’s red hair and made a remark that Burrell says left Diana in tears; the former footman writes he repeated that episode to Harry during the Kensington Palace meeting.
Legal and investigative history is central to Burrell’s grievance. Scotland Yard detectives alleged during an inquiry that some of Diana’s property had been sold, leading to Burrell’s 2002 arrest and prosecution; prosecutors later withdrew the allegation under cross-examination and Burrell was acquitted. He says the resurfacing of similar suggestions by Harry prompted him to challenge the prince through legal channels and, after receiving only a pro-forma acknowledgement from Harry’s lawyers, to address the matter in print.
The memoir also contains fresh material about the late Queen Elizabeth II, including Burrell’s account of her 2021 cancer diagnosis and the private effort to conceal the illness from the public and, he says, from much of her family. Burrell quotes the queen as responding to the diagnosis by expressing a wish to be alive to see the Platinum Jubilee in 2022 and describes medical interventions he says prolonged her life until the landmark celebration.
Burrell’s books and media appearances have long provoked mixed reactions. Critics have accused him of profiting from his association with Diana and breaching confidences; supporters point to his lengthy service and the intimacy of his recollections. The 2003 trial and its aftermath remain a touchstone for that debate, and Burrell acknowledges he is a divisive figure.
The new volume comes as Prince Harry is in Britain for what his representatives have described as an attempt to reconcile with the royal family. Burrell says his publication is both a defence of his reputation and an effort to record memories of the queen and of Diana that he believes are important to the historical record.
Where possible, the account draws clear lines between Burrell’s recollections and verifiable events. Several of the book’s more sensitive claims — including private remarks attributed to members of the royal family and aspects of the queen’s medical care — are presented as Burrell’s personal testimony. The book and Burrell’s media appearances have renewed questions about privateness, public memory and the competing narratives that continue to surround the late princess and the modern royal household.
Burrell’s live event at Cadogan Hall and his television and radio interviews are scheduled to continue through the week as he promotes the memoir. Representatives for the royal household, for Princes William and Harry and for other individuals mentioned in the book did not immediately provide comment through the media channels that covered the memoir’s release.