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, ...

and latterly butler to

Princess Diana 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 King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William and Harry. Her ac ...

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 original name, according to 16th-century parish records, was ''Gresmore''. The appropriate civil parish is called ...

, Derbyshire, a

coal-mining Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. 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 extraction of iron from ...

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. 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 extraction of iron from ...

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

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a London royal residence 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 royal hospitality. It ...

. This was after a trip to London, in which he witnessed the

Changing of the Guard Guard mounting, changing the guard, or the changing of the guard, is a formal ceremony in which sentries performing ceremonial guard duties at important institutions are relieved by a new batch of sentries. The ceremonies are often elaborate a ...

. He attended William Rhodes Secondary School in

Chesterfield Chesterfield may refer to: Places Canada * Rural Municipality of Chesterfield No. 261, Saskatchewan * Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom * Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England ** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constitue ...

before entering High Peak College in

Buxton Buxton is a spa town in the Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, England. It is England's highest market town, sited at some above sea level.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 the Queen's personal footman a year later. He was nicknamed "Small Paul", to distinguish him from a taller footman, Paul Whybrew, who was known as "Tall Paul". In 1987, Burrell joined the household of Charles and Diana at

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 ...

, Gloucestershire, acting as butler to the princess until her

death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

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, respectivel ...

, 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 advi ...

. 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 Ahmad Khan ( ur, حسنات احمد خان; 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 ...

,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 (; arz, عماد الدين محمد عبد المنعم الفايد, ʿImād ed-Dīn Muḥammad ʿAbd el-Munʿim el-Fāyid , 17 April 1955 – 31 August 1997), better known as Dodi Fayed ( ar, دودى ...

. 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 Consort of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms as the wife of King Charles III. She became queen consort on 8 September 2022, upon the acc ...

. 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 foreswearing) 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 inst ...

at the coroner's court, and allegations about his personal life. 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

. ''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 Sir Thomas Scott Gillespie Baker, PC, KC (born 10 December 1937) is a retired English Court of Appeal judge. Scott Baker is the eldest son of Sir George Baker, a former High Court judge who was President of the Family Division from 1971 t ...

, 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 after her divorce from Prince Charles, and Burrell's acquittal on theft charges. 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

On 21 November 2004, Burrell entered the fourth series of the

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

reality television show '' I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!'' and finished as runner-up on 6 December 2004. He was 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's ...

'' 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 in films in the 1970s, playing a supporting role in '' Looking for Mr. Goodbar'' (1977) and a starring role in ''Days of Heaven'' (1978). He came to prominence with ...

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 July 1 ...

'', singing "Razzle Dazzle" from ''

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

'', 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. ...

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 Sir David Frost in the studio and Loyd Grossman on location. The location presenter goes around celebrities' houses and ...

'' 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) * Baron Keith, a line of Scottish barons ...

. In August 2017, he appeared in Series 2 of the Channel 5 UK reality TV series ''

In Therapy In Therapy may refer to: *'' BeTipul'' (''In Therapy''), a 2005 Israeli drama television series ** ''In Therapy'' (French TV series), a 2021 French remake of the Israeli TV series **''En thérapie'', a 2012 French Canadian drama remake of the Israe ...

''. 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, who formerly worked for

Prince Philip Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from E ...

, Duke of Edinburgh. They met while working in Buckingham Palace and have two sons. In 2017, a divorced Burrell announced he was marrying his male partner, Graham Cooper, a corporate lawyer whom he met ten years ago. This occurred on 2 April 2017 in

Bowness-on-Windermere Bowness-on-Windermere is a town in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England. It lies next to Windermere lake and the town of Windermere to the north east with which it forms the civil parish of Windermere and Bowness. The town was hist ...

. In July 2019, Burrell sold his florist shop as a going concern and retired to live with his husband in their 19th-century mock-Tudor house in

, Cheshire. Burrell is a fan of

Wrexham Football Club Wrexham Association Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Wrecsam) is a Welsh professional association football club based in Wrexham, Wales. The team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Formed ...

and St Helens Rugby Football Club. His pastimes include travelling and painting churchyard scenes.

Honours

He was awarded the

Royal Victorian Medal The Royal Victorian Medal (RVM) is a decoration established by Queen Victoria in April 1896. On 14 May 1912, King George V further confirmed the institution of the medal with an additional royal warrant. A part of the Royal Victorian Order, it ...

in November 1997 for services to the Royal Family.Paul Burrell official website archive
/ref> He also received the Queen Elizabeth II Version of the

Royal Household Long and Faithful Service Medal The Royal Household Long and Faithful Service Medal is a civil decoration awarded by the British monarch to servants of the royal household for long and faithful service. History The Royal Household Long and Faithful Service Medal was establis ...

for 20 years service to the Royal Family.

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 Living people British male writers British memoirists British non-fiction writers British butlers Converts to Roman Catholicism English domestic workers Florists Gay men LGBT people from England Members of the British Royal Household Members of the Household of the Prince of Wales 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 monarchists I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! (British TV series) participants I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! (Australian TV series) participants Male non-fiction writers