Charles tried to stop court case of Lady Diana’s butler
■ Butler Burrell claims he had 310 gifts from Diana
London: It was recently, alleged Prince Charles tried to prevent a court case involving Princess Diana’s butler Paul Burrell, the Daily Mail reported.
It is thought he was worried the royal family might be humiliated if the case against Burrell were to go any further.
In 2001, the police raided Burrell’s home in Cheshire and found he was in possession of items belonging to Diana.
Burrell claimed the 310 items discovered, worth close to £ 4.5million, were gifts from the princess.
A new biography, The Rebel Prince, reveals Burrell sent the prince a note offering to return the items if he would not be prosecuted.
Investigative journalist Tom Bower is the author of the new book. The legal advisers felt there was too much evidence not to prosecute, even though Charles did contemplate it, media reports reveal.
In order for there to be no prosecution, Diana’s sister, Lady Sarah McCorquodale and Prince William, who were to inherit her belongings, had to agree to it. However, Lady McCorquodale insisted that Burrell be charged, the book revealed.
He appeared in the Old Bailey in October 2002.
As proceeding went on, there came another twist. 11 days after the trail began, the Queen had “a recollection”. The trial was dropped after she remembered she gave Burrell the items to care for.
Meanwhile, Prince Charles lawyers have dismissed the book’s sources.