'Distraught' princes demand to meet Burrell

Published on Sunday 26 October 2003 01:00

PRINCE William and Prince Harry are demanding a meeting with former Royal butler Paul Burrell after apparently becoming so distraught about his disclosures about their mother that they "cannot take any more".

Prince Charles and his two sons are understood to be concerned that Burrell is poised to release more revelations of a "highly sensitive" nature about Princess Diana and other members of the Royal Family.

Reports last night claimed the princes are worried that Burrell, whose book A Royal Duty is out this week, has access to secrets about an allegation apparently involving an incident between a member of the Royal Family and a palace servant, as well as to the so-called ‘rape tapes’ recorded by Princess Diana in 1996.

This demand for a meeting to plead with Diana’s former butler to stop releasing information comes as palace officials warned that both William and Harry are struggling to cope with the revelations about their mother, which have included detailed accounts of her relationships and her state of mind.

A spokeswoman at Clarence House said the statement by Prince William last week, in which he said he and his brother had been betrayed by Burrell, was not a statement originating from their staff.

She said: "It is a heartfelt reaction by two young men who cannot take any more. Prince William just wants the revelations to stop. It’s damaging the prince’s memory and it’s upsetting for everybody. People should examine their consciences."

Burrell, who was last year acquitted of stealing more than 300 items from Diana’s estate, may also have information about the tape on which former valet George Smith says he was raped by a trusted royal aide 14 years ago. It was this tape, reported to have been kept in a locked oak box belonging to Diana, which went missing after her death, thereby prompting the original police investigation into Burrell.

A senior aide to Prince Charles was quoted as saying: "We know the book is going to be published this week and we have to accept that. But we are worried that another bolt could come out of the blue at any time and we want to stop it.

"This would mean a private meeting with Paul Burrell. William and Harry want to see him because they know him well and have a close relationship with him. They hope they can persuade him to understand their position."

But Burrell has been unrepentant despite the princes’ pleas. He has accused palace courtiers of "poisoning" their "little minds".

Meanwhile, Prince Charles’ ex-deputy private secretary has spoken of his former boss’s weakness, and claims Burrell would not have gone public with so many of his secrets if he had not felt "hounded" by the Royal Family.

He said: "The prince isn’t strong so it’s not that difficult to be stronger than the prince in this kind of situation."

He added that he believed Charles’s failure to avert the Burrell prosecution was "one of the biggest mistakes he’s made". Nevertheless, Bolland believes Charles could have averted the Burrell disaster by being more forceful. "None of that (would have happened) if the prince had been strong and determined in saying this prosecution should not go ahead.

"It is impossible to argue against the point that it was a complete f***-up that should never have happened. The Prince of Wales should have done more to stop it. I just think he lacks a lot of confidence. He doesn’t have a lot of self-belief. He doesn’t have a lot of inner strength. It’s one of the very sweet and lovely things about him that he’s a humble man.

"He doesn’t have an arrogance. Despite people saying he does, he’s not an arrogant man, he’s a kind man, he’s a very gentle man.

"He can be stubborn, a bit, but the one thing he doesn’t have is self-confidence and so if he’s in a situation where there’s a lot of pressure going one way he does find it very hard to stand up for himself and go the other way."