Princess Diana's former butler has spoken out against Earl Spencer's book, telling Piers Morgan that the memoir is "more about Earl Spencer than it is about his sister Diana." Paul Burrell also accused Spencer of being "jealous" of his sister and disputed claims about the King's reaction to Diana's death.
Burrell disputes King's 'giddy' reaction
Burrell claimed that Spencer's account of King Charles being "giddy with excitement" when Princess Diana died is far from the truth. He said he was in Paris when the King arrived following Diana's death in 1997.
"He speaks about the King being giddy with excitement when Diana died. Well Piers, I was in Paris, I saw the king," Burrell said. "He was a broken man. He was devastated."
Claims of sibling jealousy
The former butler added that the "rather spiteful revengeful point of view that he's penned" is unrecognisable to him, as someone who spent considerable time with the Princess before her death.
Burrell said that when Charles left the room where Diana lay, he had clearly been crying, with "his eyes were bloodshot." He added: "He was pale and he was scared."
Burrell also highlighted the "fractured" relationship between Diana and her family, saying he could "count on one hand" the number of times Spencer visited Kensington Palace for lunch. He noted that Spencer described himself in a letter to Diana as "on the periphery" of her life.
"He was not part of her world," Burrell said. "They [Diana's family] were jealous of her success and the love she had from people around the world."
