London, Oct 22: The royal family asked to see an advance copy of a forthcoming book by Princess Diana's former butler and confidant, and the publisher responded by sending excerpts to Buckingham Palace, the Palace said today.
Sections of Paul Burrell's “A Royal Duty'' have been appearing in the Daily Mirror tabloid all week, embarrassing the royals with gossipy tidbits from letters Prince Philip reportedly sent Diana, his daughter-in-law, and a note in which the princess allegedly wrote months before her death that someone was plotting to harm her.
"We did ask for that and they agreed to send extracts," a Buckingham Palace spokesman said on condition of anonymity.
Penguin, the book's publisher, said it had hand-delivered to the palace sections of the book that referred to Philip.
"The palace was in touch ... On behalf of the Duke of Edinburgh (Philip)," said Penguin spokeswoman Joanna Prior. "We have to protect our commercial interests, serialization rights and so on, and it did not seem appropriate to hand over the whole book."
News reports have said Philip and Queen Elizabeth II, his wife, are furious that Burrell included the private letters in his book and are considering legal action.
Bureau Report