- News>
- Literary Corner
Former aide defends Princess Diana book
London, Oct 29: Former royal butler Paul Burrell said on Monday he could spill even more beans about the private life of Princess Diana, as he hit the airwaves to defend his memoirs of his years of service to her.
"The point of doing this book is to actually correct the myths, the untruths, the lies," said Burrell as the first 135,000 copies of A Royal Duty hit the bookshops in Britain.
One million copies went on sale in the United States on the weekend, amid outrage from Prince William and Prince Harry - the late Diana's sons with Prince Charles - that Burrell was betraying royal confidences.
He renewed his offer to meet face to face with them "to ask them a few questions" and "to give them a piece of my mind" as to why they did nothing when he was put on trial for allegedly stealing Diana's belongings.
The criminal trial in London collapsed in November 2002 when Queen Elizabeth II let it be known that she was aware that Burrell had held on to some of Diana's possessions after her death in August 1997 in a Paris car crash.
Burrell said his book "brings into light a loving tribute" to Diana, whose marriage to Charles was dissolved in August 1996 after a lengthy and sensational separation.
But he refused to rule out further revelations.
"I never thought I would write this one," he said, as he took to the radio and television airwaves to promote the book.
"I have no plans at this time to write another book - but I don't know what the future holds."
The most sensational revelation in A Royal Duty is a claim by Burrell that he received a letter from Diana, 10 months before her death, in which she referred to a supposed plot to kill her.
She allegedly wrote that her life was at its "most dangerous" phase, and that she feared that somebody - Burrell did not say who - was planning "an accident" in her car.
Diana died in a Parisian underpass in a chauffeured limousine at the side of her lover Dodi Fayed, whose father is Mohammed al-Fayed, owner of the Harrod's department store in London and the Ritz hotel in Paris.
French investigators said the high-profile couple were the victims of a traffic accident caused by their driver, who was driving under the influence of alcohol, but the elder Fayed still suspects that foul play was involved.
William and Harry, both students, launched an unprecedented attack on Burrell last week, accusing him of a "cold and overt betrayal" of their mother as "A Royal Duty" was serialized in the Daily Mirror, a London tabloid.
The 3.81 meter (12-1/2 foot) bronze statue, in Windsor Great Park, west of London, near one of the queen's residences, portrays her riding a horse. It was erected to mark her half-century on the throne.
Charles, who as her eldest son is heir to the British throne, meanwhile began Monday his first visit to India since he was there 11 years ago with Diana at his side.
Bureau Report