Diana with her bodyguard
Burrell had cancer.. “I think Diana would say to me you have to make this a priority, you have to go and see my children’s children”
Paul Burrell, former bodyguard of the late Princess Diana and her chief aide, announced his willingness to share her secrets with her sons, Prince William and Harry, following he was diagnosed with prostate cancer.
Paul revealed last month that he had prostate cancer and said his diagnosis made him fear he would run out of time to “tell them the truth”.
In an interview with The Mirror at his home in Cheshire, the former royal butler said: “My illness has focused my attention on telling the boys things before it’s too late, telling them what they really ought to know. I think Diana would say to me, ‘You have to make this a priority, you have to You go see my children’s children.”
Diana statue
As Burrell prepares for prostate cancer surgery, he is haunted by the memory of the special moments he shared with Princess Diana, when she confided to him some of her deepest secrets.
Now the man Diana referred to as her “rock” is terrified that he might take those secrets with him to his grave, never having the chance to tell the late Princess’s sons William and Harry what he knows regarding their mother.
“I know some of them are not pretty, but if I leave this place and go somewhere else they will never know. I think they should know,” he said.
Paul, 64, who was Diana’s butler for 10 years until her death in 1997, explained: “I spent many hours with Diana, during her happiest times as well as her darkest times. She captivated me and there are many things I never talked regarding, but now I feel The time is right.”
He added, “I think what I have to say can restore the brothers’ relationship, which is what Diana wanted so badly. I will just tell them the truth, that’s all. I’m not looking for anything in return.”
The two princes have become increasingly estranged since Harry moved to the US with his wife Megan in 2020, and Paul said he would like to “try to do my part” to see them reconcile.
He said: “Isn’t it great to see the boys mend their relationship and get back to where they need to be back. The audience would love that. I’d love to see William put his arm around his brother, but I don’t think we’ll see that, because there are so many bumps in the way.”
