Paul Burrell was perhaps one of Diana's most well-known members of staff. Photo / Getty Images
Paul Burrell was perhaps one of Diana's most well-known members of staff. Photo / Getty Images
Princess Diana’s former butler, who has known Prince Harry “all his life”, said he doesn’t recognise “the young man I see today”.
The 64-year-old British servant-turned-author, who was also a footman to the late Queen when he was a teenager, gave an interview on Sunrise on Tuesday morning to talkabout Harry’s bombshell memoir Spare and his headline-making TV interviews this week.
Burrell, who has previously claimed Diana told him he was the “only man” she trusted, said the 38-year-old Duke of Sussex had “changed fundamentally”.
“I first met him in his mummy’s tummy … I don’t recognise the young man I see today. That’s not the boy I knew,” Burrell told Seven’s Matt Doran and Monique Wright from Florida.
Paul Burrell on Sunrise talking about Harry's book.
“What I see now is an angry, petulant, privileged prince who is constantly blaming other people and not taking accountability on his part.
“The princess [Diana] will be appalled by what she’s hearing now. She would be angry at these personal, vindictive revelations which don’t just undermine Harry, but his country, his family, the institution – which his mother was very proud of – and his late grandmother’s legacy.
Paul Burrell was perhaps one of Diana's most well-known members of staff. Photo / Getty Images
“She went to her grave thinking that one of her family was a racist,” he said of the Queen, referring to Harry and Meghan’s bombshell claims in last year’s Oprah interview.
“And now we hear, ‘Oh no, we never said that’. I’m as confused as you are – and I know the major players.”
As for what’s driven Harry to speak out, Burrell blamed Meghan Markle for the Duke’s “vindictive” behaviour, saying she was the one “driving him behind the scenes.”
“This isn’t just a book written by Harry … Meghan’s had a huge influence [on] this book,” Burrell claimed.
Prince Harry has not held back on details in his memoir Spare. Photo / CBS
“She’s beside him steering him on his path. You can’t just blame Harry. You have to blame the both of them.
“I don’t like to see the rug being pulled beneath the feet of our King and Harry’s brother, who is on his way to being king.
“And the snipes that have gone forward about Kate [Middleton] … Kate has never put a foot wrong. But the other side of the story will never be heard because the royals believe there’s great dignity in silence.”
Back in 2017, Burrell told the breakfast program he hadn’t spoken to William and Harry since Diana’s death in 1997.
Burrell was her butler from 1987 up until her death in a car crash a decade later.
Paul Burrell was Diana’s butler for 10 years.
He added in Tuesday’s interview that Diana would’ve wanted “much more” for Harry.
“Of course she wanted you to marry for love, but she also wanted you to be your brother’s wingman,” he said.
“She wanted you two to support each other through life. And Harry’s job was to help William on his road to being monarch of England.”
Among the many revelations in Harry’s memoir, which was leaked last Friday ahead of its January 11 release, included a physical fight with Prince William over Meghan, Charles teasing him about the identity of his “real father”, losing his virginity aged 17 and killing a total of 25 people while serving in Afghanistan.
A photo of Kate and Will used in the promo for the doco (left); Meghan is seen breaking down multiple times. Photo / Netflix
He also delved into Kate and Meghan’s relationship breakdown, confirming the pair got in an argument about the bridesmaids’ dresses for Meghan and Harry’s wedding in 2018.
