The British royal family is once again the subject of long-buried revelations. Paul Burrell, the late Princess Diana’s former butler, has recently released a new book, The Royal Insider: My Life with the Queen, the King and Princess Diana, disclosing intimate interactions and astonishing conversations with the Princess, current King Charles III, and the late Queen Elizabeth II. Among these, he reveals how Diana was deeply hurt by her husband Charles after giving birth to Prince Harry, and he also jaw-droppingly unveils that the Queen once admitted there were 'mysterious forces within the royal family that even she could not control.'
In the book, Burrell quotes Diana as confiding in him that in 1984, just a few hours after she gave birth to Prince Harry in the hospital, Charles came to visit. Upon first seeing the baby, he remarked, 'Oh, red hair.' Diana responded, 'You know that’s the Spencer gene—my family all have red hair.' However, the real hurt followed—Charles coldly added, 'Well, at least now I have my heir and a spare… I can go back to Camilla.'
Those words hit Diana like a thunderbolt, leaving her deeply shocked. Burrell describes how, although Diana already knew about her husband’s affair with Camilla, Charles’ utter lack of consideration in saying such a heartless thing while Diana lay weak in her hospital bed after childbirth broke her heart. Burrell further reveals that Diana once told him Charles had said to her, 'I never loved you; I only married you to have children.'
As a close personal butler, Burrell had originally been in service to the Queen before being transferred to the residence of Charles and Diana—a move he had thought an honor but quickly realized was like 'stepping onto a battlefield.' He says Diana always had feelings for Charles but regarded Camilla with deep contempt, and once said bluntly, 'Charles never wanted a lover, what he wanted was a mother.'
Besides revealing details of Charles and Diana’s marriage, the new book also shares private conversations with the Queen, exposing an even deeper veil of royal mystery. Burrell mentions that after Diana’s death, he recounted to the Queen the details of Diana’s fatal car crash that he had witnessed. The Queen, looking grave, said to him, 'You must have been through a terrible time.' Then, in a solemn tone, she warned him, 'Be very careful. In my country, there are forces at work that not even I can control.'
This warning still chills Burrell to this day. The conversation took place not long after Diana’s fatal accident, during a period of great turmoil for the royal family. The Queen’s words added a further air of mystery, making the atmosphere even more unsettling.