Diana butler accused of gay affairs

THE controversy surrounding the Paul Burrell affair took another twist yesterday, with reports that the Princess of Wales’ former butler was gay.

One national Sunday newspaper alleged the 44-year-old married father of two had a gay relationship in the early 1980s, while another claimed he tried to seduce two men.

They are the latest in a series of front page stories since the former royal butler was cleared of theft charges at the Old Bailey just over a week ago.

In an interview with the News of the World, Australian Greg Pead claimed he was a lover of Mr Burrell’s during a relationship that spanned two years in the early 1980s.

Mr Pead says he first met Diana’s “rock” while on a month’s backpacking holiday in Britain in 1980 and claims to have been given unauthorised tours of the Queen’s quarters in Buckingham Palace.

Mr Pead, 47, said he was 25 when he met Mr Burrell, who was working as a footman to the Queen at the time.

He also claims the ex-royal household employee sent him letters revealing sensitive information on the day-to-day life of the royals.

They included details of Diana’s wedding dress, diplomatic relations with Spain and timings of a royal parade.

Mr Pead said: “I was immediately accepted as Paul’s partner by all the other male palace servants...They were happy Paul had found someone.”

The Australian, who is now retired, said he and Mr Burrell had a “passionate physical affair” during his first month in Britain in 1980.

He said the pair kept in touch when he returned home and the relationship continued when he came back to Britain in 1981.

It was at this time, he claims, that Mr Burrell gave him a tour of the Palace, including the Queen’s apartments.

He claims the former butler’s personal apartments in the Palace were like a shrine to the Royal Family and filled with “souvenirs” such as letter-headed paper, menus and a picture of the Queen over the bed. He said his lover flew to Australia at the end of 1981 and again in 1982, this time as part of the Queen’s entourage, but that the relationship turned sour soon after.

In another allegation, businessman Kevin Horkin, of Blackburn, Lancashire, claimed s in The People newspaper that Mr Burrell tried to seduce him and a friend at a celebrity charity event.

Mr Horkin, 40, alleges Mr Burrell followed him to the toilets after telling stories of Diana throughout the evening and tried to kiss him.

Mr Burrell’s agent David Warwick last night refused to discuss the newspaper articles Mr Burrell married Maria Cosgrave in 1984 and they have two young sons.

In a interview with the Sunday Mirror, Mrs Burrell has broken her silence to reveal the strain her husband’s loyalty to Diana had on their marriage.

She said there were three people in the marriage, in an echo of the famous comments mde by Diana in the BBC1 Panorama interview in 1995, in a reference to Camilla Parker Bowles.

Mrs Burrell, who has always stood by her husband, said the last five years had been hell, adding: “He’s not the person he once was. It’s taken the sparkle out of his eyes. It has taken his soul.”