Burrell: Diana hoped to marry Khan, not Dodi

DIANA, Princess of Wales, had prompted inquiries with a Catholic priest over a possible private marriage to her Muslim lover Hasnat Khan, the inquest into her death heard yester today.

Her former butler Paul Burrell claimed the princess considered the heart surgeon —- rather than Dodi Fayed — to be her “soulmate”.

He revealed that the relationship sparked friction with her mother, Frances Shand Kydd, after she branded her a “whore” for dating Muslim men.

Mr Burrell, who flew in from the US to give evidence, delivered a series of devastating blows to Mohamed al Fayed’s theory that Diana and Dodi were murdered.

The Harrods owner believes his son and Diana’s fatal car crash in Paris on August 31, 1997, was the result of a plot to stop them marrying instigated by Prince Philip.

But Mr Burrell insisted it was “impossible” that the couple had been murdered on the orders of a member of the royal family.

:: He said that there had been no mention of the couple getting engaged and said that Dodi was not “the one”.

:: Diana had been on good terms with the Duke of Edinburgh, he said, adding the duke was “fond” of her as well as her ex-husband Charles, the Prince of Wales, by the end of her life.

:: He said Diana had been on the contraceptive pill.

The former butler’s evidence to the inquest at the High Court in London was the most eagerly anticipated so far in the proceedings, which are in their fourth month. About 150 members of the public packed the court, with a video-link overflow, to hear his evidence.

But amid confusion over the whereabouts and even existence of Mr Burrell’s journal and other documents, he has been called back to give evidence today.

He was told by the coroner to “hot-foot” it overnight from London to his home in Cheshire to retrieve the material, which he was openly reluctant to produce.

Mr Burrell told the court how Diana’s relationship with Dodi, whom she had said was “charming, handsome and very attentive”, blossomed during the final month of her life.

But questioned by counsel to the inquest, Ian Burnett QC, he agreed that part of her motivation in spending time with Dodi had been to “get back at” Mr Khan.

He said that the princess was still holding “a candle” for Mr Khan, with whom she had recently broken up, while seeing Dodi. He told the court how the princess had seriously considered marrying Mr Khan.

He recounted how he had approached his local Carmelite priest, Father Anthony Parsons, in Kensington to ask about arranging a “private” wedding between a Christian and a Muslim.

He said Mr Khan had been introduced to Diana’s sons, princes William and Harry, and had become part of the “fixtures and fittings” at the palace.

He added that he had also begun preparing rooms at Diana’s Kensington Palace home for Mr Khan.

“She did ask me if it would be possible to arrange a private marriage between her and Mr Hasnat Khan, so I thought the first person I should really consult would be my parish priest,” he said.

“The princess said that this was her soulmate, this was the man she loved more than any other and it was a very deep spiritual relationship. I witnessed it at first hand and they were very much in love.”