Diana's 'rock' felt degree of insecurity, jury told

Royal butler Paul Burrell was not as close to Diana, Princess of Wales, as he claims, the Old Bailey heard today.

The man dubbed Diana’s “rock” felt a degree of insecurity and his job was not necessarily a long-term prospect, the court heard.

Burrell, 44, who denies stealing from the Princess, the Prince of Wales and Prince William, complained about his low salary and boasted he could earn more working in America, said prosecutor William Boyce QC.

Father-of-two Burrell has told police he was Diana’s closest male confidante and knew all her secrets.

But Mr Boyce told the jury of seven men and five women: “There was a closeness, but it may not have been exactly as Mr Burrell has described.”

He said Michael Gibbins, the financial comptroller and head of Diana’s household in the year before she died, would testify that Burrell felt “a degree of insecurity in his employment”.

“He had no certainty that Mr Burrell’s employment could be regarded as a long-term prospect had she not been tragically killed,” said the QC.

“Mr Burrell, for example, applied for a mortgage without the knowledge of Diana, Princess of Wales, and bemoaned his low salary.

“He thought he could get a much higher salary if he went to work in America.”

He said Mr Gibbins would say that, in general, Diana maintained good “although sometimes unpredictable” working relationships with her staff and was generous with presents.

“But staff were not allowed to get too close and their employment could be terminated if that happened,” he said.

The Princess took a close interest in the way her household was run, the court heard.

Paraphrasing Mr Gibbins, Mr Boyce said: “She was intensely possessive in relation to her possessions and was a keen observer of household expenditure.

“She could be displeased if expenditure was not kept under control.”

But in his statement to police Burrell said dresses and things Diana did not want would go to second hand shops with the identity tags removed and sold at a fraction of their value in cash.

On one occasion she presented Mr Gibbins with several thousand pounds in cash, which surprised him, Burrell said.

The money was kept in a drawer in her desk, he said.

“She would use this money on everyday items like going to the cinema, magazines, shopping expeditions and trips abroad,” Burrell stated.

Burrell, wearing a charcoal grey suit and lilac shirt, sat in the dock of Court Number One on the second day of his re-started trial, which began again after the first jury was discharged for legal reasons on Wednesday.

The court heard he drove to Kensington Palace in the middle of the night some time after Diana’s death and loaded his car with her possessions.

He was challenged by a policeman, Pc Kevin Ward, at 3.30am as he packed two evening dresses into his Ford Escort – but claimed he was acting on the request of her family.

The Pc asked Burrell “What are you doing?” to which he allegedly replied: “I’m removing some items that the family asked me to destroy.”

“Isn’t it a bit unusual to do that at this hour?” asked the officer.

“It’s so it’s done discreetly. I’ve been told to take some items,” Burrell is said to have answered.

But Mr Boyce said Diana’s sister, Lady Sarah McCorquodale, would dispute having told him to destroy items.

She later told police: “He should not be at Kensington Palace in the early hours of the morning and should not be removing property in that way,” said Mr Boyce.

Lady Sarah would also recount a time when she and Burrell came across some of Diana’s personal correspondence at Kensington Palace, after the August 1997 car crash that killed the Princess, said Mr Boyce.

The pair found a locked chest where Diana’s stored her private and confidential letters.

When they found the key to open it, Lady Sarah allegedly asked Burrell to keep the contents safe.

She expected them to be sent in due course to the Spencer family home, Mr Boyce said.

“She never saw the contents of the chest again, despite asking Mr Burrell for the return of those items,” he said.

The first prosecution witness, Detective Sergeant Roger Milburn of Scotland Yard’s Special Inquiry Team, said the number of items found at Burrell’s home in Farndon, Cheshire by police on January 18, 2001 had been “completely unexpected”.

Asked whether he had any idea what they would find Mr Milburn said: “It was completely unexpected, we had no idea.”

He said if he had known the operation would have been handled differently with a dedicated search team and would have brought a removals van.

He said Burrell had displayed suicidal tendencies on the day of his arrest.

Mr Milburn said Burrell’s niece and secretary, Louise Cosgrove, spoke to him “about his actions and that he displayed suicidal tendencies”.

“In his house that day?” Mr Boyce asked. “That is correct,” the officer replied.

A police surgeon was called to examine him.

Mr Milburn said: “The general thrust was that he did not need any psychiatric treatment, but having said that, he would not be fit for interview that evening.”

Det Sgt Milburn took the jury through items found at Burrell’s home, including photographs, CDs and a floppy disk marked “Diana. Private”.