Paul Burrell: who is Princess Diana’s former Butler as he wins apology and damages over phone hacking

Former royal butler Paul Burrell has been given a public apology and substantial damages from the publisher of the Daily Mirror newspaper over phone hacking and “repeated invasion of his privacy”.

Burrell, who worked for Diana, Princess of Wales, brought legal action against Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) after he was targeted by private investigators instructed by the publisher and had his voicemails intercepted.

At the High Court in London on Tuesday, lawyers for Mr Burrell said MGN – which publishes the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror and The People – had agreed to pay substantial damages plus his legal costs, as well as accepting liability for the unlawful acts.

Burrell’s lawyers said following the damages and public apology, he “considers that he has been fully vindicated and is happy to let the matter rest”.

But who is Paul Burrell, when did he work for Princess Diana and what has he been doing since her death? This is what you need to know.

Who is Paul Burrell?

Burrell started working at Buckingham Palace at the age of 18 years old as a footman, he went on to become the Queen’s personal footman a year later. In 1987 he joined the household of the Prince and Prencess of Wales at Highgrove. He worked as Princess Diana’s butler up until her death in 1997.

Burrell, who worked for the royal family for 21 years, was a friend and confidante to Diana and the late princess once referred to him as her “rock”.

The Sun reported that he described himself as her “best friend” and claimed that she described as “the only man she ever trusted”.

What has he done since Princess Diana’s death?

In 2003, Burrell released a memoir, A Royal Duty, which follows his career as a member of the Royal staff. However, it was described by Prince William and Harry as betraying their mother’s confidence, and in a statement prior to publication they said the book was a “a cold and overt betrayal.”

The former butler has forged a TV career and has made a number of appearances on reality TV including in the 2004 series of I’m a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!, finishing as runner-up on 6 December.

In early 2006, he appeared as Richard Gere on ITV’s Celebrity Stars in Their Eyes, singing “Razzle Dazzle” from Chicago.

As well as appearing in other reality shows, Burrell has also popped up in documentaries about Diana and the royal family. In 2008 he was among those who gave evidence at the inquest into Diana’s death.

He opened a florist’s in 2001, and sold it in 2019 retiring with his husband, who he married in 2017, to live in their mock-Tudor house in Cheshire.

Why was Burrell on trial for theft?

In 2001 Burrell was charged with theft from Princess Diana’s estate, the charges related to a total of 342 items, reportedly worth £5million. Burrell had denied theft and said the items were given to him by Princess Diana.

He went on trial in 2002, and the case collapsed and he was cleared when it emerged that he had informed the Queen, shortly after the princess’s death in August 1997, that he had taken some items for safekeeping.

The legal principle that the monarch cannot be compelled to give evidence in her own courts was the final blow to the Crown’s case.

What did Burrell’s legal team say about the MGN case?

Solicitor Francis Leonard, for Burrell, said: “Between 1995 and 2008 the claimant was targeted by the defendant because he was a close friend and trusted confidante to Princess Diana and then subsequently because of his role within the public sphere following his departure from the royal household.

“During Diana’s lifetime, the activities of the defendant caused his relationship with her to deteriorate as she wrongly thought that her highly sensitive personal information was being leaked to the press.”

Leonard said that MGN had targeted Burrell’s voicemail messages and also instructed private investigators at least three times between 2001 and 2002.

He added that this led to the publication of “numerous articles concerning the claimant arising from unlawfully obtained information which severely impacted his reputation”.

Leonard said that the use of the unlawfully obtained information in the press undermined Burrell’s relationship with his legal team as he prepared for his criminal trial over accusations he stole hundreds of items from Diana’s estate.

Leonard continued: “In relation to his criminal trial, the intense negative daily press coverage led to a disintegration of the claimant’s relationship with his wife and children, causing great psychological harm.”

The hearing before Mr Justice Fancourt heard Burrell was briefly in hospital due to the trauma. The solicitor said that Burrell was “deeply angry and upset” to discover he had been targeted by people working for MGN.

“Owing to the deliberate destruction of documents by MGN, he will never find out the true extent to which his privacy was invaded,” Leonard added.

“I am pleased to announce that the defendant has now accepted responsibility for its unlawful actions, admitted liability and has agreed to apologise to the claimant for the repeated invasion of his privacy.”

What has MGN said?

Alexander Vakil, for MGN, said: “The defendant is here today through me to offer its sincere apologies to the claimant for the damage, as well as the distress caused to him by the obtaining of his private information and the accessing of his voicemail messages.

“It has undertaken never to repeat these actions. The defendant acknowledges this information should never have been obtained or used in the manner it was and that it is liable for the misuse of private information.”