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| Queen had 'concerns' over Diana | Queen had 'concerns' over Diana |
| (29 minutes later) | |
| The Queen was "concerned" about the future because of Princess Diana's relationship with Dodi Al Fayed, an inquest has heard. | The Queen was "concerned" about the future because of Princess Diana's relationship with Dodi Al Fayed, an inquest has heard. |
| Ex-royal butler Paul Burrell said he met the Queen weeks after Diana died. | Ex-royal butler Paul Burrell said he met the Queen weeks after Diana died. |
| He said Her Majesty had been concerned the princess was "over-excited" about her relationship with Dodi when it first began. | He said Her Majesty had been concerned the princess was "over-excited" about her relationship with Dodi when it first began. |
| Mr Burrell gave evidence for a third day at the High Court inquest into the death of Princess Diana. | |
| The princess and Dodi Al Fayed died after a car crash in a Paris road tunnel in 1997. | The princess and Dodi Al Fayed died after a car crash in a Paris road tunnel in 1997. |
| I felt she was telling me, she was inferring, that this relationship [with Dodi] had reached its peak and it was going down the other side Paul Burrell Tough day for Diana's 'rock' | I felt she was telling me, she was inferring, that this relationship [with Dodi] had reached its peak and it was going down the other side Paul Burrell Tough day for Diana's 'rock' |
| During an exchange with Ian Croxford QC, representing the Ritz Hotel, Mr Burrell said: "Her Majesty was concerned that the Princess was rather over-excited at the moment." | During an exchange with Ian Croxford QC, representing the Ritz Hotel, Mr Burrell said: "Her Majesty was concerned that the Princess was rather over-excited at the moment." |
| Mr Croxford asked if the Queen was "concerned about the start of a long-term union with Dodi Al Fayed". | Mr Croxford asked if the Queen was "concerned about the start of a long-term union with Dodi Al Fayed". |
| Mr Burrell replied: "Her Majesty was concerned about the future." | Mr Burrell replied: "Her Majesty was concerned about the future." |
| Mr Croxford then asked: "And a marriage?" | Mr Croxford then asked: "And a marriage?" |
| Mr Burrell said: "No, the Queen did not mention that." | Mr Burrell said: "No, the Queen did not mention that." |
| Mr Burrell also told the court that he kept quiet about Mr Al Fayed giving Diana a ring shortly before they died in Paris. | Mr Burrell also told the court that he kept quiet about Mr Al Fayed giving Diana a ring shortly before they died in Paris. |
| In 2003 the former butler wrote in his book that all he knew of the gift was from a conversation during 1997. | In 2003 the former butler wrote in his book that all he knew of the gift was from a conversation during 1997. |
| He said he had advised Diana to wear any ring on her right hand to avoid giving the impression she was engaged. | He said he had advised Diana to wear any ring on her right hand to avoid giving the impression she was engaged. |
| But he revealed at her inquest that he had picked up a ring with Diana's possessions shortly after her death. | But he revealed at her inquest that he had picked up a ring with Diana's possessions shortly after her death. |
| Paul Burrell worked closely with Princess Diana | Paul Burrell worked closely with Princess Diana |
| Michael Mansfield QC, representing Dodi's father Mohamed Al Fayed, accused Mr Burrell of "lying" in his book A Royal Duty about the ring. | Michael Mansfield QC, representing Dodi's father Mohamed Al Fayed, accused Mr Burrell of "lying" in his book A Royal Duty about the ring. |
| Mr Burrell replied that this was a "strong" term. | Mr Burrell replied that this was a "strong" term. |
| "The reason I didn't include it in A Royal Duty was that I didn't feel I had to at the time," he told the court in London. | "The reason I didn't include it in A Royal Duty was that I didn't feel I had to at the time," he told the court in London. |
| But Mr Burrell provided more detail about the ring in a subsequent book, The Way We Were, written a few years later. | But Mr Burrell provided more detail about the ring in a subsequent book, The Way We Were, written a few years later. |
| Mr Burrell again insisted that Diana was still in love with surgeon Hasnat Khan in the run-up to her death on 31 August 1997. | Mr Burrell again insisted that Diana was still in love with surgeon Hasnat Khan in the run-up to her death on 31 August 1997. |
| "I knew that she would not get engaged," he said. | "I knew that she would not get engaged," he said. |
| Relationship peak | Relationship peak |
| Mr Mansfield replied: "You may like to think you knew that but actually you really don't know, do you?" | Mr Mansfield replied: "You may like to think you knew that but actually you really don't know, do you?" |
| Mr Burrell said: "I don't know." | Mr Burrell said: "I don't know." |
| He also said he spoke to Diana while she was on holiday with Dodi on his father's yacht, the Jonikal, when she seemed to be feeling "claustrophobic" and "trapped", with Dodi controlling her "every movement". | He also said he spoke to Diana while she was on holiday with Dodi on his father's yacht, the Jonikal, when she seemed to be feeling "claustrophobic" and "trapped", with Dodi controlling her "every movement". |
| He said: "In one of the last conversations, she said she was feeling claustrophobic... it was scorching hot on deck and freezing cold in the air conditioning [below] and she was looking forward to coming home. | |
| "I felt she was telling me, she was inferring, that this relationship had reached its peak and it was going down the other side. | "I felt she was telling me, she was inferring, that this relationship had reached its peak and it was going down the other side. |
| "Very often relationships did that in the princess's world. It was a very fast-moving relationship, it had a very short fuse, whereas the relationship before was a very long relationship." | "Very often relationships did that in the princess's world. It was a very fast-moving relationship, it had a very short fuse, whereas the relationship before was a very long relationship." |
| During the course of his testimony, Mr Burrell said he did not do the "decent" thing by the Duke of Edinburgh in publishing excerpts from his private correspondence with Diana without permission or consent. | |
| Lord Justice Scott Baker suggested that it "would have been a more decent thing to do" to ask for consent beforehand, to which Mr Burrell replied: "On reflection, perhaps yes." | |
| Queen meeting | |
| The court also heard that interior designer Roberto Devorik, one of Diana's friends, said that Mr Burrell had told him he had asked the Queen outright if "they" killed Diana during their meeting in 1997. | |
| Princess Diana and Dodi Al Fayed stayed at the Ritz Hotel in Paris | |
| Mr Devorik and another friend of Diana's, Lady Elsa Bowker, had met Mr Burrell soon after Diana's death. | |
| Ian Burnett QC, counsel to the inquest, read out Mr Devorik's account of that meeting. | |
| It said: "Lady Bowker asked him if he had asked the Queen if they killed her, he said that the Queen had replied something like 'we cannot awake forces we don't know'." | |
| But Mr Burrell told the court: "I would not ask her majesty the Queen such a personal and intimate question about her daughter in law." | |
| The former butler also agreed with Mr Mansfield that there were "concerns" in the "establishment" in the summer of 1997 about Diana's closeness to the Fayed family. | |
| Those concerns also apparently applied to her "political" activities on landmines. | Those concerns also apparently applied to her "political" activities on landmines. |
| Mr Burrell disputed Mr Mansfield's suggestion that the Duke of Edinburgh had called Dodi Al Fayed an "oily bedhopper". | Mr Burrell disputed Mr Mansfield's suggestion that the Duke of Edinburgh had called Dodi Al Fayed an "oily bedhopper". |
| Mr Burrell said: "I've never heard that phrase. I find that very unlikely". | Mr Burrell said: "I've never heard that phrase. I find that very unlikely". |
| The inquest continues. | The inquest continues. |
| The Newsnight programme on BBC Two at 2230 GMT on Wednesday is scheduled to broadcast a debate about the Princess Diana inquest. |