Prince Harry and William arranged a secret meeting with their late mum's butler before the Duke of Sussex’s wedding to Meghan Markle, it has been claimed.
The brothers met with Paul Burrell a week before Harry announced his engagement to Meghan Markle in 2017.
According to a royal source, Mr Burrell “shed some light on their memories” in the "very low-key meeting".
The former butler, who also served as a footman for the Queen, was known to have been a confidante to the brothers' mum - as she called him a "rock".
But following a falling out over her death in 1997, Mr Burrell wrote a book about her.
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And Harry and William were reported to have previously last spoken to the 64-year-old after Diana's funeral, when they were 12 and 15.
Paul Burrell, Diana’s ex-butler, “shed some light on their memories” of their mother in a "very low-key meeting", according to a royal source (Getty Images)They felt that the ex-butler was milking his position to make money following Diana’s death by writing the book A Royal Duty where he talked about their friendship.
But now, it has been claimed that the brothers met with the former butler alone in 2017, where he answered all of the questions the brothers' had.
The Sun’s royal source said: “It was a very low-key meeting but the brothers wanted to speak to someone who had been close to their mother.
“There were some aspects of her life they felt Paul could provide better clarity on. They asked to keep it all under wraps and he respected that. Paul was happy to tell them everything he knew and shed some light on their memories.”
Mr Burrell has also criticised Harry for some of the revelations in Spare, saying he doesn't recognise who the prince has become (UK Press via Getty Images)
The former butler spoke to the Mirror about Harry's accusations, and said: "(Harry) has discarded me" (Getty Images)The former royal butler, who recently appeared on I’m A Celebrity: South Africa, opened up about how Diana "would have desperately wanted" William and Harry back together.
The brothers previously accused Mr Burrell of a "cold and overt betrayal" after he published his 2001 book A Royal Duty - which contained private revelations.
Harry wrote about the book in his 2023 controversial memoir Spare, describing how he learned of the book when he was working as an unpaid farmhand in Australia aged 19 in 2003 after leaving Eton.
Writing he'd received a package from Buckingham Palace, including a memo from the royal communications team concerning 'a delicate matter', he said: "Mummy's former butler had penned a tell-all which actually told nothing. It was merely one man's self-justifying, self-centring version of events.
"My mother once called this butler a dear friend, trusted him implicitly. We did too. Now this.
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"He was milking her disappearance for money. It made my blood boil."
The former butler, who also served as a footman for the Queen, was known to have been a confidante to Diana (Getty Images)Meanwhile, Mr Burrell has also criticised Harry for some of the revelations in Spare, saying he doesn't recognise who the prince has become.
Mr Burrell spoke to the Mirror about Harry's accusations, and said: "(Harry) has discarded me, but he hasn't thought about all of those years that I spent with his mother, in private, loving her, caring for her, watching out for her.
"I've been dismissed and I'm very sad about that."
Buckingham Palace and Paul Burrell have been contacted for comment by The Mirror.
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