Diana Inquest: Burrell Never Believed Murder Plot Letter
Written by Joanne Leyland
Monday, 14 January 2008
Paul Burrell has told the High Court that he never took
seriously the letter in which Diana, Princess of Wales wrote of Prince Charles: "My husband is planning an accident in my car...".
The full letter was shown to the inquest jury in December. An unedited version, in which Diana's reference to the Prince of Wales was blacked out, was first made public by Burrell via the Daily Mirror newspaper in January 2004.
Asked by Ian Burnett QC, counsel for the inquest: "Did you take that suggestion
seriously?", Burrell told the court at the end of this morning's session: "No, I couldn’t possibly see the father of her children murdering
her."
Continued Burrell: "The princess had a great fondness for Prince Charles, even
after her divorce which she never wanted. Prince Charles was
not capable of murdering the princess - they were cordial towards the end of her life."
Burrell has also been asked about what he referred to as sometimes "sharp"
correspondence from the Duke of Edinburgh to Diana, explaining: "Prince Philip doesn’t
mince his words but he’s not a nasty man."
"Prince Philip is not a nasty man."
Referring to Mohamed Al Fayed’s claims that the Queen’s husband was involved in
a plot to "murder" the princess and thereby stop her wedding and/or bearing a
child with a Muslim man, Burrell said of the Duke: "Prince Philip is not known for
diplomacy but he certainly wouldn't have written nasty notes to the
princess. He was fond of the princess."
"The princess was the mother of his grandchildren. Why would he want to harm her."
"I think I know Prince Philip's shortcomings and they don't extend that far".
Burrell will return to court this afternoon
for cross-examination which will see him answering questions from
Mohamed Al Fayed's legal team.
