King Charles Allegedly ‘Threw a Book’ at Royal Butler After He Refused to Lie to Princess Diana
Unlike his father, Prince Philip, King Charles has rarely shown his temper in public, usually maintaining a poised composure. However, former royal butler Paul Burrell's new book paints a far less flattering picture of the monarch, detailing his many alleged temper tantrums. In one excerpt, Burrell claimed that Charles once hurled a book at his face after he refused to cover for him and lie to the late Princess Diana. He detailed the harrowing scene, saying he had been summoned to the library after telling Diana that Charles wasn’t home.
Burrell wrote in his book, The Royal Insider, that Charles had allegedly asked him if he had spoken with Diana the previous night, to which he responded that she called him at 10 pm and wished to speak with her husband. He claimed that the King then questioned him as to why he didn’t "just say that [he] couldn’t find [him]?" Burrell claimed he replied, "Are you asking me to lie for you?" to which Charles allegedly replied, "Yes, I am. Yes, I bloody am," before he "banged the desk with his fists." The former butler further penned that the monarch allegedly "picked up a book from his desk and threw it towards" him as he screamed, "Get out! Get out!"
Burrell recalled that much of the royal staff was unaware of just how fractured things were between Charles and Diana, describing their marriage as a 'war zone.' He believed that the late Princess was a 'city girl' at heart, someone who never enjoyed royal pastimes like hunting or horse riding. Burrell also remembered a moment when Diana reportedly confided in him about Charles’s remark following the birth of Prince Harry in 1984. He wrote, "Charles came into the hospital room, looked in the cot and said: ‘Oh, red hair.’ Diana replied: ‘But Charles, you know that’s the Spencer gene, we all have red hair.’ Then came the damning blow. He said: ‘Well, at least I’ve got my heir and spare now and I can return to Camilla.'"
The butler also spoke about Prince William and Prince Harry, recalling a 2017 moment when he saw them at Diana's old Kensington Palace apartment. He shared, "They asked me when and where I thought it had gone wrong with their parents. And I said I thought it was at that moment." He added. "Harry stared straight at me, poker-faced. He couldn’t believe what I was telling him. I was in tears, but he never flinched. I remember this moment distinctly because it looked like he was bearing his mother’s pain."
Charles and Diana had marital problems until their divorce on August 28, 1996. Royal author Tina Brown wrote in her book, The Palace Papers, "No wonder he [Charles] wound up marrying the twenty-year-old ingénue Lady Diana Spencer. This ruled out Camilla Parker Bowles — Charles' true love— as a potential match since she was already married." She added, "Camilla understood that the achingly archaic requirement of virginity in a royal bride was a deal-breaker in her relationship with Charles."