Diana considered ‘marrying Khan’

Princess Diana’s former butler has told the inquest in London into her death she had considered a private marriage to heart surgeon Hasnat Khan.

Paul Burrell said he spoke to his parish priest about how a Christian woman and Muslim man might marry. Mr Burrell worked for Diana for more than 10 years.He also said that he “connected all the princess’s friends and all her world” and was “at the hub of the wheel, everybody was at the spokes”.Burrell said Diana told him that she had been more in love with Khan than “any other man”.The “extremely serious relationship” had lasted for two years, he said, and Dr Khan had been a regular visitor to Kensington Palace until the couple parted in July 1997.When asked by Ian Burnett QC, representing the inquest, whether she “contemplated” marriage with Khan, the former butler replied: “Yes, she did.”She asked me if it was possible to arrange a private marriage between her and Hasnat Khan.”However, it is not known whether Khan was aware of these discussions.Burrell also said he had not been given the impression that her boyfriend, Dodi Al Fayed, was “the one”.He described Diana’s relationship with Al Fayed as “a very new friendship which developed into something more”.He told the High Court in London that he did not believe the couple’s romance had begun during a holiday on Al Fayed’s yacht at the end of July 1997.Instead he thought it was only after their return that the pair became romantically linked.When asked by Burnett about the early nature of the relationship, Burrell replied: “It was very fresh, new and exciting.”Burnett also asked: “By that stage had you any sense from the Princess that…to use a hackneyed phrase that has appeared in so many media reports, Dodi was ‘the one’?” Burrell replied: “No, I didn’t have that impression.He also said a ring bought by Fayed for the princess was “not an engagement ring, it was a friendship band”.Diana died along with her lover Dodi Al Fayed and their driver Henri Paul in a car crash in Paris in 1997.In 2002 Mr Burrell, who worked for the Royal Family for more than 20 years, was cleared of stealing Diana’s possessions after an Old Bailey trial collapsed.BBC NewsMr Burrell worked for Diana for more than 10 years.He also said that he “connected all the princess’s friends and all her world” and was “at the hub of the wheel, everybody was at the spokes”.Burrell said Diana told him that she had been more in love with Khan than “any other man”.The “extremely serious relationship” had lasted for two years, he said, and Dr Khan had been a regular visitor to Kensington Palace until the couple parted in July 1997.When asked by Ian Burnett QC, representing the inquest, whether she “contemplated” marriage with Khan, the former butler replied: “Yes, she did.”She asked me if it was possible to arrange a private marriage between her and Hasnat Khan.”However, it is not known whether Khan was aware of these discussions.Burrell also said he had not been given the impression that her boyfriend, Dodi Al Fayed, was “the one”.He described Diana’s relationship with Al Fayed as “a very new friendship which developed into something more”.He told the High Court in London that he did not believe the couple’s romance had begun during a holiday on Al Fayed’s yacht at the end of July 1997.Instead he thought it was only after their return that the pair became romantically linked.When asked by Burnett about the early nature of the relationship, Burrell replied: “It was very fresh, new and exciting.”Burnett also asked: “By that stage had you any sense from the Princess that…to use a hackneyed phrase that has appeared in so many media reports, Dodi was ‘the one’?” Burrell replied: “No, I didn’t have that impression.He also said a ring bought by Fayed for the princess was “not an engagement ring, it was a friendship band”.Diana died along with her lover Dodi Al Fayed and their driver Henri Paul in a car crash in Paris in 1997.In 2002 Mr Burrell, who worked for the Royal Family for more than 20 years, was cleared of stealing Diana’s possessions after an Old Bailey trial collapsed.BBC News

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