Former royal butler Paul Burrell has revealed new details about the late Queen Elizabeth’s bathtime.
The 64-year-old, who is currently appearing on I’m A Celebrity South Africa, has been sharing stories about his time working for the late monarch.
Unlike the usual versions of I’m A Celebrity, the new spin-off is pre-recorded. It was filmed in September last year.
Burrell, who last appeared on the UK series of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! in 2004, has numerous stories about the royals as he was the late Queen Elizabeth’s personal footman for a year and a personal butler to the late Princess Diana, the former Princess of Wales.
In Tuesday’s episode of the ITV1 programme (25 April), the 64-year-old joked with his campmates: “If ever you need a butler, you’ve got me.”
Curious fellow campmate Janice Dickinson, 68, then asked: “Did you give the Queen a bath?”
Burrell said that “she did that herself” but there was a “special” order in which the towels would have to be set out.
He then revealed a strict rule that members of the royal family follow, sharing: “And royals never run their baths. They’re run for them. So they never have to put the plug in.”
In January, Burrell announced that he was receiving treatment for prostate cancer.
“I’m tired because I’m on hormone therapy at the moment and it’s sort of robbing me of my testosterone,” he said at the time.
“My beard isn’t growing like it should, I’m tired, I’m emotional, I get hot flashes.”
Explaining his diagnosis, Burrell told This Morning: “In the summer I had to go for a medical for a TV programme I was doing and I had a full MOT. Out of that came a surprisingly high PSA test [a chemical released by the prostate gland]. I had no idea what a PSA test was.”
He continued: “So I went to my GP, he said, ‘This is unusual’ and he examined me and sent me for an MRI scan. And the MRI scan of course was the window in which they looked through and saw a shadow on my prostate.”
Speaking at the time when he was still processing his diagnosis, Burrell shared that he was on an “emotional” and “educational” rollercoaster.
He added: “Having a biopsy itself and finding the cancer, wrapping Christmas presents this year thinking, ‘Am I going to be here next year? I need to tell my boys.’”
“So my message is: I was lucky, I was really lucky they caught it at the beginning. Men out there can go to their GP and ask for a PSA test, men over 50 and especially if you have history in the family.”
