Prince Charles blasted ex-royal butler Paul Burrell as "pathetic" in an uncovered letter set to be put up for auction. In the four-page handwritten note, the Prince of Wales hits out at royal household staff who "exercise their pathetic jealousies and vendettas in public".
The message was penned in 2002 just weeks after Burrell - who served as Princess Diana's butler - went on trial at the Old Bailey accused of stealing 310 items worth £4.5m belonging to the late princess. However, proceedings eventually collapsed after the Queen recalled that Burrell had informed her that he planned to keeping some of Princess of Wale's possessions, the Mirror reports.
Writing to Marjorie Dawson, who worked as the personal maid and dresser to Princess Alexandra for 36 years, Charles expressed his deep upset at the “ghastliness” of the situation.
The Prince of Wales wrote in November 2002: “Bless you for taking the trouble to write as you did in the wake of all the ghastliness that has been going on! I find it utterly incredible, as I have done nothing but show people like Paul Burrell every consideration over the years.
"Unfortunately we are now to be treated as mere pawns in a terrifying and ongoing media circulation war where the actual facts are totally disregarded and vast sums of money are offered as bribes to former and current members of staff to exercise their pathetic jealousies and vendettas in public. One member of staff has been offered a total of £5 million by the newspapers in recent weeks."
The four-page letter is being sold by a collector and is tipped to sell for £2,000 by London-based Chiswick Auctions on July 21.
Valentina Borghi, specialist at Chiswick Auctions, said: "It is rare to find a letter from Prince Charles which is so open about his feelings. It was a difficult time for the Royals and I believe he was pretty upset when he wrote this letter.
"We are used to a much calmer version of Prince Charles, so he must have been very hurt when so many people he thought he could trust were willing to make money by selling private facts about his family."
Diana died in a car crash in Paris in 1997, while Burrell released a memoir, A Royal Duty, in 2003. It led to a rift with Buckingham Palace, with Prince William and Prince Harry calling the book a 'cold and overt betrayal' of their late mother.
Earlier this month it was revealed Paul Burrell , Diana’s trusted butler, was willed £50,000.
William and Harry were the main beneficiaries after being left without their mother, who would have turned 61 on Friday July 1 if she was still alive.
A discretionary fund outlined benefits for the princes, their future spouses and family members, and special charities received £100,000, plus Princess Diana’s wardrobe, including her famed wedding dress .
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