Princes royally peeved at butler

LONDON - Princess Diana's sons implored her former butler Friday to stop revealing secrets of her private life, calling a series of gossipy tabloid articles a "cold and overt betrayal" of their late mother.

In an unusually emotional written statement, 21-year-old William said Diana would have been mortified by Paul Burrell's revelations. He said he also spoke on behalf of his 19-year-old brother, Harry.

Burrell has written a book about Diana, A Royal Duty, which has been excerpted all week in the Daily Mirror tabloid.

In a statement issued through his publisher, Burrell said he was saddened by the princes' statement "because I know that this book is nothing more than a tribute to their mother."

"My only intention in writing this book was to defend the princess and stand in her corner," Burrell said.

Burrell has written about private letters, including one in which Diana reportedly said, 10 months before her death in a Paris car crash August 1997, that she feared someone was plotting to harm her in a staged car accident.

"We cannot believe that Paul, who was entrusted with so much, could abuse his position in such a cold and overt betrayal," the princes said in the statement.

"It is not only deeply painful for the two of us but also for everyone else affected and it would mortify our mother if she were alive today and, if we might say so, we feel we are more able to speak for our mother than Paul.

"We ask Paul please to bring these revelations to an end," their statement said.

© 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times 490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111 Contact the Times | Privacy Policy Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright