Royal butler 'felt degree of insecurity' over his job, court is told

The former royal butler Paul Burrell had "bemoaned" his low salary when he was in service and said he could earn more money by working in the United States than for Diana, Princess of Wales, the Old Bailey was told yesterday.

Mr Burrell, 44, told police Diana was like the "third person in my marriage" but he was concerned about keeping his job before she died and had taken out a mortgage behind her back. He told officers he was Diana's closest male confidant and knew all her secrets, but William Boyce QC, for the prosecution, said their relationship was not as it seemed. "There was a closeness but it may not have been exactly as Mr Burrell has described," he said.

The former butler, who denies stealing 310 items from the Princess, the Prince of Wales, and Prince William, felt a "degree of insecurity in his employment". Mr Boyce said Michael Gibbins, the financial comptroller and head of Diana's household in the year before she died, would testify that Mr Burrell's long-term future was not secure. "He had no certainty that Mr Burrell's employment could be regarded as a long-term prospect had she not been tragically killed," Mr Boyce told the jury of seven men and five women.

"Mr Burrell, for example, applied for a mortgage without the knowledge of Diana, Princess of Wales, and bemoaned his low salary. He thought he could get a much higher salary if he went to work in America." He said Mr Gibbins would say that, in general, Diana maintained good "although sometimes unpredictable" working relationships with her staff and was generous with presents.

"But staff were not allowed to get too close and their employment could be terminated if that happened," he said.

The Princess took a close interest in the way her household was run, the court heard. She was intensely possessive and was a keen observer of household expenditure. "She could be displeased if expenditure was not kept under control," said Mr Boyce. In Mr Burrell's statement to police, he said her cast-off possessions, including dresses, would go to second-hand shops with the identity tags removed, and sold at a fraction of their value in cash.

"She would use this money on everyday items like going to the cinema, magazines, shopping expeditions and trips abroad," Mr Burrell said on the second day of his restarted trial. The first jury was discharged for legal reasons on Wednesday.

Mr Burrell said he kept Diana's possessions because he believed there was a "conspiracy" to erase parts of her life from history. He told police he had kept personal photographs because he had been told by Diana to ensure they did not fall into the "wrong hands".

He told police he intended to give them to princes William and Harry when they were much older. "I felt at the time of the Princess's death there was a conspiracy to change the course of history and to erase certain parts of the Princess's life from it," he claimed. Mr Burrell said he had the items for a variety of reasons, including for safekeeping or as gifts from the Princess to him or his wife, Maria.

The trial continues on Monday.