Princess Diana’s former butler shared his thoughts on Prince Harry’s feud with his family.
Paul Burrell: Harry has to pay for his choices
Princess Diana’s former butler Paul Burrell has shared his thoughts on Prince Harry’s falling out with his family. The 67-year-old knew the Duke of Sussex throughout his childhood as he worked closely with Diana until her tragic death in August 1997. Speaking exclusively to Express.co.uk on the black carpet at the 2026 British LGBT awards he reflected on the current situation, which has seen Harry estranged from his father King Charles and sibling Prince William since the beginning of the decade.
“It’s the royal soap opera…that continues to intrigue everybody,” he said. “Like all families they have fallouts but with the Royal Family it is always a public one. I think Harry’s going to have to go a very long way to be forgiven by his brother and by his family for the things that he has said and done. His choice. He didn’t have to do all the things he did but he chose to and he has to pay the price for that,” Paul insisted in a damning six word appraisal of the Duke of Sussex current situation.
Former Royal butler Paul Burrell opened up on Prince Harry’s family dramas (Image: Getty)
Harry, 41, and his wife Meghan, 44, made the decision to walk away from royal duties in September 2020 with their departure dubbed “Megxit”.
Since stepping away from the royal fold Harry released his explosive memoir Spare, in which he detailed a highly strained relationship with both his father and brother, describing a lifelong dynamic of being the disposable “spare” to the heir.
He claimed Charles made a cruel joke on the day of his birth, and alleged that William physically attacked him.
The couple also famously indicated they had been subject to racism from a member of the Royal Family during an interview with Oprah Winfrey in March 2021.
Former Royal butler Paul Burrell has given his opinion on Prince Harry’s fallout with his family (Image: Getty)
Since departing royal service Paul has become a reality TV regular and had a very memorable stint on I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here in 2004 before returning for the All Stars edition in 2023.
He has also penned several books including his own memoir The Royal Insider in 2025 in which he described Prince Harry as “petulant” and living in his own “personal soap opera”.
In the tome detailed a 2017 meeting where Harry and Prince William summoned him to Kensington Palace to ask questions about their mother.
Burrell claimed that after receiving the information he wanted, Harry used “hateful and hurtful words” toward him. He also accused Harry of being hypocritical for writing about other members of the royal family without giving them a chance to reply.
