British Royals Face More Scandals
L O N D O N, Nov. 15 -- Queen Elizabeth II opened Parliament this week in a ceremony rich in splendor and thick with irony. Her government, she said, will focus on crime fighting and justice for all. But her subjects appear more interested in a new scandal involving alleged cover-ups by the royal family itself.
The whole affair began when Princess Diana's longtime butler, Paul Burrell, was put on trial for allegedly stealing some of Diana's belongings — 310 items in all, including personal letters, photographs and clothing.
But just before he was to testify, the queen suddenly remembered a conversation she had had with the butler shortly after Diana's death, in which he told her he planned to safeguard some of Diana's property. The royal case of recovered memory conveniently freed Burrell of all charges.
"I just couldn't believe it," said Burrell. "That the queen had intervened and had stopped what was a travesty, really. It should have never begun in the first place."
Still, the episode prompted Britons to wonder if the royal family wanted to get the charges against Burrell dropped in order to save itself embarrassment. If that was the case, it didn't work.
A Tabloid Frenzy
In the tabloid frenzy that followed, the British papers outdid each other in digging up dirt on the palace. One of them, the Mirror, paid Burrell about $450,000 to tell his story. The tabloids that failed with their Burrell bids immediately turned against him, attacking the butler's credibility in print.
Meanwhile, allegations emerged that an aide to Prince Charles had raped another male servant years ago, but the case was never investigated by authorities. Burrell said Diana had made an audiotape of the alleged victim describing what happened, but that tape had disappeared. The public uproar and accusations of a cover-up forced Charles to call for an investigation.
All of this came at the end of what had been a glorious Golden Jubilee year for the royal family — the successful celebration of the queen's half-century on the throne.
