A Royal Duty

Rating:
Summary: FATAL ATTRACTION
Review: There's something very disturbing about Paul Burrell and his obsession with Diana. By his own admission, he put her before his own wife and children which strongly hints that this was not a healthy relationship at all. By all accounts, Diana's private world was very different than her public image. She was emotionally warped, probably due largely to the complete lack of emotional stability in her childhood which carried on throughout her adult relationships as well.

And while the Queen was roundly criticized for not revealing that Paul Burrell had told her that he had some of Diana's personal items for safekeeping, I think there's far more to it than that when you look at it more closely. If this conversation did in fact, take place (which I doubt it did), then why didn't he tell his lawyers this after he was arrested? His absolutely RIDICULOUS response was that he "didn't think it was important", either shows him to be a total moron or a liar. If I was accused of robbing a bank at 3:00 o'clock in the afternoon, the first thing you would do is to give the name of SOMEONE---anyone, who can back up your claim that would prove your innocence.

All he would have had to say was "I told Her Majesty that I was taking these items for safekeeping". His lawyer would have contacted the Queen's Private secretary with this information and the Queen could have either verified it or not. Had she verified it then and there, the charges again Mr. Burrell would have been dropped immediately. The only reason for someone not to provide this vital information to their lawyer would be because the conversation never happened.

Even giving Mr. Burrell the benefit of the doubt here and say that he did have this conversation with the Queen, by his own admission he told her he was taking "a few" of Diana's possessions. When the police raided his home, there were literally hundreds of her personal items---not "a few". I don't believe he planned on selling any of these things, but it is a strong testament to his completely warped obsession with her---an obession that he still seems to have to this very day. I think the Queen saved his sorry ass from a prison term, not because of this fictional conversation, but to prevent him from revealing royal secrets that would inevitably come out in court.

I would suggest that Mr. Burrell seek professional counselling in order for him to get beyond Diana. She's been gone for 7 years now and it's certainly time for him to let go and move on.


Rating:
Summary: Interesting Royal Read
Review: This book was tastefully written by a man whom obviously shared a very close relationship with Princess Diana and the royal family. It was particularly interesting to delve into the bits of details surrounding incidents that only he could have known about. By books end, I couldn't help but feel this was more than just an intimate protrait of a personal relationship but more a written testimony of the facts surrounding the scandal of the "butler possessing royal belongings" as given by Mr. Burell. After reading this book, it's impossible not to believe in Mr. Burell and the torid time he must have gone through in not only having lost his "family" but his credibility. If there was one aspect of the book that truly disgruntled me even if done with discretion in mind, I couldn't help but be continually perturbed by the referal to the men in Diana's life without the validation of their identities. I understand the nuance of protocol and respect involved but they could have been better portrayed at the very least. Overall, it's an interesting tribute and sad memorial of the most vivacious royal family member I have ever read about. My heart goes out to the Burell family.

Rating:
Summary: If you read just one book about Diana, this is the one!
Review: When it comes to someone with as high a profile as Princess Di, there is a deluge of books and articles, many disappointing and trite.

This book was a book that would have been well worth reading even if I never heard of Di before. I really like how Paul Burrell put enough about himself and his own attitudes in this book so that I could not only see where he was coming from, but also could try to understand better the British attitudes toward royalty. He takes you through a walk of what it was like for him to be the Queen's butler for a while before he gets into the story about Diana, and though I felt impatient at first with this, I realized as I read on that by doing so he helped me to have a much more full and realistic perspective about Diana's life -- not only her choices, but the environment in which she lived.

It was also endearing how he wrote this book as someone with a great love and great respect for the Princess. He reveals a lot of surprising things, and many of them caused me to feel more empathy for Diana than ever before -- and to feel as if I have been introduced to her on a very personal level. It was as if her best friend sat with me over coffee during a 3-day retreat and recounted all that he could divulge without dishonoring pledges made to her. I was kind of surprised that he told as much as he did, being that he was and is so deferential to the Princess, but I suspect she would have wanted it that way. He makes it clear that there are also some things he will take to the grave. Just the way a best friend would.

As I finished this book I felt a sincere gratitude to Paul Burrell for having written it. I had admired Di from afar; now I feel I know her ever so much better, and admire her more than ever as well.

He also softened up my attitude toward the Queen. Not accustomed to royal formalities, she always seemed so formal and cold to me. He really humanized the Queen for me.

It was not like reading a tattler; it was like reading pretty darned good literature. And it delivers. Thank you, Paul Burrell. I hope you make a lot of money from this book. You deserve it.