Princess Diana’s Butler Slams Royal Family After Thomas Markle’s First Interview
Paul Burrell, Princess Diana’s longtime butler and confidante, is not happy with the royal family. Burrell blasted the British royals for not using their massive “PR machine” to protect “outsider” Thomas Markle, the father of Meghan Markle, both before after his recent TV interview.
Burrell made his colorful comments after seeing the Duchess of Sussex’ father conducting a paid TV interview for ITV’s Good Morning Britain, according to the Daily Mail. The longtime royal servant called out the famous family for leaving Thomas Markle to fend for himself after he was thrust into the spotlight.
In the interview, Thomas Markle spoke out for the first time after missing his daughter’s royal wedding to Prince Harry last month.
Paul Burrell, who worked for the British royal family for several years, told Good Morning Britain he nearly “spat my Corn Flakes out” when he saw Thomas Markle’s interview on TV. Burrell described Markle’s interview as “another bombshell blindsiding the palace” and he questioned why Meghan and Harry didn’t know it was taking place, and why no one has advised him on how to handle the press.
“Why didn’t her father tell her? Who’s giving him PR advice?” Burrell asked. “The Queen is sat at Windsor Castle in her breakfast room right now looking at the papers and thinking ‘what is happening out there?”‘
Paul Burrell says royals are taking great care of Meghan but not 'outsiders' #GMB https://t.co/whKBO2QZGZ pic.twitter.com/Lspje8IoPG
— Mirror TV (@MirrorTV) June 19, 2018
Paul Burrell went on to explain that there is no protocol in place for such interviews and he added that the royal family doesn’t look out for newcomers who come into the family. He also made a prediction as to what will happen next.
“The outsiders are the ones who are most vulnerable and that’s what I saw in the interview,” Paul Burrell said of Thomas Markle.
“I thought he was vulnerable. I felt sorry for him and I know what’s going to happen. The world press are on his doorstep and now they want more. What’s next? Is [Meghan’s mother] Doria going to sit here talking about swapping knitting patterns with the Queen?’
In the interview, Thomas Markle talked about the events that led to him missing his daughter’s wedding, detailing heart problems and palpitations that landed him in the hospital ahead of an emergency surgery.
“I absolutely wanted to walk my daughter down the aisle,” Thomas said in the ITV interview. “Meghan said ‘everything is ready for you,’ Harry said ‘I’ve got one of my military friends to take care of you.’ It was all set up…I started getting heart palpitations and I started getting chest pains and I said I have to cancel. And that was because I didn’t take care of the heart problems before.”
Markle, who has yet to meet any of the members of the royal family, revealed that he watched his daughter’s wedding while sequestered in a small room in a California bed and breakfast. Thomas Markle also revealed that Prince Harry asked for his daughter’s hand in marriage over the phone.
“Harry got on the phone with Meghan — they called me together. Harry asked for her hand on the phone and I said, ‘you’re a gentleman. Promise me you’ll never raise your hand against my daughter,'” Thomas revealed.
Thomas Markle was reportedly paid £7,500 (approximately $9,875 in U.S. currency) to dish on his private conversations with Prince Harry and his thoughts on the royal family that his daughter recently married into.
The Daily Mail reports that Kensington Palace officials were not told about Markel’s interview ahead of time and Thomas also confirmed he hadn’t discussed the move with his daughter or son-in-law beforehand. Markle said he hoped the royal family would “understand my feelings as well.”
Thomas Markle was a controversial figure before he accepted cash to chat. Just ahead of his daughter’s wedding, Thomas was caught posing for paid, staged paparazzi photos.
You can see Thomas Markle’s controversial Good Morning Britain interview below.
