Few can compete with the level of contempt that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle hold, but former royal butler Paul Burrell might be surpassing the Sussexes on that front. Specifically, the infamous former servant of the British Royal Household has given his recollection of the moments before and after Queen Elizabeth‘s death. One could say that he’s just offering his respects for the late Queen. Yet, considering that the anniversary of her passing was just a few days ago, everyone firmly believes the butler is just cashing in his story on this opportune timing.
Burrell recalled his time at the Palace as a worker having a “personal bond with the Royal Family,” per Daily Mail. From the time he committed his “cardinal sin” of smiling at the Queen to when he was graced with a final meeting with her before her passing, he claims that “Her love never left me until she died.” The former butler continued his account, speaking of how he overheard the Queen responding to her doctor’s prognosis of her approaching death with, “Well, that’s a shame, because next year is my Platinum Jubilee year and I’d quite like to have seen that. Can you keep me alive for that?” Then, once she had died, he told of how Harry was given the cold shoulder upon his late arrival and how Meghan was not welcome to the ceremonies following the funeral.
The former palace employee concluded, speaking about Harry’s obsession with Meghan “made a right royal mess” and a hearty “Long live King William V!” to Prince William. Now, all that Burrell has said sounds fine on paper, but fans of the Royal Family see anything he has to say as just lies and deception for his own gain. “NOT A CHANCE that this snivelling piece of crap knows anything about the queen post Diana dying,” remarks a Reddit user, calling the butler an untrustworthy grifter and a liar. “He is a vulture,” comments another. A third chimed in, saying that “There is no way that any member of staff would be privy to such private information between the late Queen and her doctor.” That said, many consider his memoir about Queen Elizabeth no more than fiction.
Some critics even compared Burrell to the Duke of Sussex. “He’s worse than Harry for telling tales. I’m sure if the Queen knew he was going to give away her bedroom secrets, she’d have kicked him out the door.” Plenty more commenters criticized Burrell for unveiling his story around the same time as the anniversary of the Queen’s death as a means to milk her memories for money. Burrell has had a shady past with the royals, so it’s no surprise that no one is taking his memoir seriously.
