Princess Diana’s Former Butler Slams Prince Harry’s Claim About Kate Middleton’s Engagement Ring
Princess Diana’s former butler is taking aim at Prince Harry for denying reports he gave his mother’s ring to Prince William to propose to Kate Middleton. Harry said in his memoir Spare, the ring “wasn’t mine to give.”
Prince Harry said reports about him giving Princess Diana’s engagement ring to his brother weren’t true
In Harry’s book Spare, he said it wasn’t true that he gave his mother’s engagement ring to Prince William so he could propose to Kate Middleton.
According to Paul Burrell, who was Princess Diana’s butler from 1987 until her death in 1997, Harry had his mother’s ring. The former butler was present at Kensington Palace when Harry and William each picked out pieces of Diana’s jewelry following her death. William chose his mother’s Cartier watch and Harry picked her engagement ring.
It had been reported that the brothers swapped the items when William wanted to propose to Kate, but Harry said that was “absolute rubbish.”
“The papers published florid stories about the moment I realized Willy and Kate were well matched, the moment I appreciated the depth of their love and thus decided to gift Willy the ring I’d inherited from Mummy, the legendary sapphire,” Harry wrote in Spare.
“A tender moment between brothers, a bonding moment for all three of us, and absolute rubbish,” he continued. “None of it ever happened. I never gave Willy that ring because it wasn’t mine to give. He already had it. He’d asked for it after Mummy died, and I’d been more than happy to let it go.”
Princess Diana’s butler slams Prince Harry’s claim
In an interview with The Mirror, Burrell said Harry’s claim about the ring wasn’t true because he was there when they picked pieces of Diana’s jewelry to keep. “Harry said to me, ‘I always remember holding mummy’s hand and that ring hurting me because it was so big,’” Burrell recalled.
He continued, “And that’s why, when the boys came to Kensington Palace, I said to them, ‘You must take something of your mother’s, you must take something to remind yourself of your time here at Kensington Palace and your mother’s life.’”
Burrell shared, “So William piped up, ‘I’d like the Cartier tank watch, which Grandpa Spencer gave her for her 21st birthday because I remember mummy wearing that, keeping the time.’”
According to the former butler, “Harry said, ‘Well, can I have mummy’s engagement ring? Because that’s the ring I remember from my childhood.’”
He added, “So the boys went away with two very different prizes from their mother’s life.”’
Butler claims the brothers made a deal so William could propose with the engagement ring
Burrell explained how there must have been a deal between the brothers when William wanted to propose.
“Ironically, of course, when William became engaged to Kate, some deal must have been done behind the scenes because Harry had the ring so Harry obviously gave up his treasure to his brother so that it could be on the ring finger of his wife who would one day be queen,” he explained.
Burrell noted that “William was happy with the arrangement” when the brothers initially picked out their items. “William is not materialistic, so he didn’t look for the flashiest jewel in mummy’s collection. He didn’t.”
Burrell added, “What they chose were the two very simple things really, a ring and a watch. Not fantastic jewels. But they meant something to the boys.”
