Princess Diana’s former butler has married his male partner Graham Cooper.
Paul Burrell splashed out £30,000 on a luxurious Lake District wedding to his boyfriend of 10 years Graham Cooper in front of a congregation of 60 people including Paul’s sons Alex, 32, and Nick, 28.
The pair tied the knot at the Linthwaite Hotel in Bowness, Cumbria in matching tartan, designed by Paul himself. As a reminder of his time serving the late Princess Diana and Queen Elizabeth, he opted to include red for Diana, gold for the Queen and green to remember his time on UK reality show ‘I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here’ in the tartan design.
Paul, 58, also wore cufflinks handed to him by the late royal, who died in a car crash in Paris, France, in 1997.
Previously, Paul – who divorced his ex-wife Maria last year after spending a decade separated from each other – had said that whilst he never explicitly told Princess Diana about his sexuality, he says her "good judge of character" meant she probably already knew.
Asked if Princess Diana knew he was gay, Paul said: "I never had that conversation with her. "I was her best friend. I was a great adviser on what to wear and when to wear it. I did great flower arrangements … it didn’t have to be said.
"I think Diana was a very good judge of character too, the Queen wouldn’t have chosen me to stand beside her for eleven years, and Diana wouldn’t have chosen me for ten years if I wasn’t the right person."
And Paul even believes the 90-year-old monarch probably knew he was gay.
He added: "I think she might’ve [known about my sexuality], I think the Queen is a very astute women and she knows her staff inside out."
Meanwhile, Paul previously admitted it was the Queen who recommended he tie the knot with Maria in 1994, who was working as Prince Philip’s maid at the time.
He said: "Her Majesty took me aside and said, ‘Paul, the institution of marriage is a wonderful thing – have you thought of getting married?’ I said, ‘Well, your Majesty, I have, yes’. She replied ‘Well there are some lovely girls around the Palace. I’m sure you can find one suitable’.
"Some time later I was in Her Majesty’s bedroom and Prince Philip’s maid came in to help me. She helped me pull over a cover and smiled at me and I thought, ‘How sweet, she’s lovely’. That was Maria. We went to Balmoral, very much a party place and somewhere to begin relationships. We got to know each other better and realised we had a great deal in common. I took a picture of her as she was leaving to go back to London. That’s the moment I thought, ‘Yes, she’s the one I’m going to marry’."
Paul Burrell marries Graham Cooper
