Paul Burrell believes the Duchess of Sussex making “some decisions seemingly for personal gain” is what “separates her from” the late Princess of Wales.
The 62-year-old former royal butler insists Princess Diana “agenda was always first and foremost charity work”, while anything commercial “meant nothing” to her, a trait that he believes sets her apart from Duchess Meghan, who is married to Diana’s son Prince Harry.
Speaking to Closer magazine, Paul said: “Diana’s agenda was always first and foremost charity work. When she was part of the royals and married to [Prince] Charles this was her priority, and it remained. When they divorced, she gave her life to to helping others- configuring with her patronages and doing good.
“We’ve seen some decisions from Meghan seemingly made for personal gain. The Netflix, Spotify and Apple deals are all for the couple’s own profile. She put her name as ‘The Duchess of Sussex’ on the book which had led to claims she’d using her royal status for commercial gain.
“That’s what separates her form Diana. Meghan may want to be like her but she’s not going the right way about it. Her priorities seem to be commercial- which meant nothing to Diana.”
Paul previously claimed Diana – who her served for a decade up until her tragic death in 1997 at the age of just 36 – would have backed her son Harry and his wife’s decision to step away from being senior members of the British royal family and relocate to America, but he did not think Meghan’s experience was comparable to Diana’s.
He said: “There are some similarities in that both Meghan and Diana clearly had tension and issues within the royal family – both were strong women who wanted to stand their ground.
“Diana would be proud that Harry and Meghan decided to leave and pave a new way for themselves.
“But that’s where it ends. Meghan has a tiny fraction of what Diana went through. She was in the royal family for 20 months; Diana had it for 16 years!”