Princess Diana’s butler comes out, will be marrying his boyfriend

The British media is reporting that Princess Diana’s former butler Paul Burrell has come out at the age of 57.

Burrell, a father of two who now makes living as a florist in Cheshire, divorced his wife of more than three decades last year.

He is also planning to marry his male partner, lawyer Graham Cooper, in April. The two are said to have been together for almost a decade.

Burrell only recently told his sons, who are both in their twenties, about the relationship.

A spokesperson told The Sun: “I can confirm their forthcoming marriage.”

A former footman for Queen Elizabeth II, Burrell became Diana’s butler in 1987, a position which he held until her death in 1997.

It’s been claimed that the princess was the only person he shared his then hidden sexuality with when he was still under her employ.

“Paul’s friends and family all know but for a long time he kept it a closely guarded secret,” a source told The Sun.

“And for a time, literally nobody knew. He did share it with Diana while he worked with her because they were so close. But at the time she was the only woman he felt he could tell.”

Burrell has, over the years, been accused of abusing his former position to gain some measure or celebrity. He has appeared on a number of reality television shows, and his 2003 memoir A Royal Duty was an international best-seller.

In 2002 he was charged with the theft of some of Diana’s possessions. The matter was dropped, apparently after the Queen intervened.