Princess Diana hated being at Balmoral with the royals — at least according to one former royal butler. Paul Burrell, who used to work for the late Princess of Wales, has opened up about what Diana found stifling about spending her summers in the royal Scottish Estate, and what he had to say is pretty compelling.
“Diana tried to please Charles, so her times at Balmoral were to please him,” Paul told Fashion’s Digest US. “She wanted to fit in, she wanted to be loved, she wanted to be accepted, and that was all part of that acceptance.” But wanting to fit in in that way “cost” Diana, according to Paul, “because the royals, they’re a very difficult lot at times, and they’re all individual personalities, all huge egos, all bouncing around in the same place.”
Paul explained that, despite her best efforts, Diana couldn’t fit into that “archaic world” because she was too much of a “modern woman.” He added that certain royal traditions, such as deer hunting and ‘blooding’, a ritual whereby someone’s face is smeared with the blood of their first kill. According to Paul, Diana “thought that was like something from a Victorian novel.” He said: “Diana considered Balmoral to be stuck in the past, in a world that didn’t exist anymore, and she wasn’t that person. She lived in the real world.”
Paul described the extremely rigid schedule of daily meals and activities at Balmoral, including the strict dress codes people had to abide by as “very, very formal,” especially since the rules hadn’t changed since Queen Victoria’s time. According to the former royal butler, Diana found it all “suffocating” and couldn’t understand why the whole thing was never modernised. He said: “She was suddenly living in a Victorian court, and Diana wanted to live in the real world. She wanted to come down for dinner in jeans. People from this world don’t fit into that world. And that’s why that world will change and is changing.”
And who will spearhead that modernising of the Balmoral world? Diana’s eldest son, of course. Paul continued that William, as the heir apparent and future King, could be a catalyst for change when it comes to these royal traditions, suggesting that he will be “the people’s King”.
Prince William is already being open about his plans to modernise the monarchy. While the current Prince of Wales was in South Africa for the Earthshot Prize last year, he said: “I can only describe what I’m trying to do, and that’s I’m trying to do it differently and I’m trying to do it for my generation. And to give you more of an understanding around it, I’m doing it with maybe a smaller R in the royal, if you like, that’s maybe a better way of saying it.”