Princess Diana’s sister yesterday (28.01.08) denied claims she had destroyed or hidden explosive letters and tapes to prevent embarrassment to the royal family.
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Lady Sarah McCorquodale claimed she had given Diana’s secret box, which included letters from the princess’ former father-in-law Prince Philip, divorce papers and a ring from ex-lover James Hewitt, to the princess’ former butler Paul Burrell.
However, Burrell has always insisted the contents of the box were taken to the Spencer family home, Althrop, in Northamptonshire, where they are hidden.
Richard Keen QC, counsel for the family of driver Henri Paul, asked Lady Sarah: “You opened Pandora’s Box. Once Pandora’s Box was opened, all the evils of the world came out and you claim that you gave them to the butler; is that right?
“Are you seriously saying that you took all of these sensitive materials with their obvious capacity to embarrass and cause distress and handed them over to the butler?”
Lady Sarah replied: “Yes.”
Lady Sarah, who was an executor of Diana’s estate, confirmed that in March 1998 – six months after the princes died in a Paris crash – she and Burrell found the key to the box hidden inside the cover of a tennis racquet and they went through it together. She claims she then gave the “highly sensitive” contents to Burrell for
“safe-keeping”.
She told the inquest at London’s High Court: “I asked Paul Burrell to take it home, the evening we opened the box, for safe-keeping and he did and that’s the last I ever saw of it despite asking him to give it back to me on several occasions,”
Lady Sarah also told the court she was “100 per cent” sure the Prince Philip letters were not inside but said a sheaf of papers concerning her sister’s divorce were. She added: “I’ve never seen the letters.
“I think I was expecting to find them in her desk and they weren’t there and I’ve no idea where they are now.”
