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CNN Larry King Live

Interview With Paul, Maria Burrell

Aired January 15, 2003 - 21:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


LARRY KING, CNN HOST: Tonight, exclusive.
We've heard royal secrets from Princess Diana's butler, Paul Burrell, but until now, never from his wife, Maria Burrell, former maid to Prince Phillip. In her first interview ever, Maria Burrell joins her husband, Paul, to talk about living with and working for the royals; their two sons growing up with Prince William and Prince Harry; her and her husband's relationships with Princess Diana; and surviving the tabloid storm of his trial last year. Paul and Maria Burrell for the hour with your calls next on LARRY KING LIVE.

She's not nervous. Don't be worried. Paul Burrell is here and his --when Paul was with us a couple weeks back, we asked him if we could get to invite his wife on. He said he would take care of it and voila, she's here.

PAUL BURRELL, FORMER ROYAL BUTLER: Just for you.

KING: Paul Burrell and Maria Burrell. This is Maria's first ever appearance, first ever interview and she's not nervous at all. Paul's more nervous than her.

Paul, by the way, to refresh your memory, Prince Di's longtime butler and close confidant, referred to him as her rock. Last year ,his trial on charges he had stolen 300 items from Diana's estate collapsed after information provided from the queen exonerated him. Burrell subsequently stirred up some controversy by selling his story to a tabloid.

All right. Maria, what was it like for you when Paul was arrested?

MARIA BURRELL, FORMER ROYAL MAID: It was devastating. It was -- it wasn't real. It was shocking.

KING: You were shocked.

M. BURRELL: Yes. It was terrible.

KING: Go back a little. How did you two meet?

M. BURRELL: We met at Buckingham Palace.

KING: What was your job?

M. BURRELL: I was the duke's maid and you were the queen's footman.

P. BURRELL: I always tell the story that we met over the queen's bed but that's not appropriate to say that, is it?

KING: Now you were the queen's footman.

P. BURRELL: I was.

KING: What does that mean?

P. BURRELL: I looked after everything...

KING: Her feet?

P. BURRELL: No. No. No. Every aspect of her personal life. From walking the corgis to bringing her breakfast.

KING: Her personal concierge.

P. BURRELL: Yes. Everything, yes.

KING: And your job, Maria, was?

M. BURRELL: I was the duke's maid. I just looked after his rooms, turned his bed down, cleaned his bath.

P. BURRELL: And knew all his secrets.

M. BURRELL: Yes.

KING: So you both worked at Buckingham Palace, were both happy there. You liked your job. You liked her job. You met, fell in love, got married.

P. BURRELL: A royal wedding below stairs.

M. BURRELL: Right.

P. BURRELL: Three years after the princess' wedding.

KING: Subsequently had two children?

P. BURRELL: Two children. Two boys. Yes.

KING: How old are they now?

M. BURRELL: Alex is 17 and Nick's 14.

P. BURRELL: Similar ages to Prince William and Prince Harry.

KING: And they know each other, right?

P. BURRELL: Oh, they grew up together.

M. BURRELL: Yes. Yes.

P. BURRELL: Yes.

KING: How did you react, Maria, to Paul's attachment, for want of a better word to Princess Di?

I mean, he lived for Princess Di. His cuff links. She gave him his cuff links. It says D on it, with a crown.

M. BURRELL: Well, I met her before Paul and I got married, so I knew her very well. I built up a relationship, you know, friendship with her.

KING: Liked her?

M. BURRELL: Loved her, yes. She was great. She was funny.

KING: So you're saying you understand Paul's...

M. BURRELL: Yes, and I worked in the household so I knew all the situations that goes on in a household. So it wasn't unnormal for us, really.

P. BURRELL: I think if outside it wouldn't have survived -- our marriage wouldn't have survived if it had been a stranger coming in from the outside.

KING: Because your wife had to understand your attachment to this woman.

P. BURRELL: Yes.

KING: How do you explain it? I mean, in a way, you loved her. You're not in love with her like your wife. But you loved her, didn't you?

P. BURRELL: Yes. True.

M. BURRELL: But I loved her, too.

KING: You both lost her.

P. BURRELL: We both lost her. The family lost her. My boys loved her. She was an aunt -- a surrogate mother to them, too. But, you see, it was part of our world and Maria knew that I'd go to work at 7:00 in the morning and or even earlier and wouldn't come back until midnight. But you knew where I was.

M. BURRELL: Down the road.

P. BURRELL: I was just down the road with my princess.

KING: Did you also know that he was covering for her when she would see other men, that he was involved in that?

P. BURRELL: Yes, you did.

M. BURRELL: I knew about certain things but he never went into detail. I didn't want to know, actually, so -- because it wasn't my business, really.

P. BURRELL: Some of those people had become friends of ours.

M. BURRELL: But I knew -- I knew -- yes. And I knew if, late at night -- if he had to go somewhere, I knew where he was going and why he was going, so...

KING: She had to be very understanding.

P. BURRELL: Yes.

KING: And the only way she's understanding is she had worked at the palace and knew of the relationship, right?

P. BURRELL: Yes. Yes.

KING: Where were you, Maria, when Princess Di died? How did you learn of it?

M. BURRELL: We'd been out to the theater to see "Beauty and the Beast," and we came home. Paul went to bed and I was -- actually, I had got ready for bed and I just got into bed when the phone rang. And it was quite late. And the last time the phone rang like that was when Paul's mother died. So I thought, Oh, no. It's my mother, or something happened.

KING: There's no good phone call late at night.

M. BURRELL: No.

P. BURRELL: No.

KING: So you answered it?

M. BURRELL: So I answered it. And it was Madam Dalima's (ph) -- I don't know whether it was a butler or who it was, asked to speak to Paul.

P. BURRELL: She was desperate to get hold of me.

M. BURRELL: So I come and told him that the phone -- he was wanted on the phone. And I didn't really say much. He said something had happened to the princess. So then Paul went to the phone and I stayed in bed. And then...

P. BURRELL: What I said to you, I have got to go now. I have got to go and I'm going to do my duty.

KING: Did you then know she was dead?

M. BURRELL: No.

P. BURRELL: No, I didn't know until about 3:00 in the morning.

M. BURRELL: We thought she had just broken her arm.

P. BURRELL: They did originally say she had broken her arm.

KING: Oh really? They didn't tell you the whole...

P. BURRELL: No, not until three in the morning.

KING: And you went to France, right?

P. BURRELL: Straightaway, soon as I could get there.

KING: And you understood that.

M. BURRELL: Yes. Yes.

P. BURRELL: I came home, packed a bag and said, You may not see me for some time. This is -- I have to do this.

KING: And then you had quite a role with the rest of it, right? I mean, you played a major part in the...

P. BURRELL: I did behind the scenes, yes, because they all came to me for answers. What was her favorite hymn? What was her favorite flower? What was her -- you know, what should we do next? Who should we invite to the funeral? And I said, Of course, you've got to invite her American friends. You've got to invite Tom Cruise and Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg and those people that she knew. You've got to invite them. Ask them to come across for the funeral, for goodness sakes. Her friends should be in Westminster Abbey. She'd want that.

KING: You got one interesting aspect among many involving you, Maria. You may have been the first royal maid to be pregnant, right?

M. BURRELL: Yes.

(CROSSTALK)

P. BURRELL: She did. Well, the queen changed the rules way back for us.

KING: What do you mean?

P. BURRELL: She changed the rules.

KING: You couldn't be pregnant?

M. BURRELL: No. Normally...

P. BURRELL: You couldn't stay in service.

M. BURRELL: ...normally, if a housemaid was getting married, then they automatically left the palace.

KING: And I understand that Di was very generous with you.

M. BURRELL: She was.

KING: A lot of gifts to you and to Paul, right? M. BURRELL: Yes. She was good.

P. BURRELL: You have a wonderful wardrobe, Versace.

M. BURRELL: It wasn't just gifts. She was -- I mean, when I had Alexander, I was having some trouble -- some gynecolo -- I can't say it. gyne trouble. Yes. And she came around to see me one day in the Royal Muse. That's where we lived. And she said, You look awful, Maria. What's the matter?

I said, Oh, I don't know what it is. I must have bad healing skin or something.

So the next day I had a phone call from her gynecologist and they put me in the hospital straightaway.

P. BURRELL: And within a day it was all sorted. So, he took care of us.

KING: Her doctor treated you?

P. BURRELL: Yes.

KING: We're going to take a break and come back. We'll be including calls for the Burrells. Paul Burrell, the former butler to Princess Di, and his wife, Maria, in her first appearance. And you're doing great.

M. BURRELL: Thank you.

KING: And we'll be right back with more. Don't go away.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: We're back with the Burrells. What was the relationship between your family and Princess Di's family, Maria? The kids and everything.

M. BURRELL: It was a very close relationship. Especially when we lived at Highgrove. When William and Harry were smaller and my boys were smaller they used to come on weekends. They'd come down to our cottage.

KING: Were you on rides together there?

M. BURRELL: Yes.

KING: Are the boys still friendly?

M. BURRELL: Well, they haven't seen the boys since the princess died. Sadly.

P. BURRELL: They've been whipped into another world. But they remember fondly those rides in tea cups and those rides on log flumes.

KING: And the boys got along?

P. BURRELL: There they are in the tea cup with William and Harry.

KING: And how did you, Maria, get along with Prince Charles?

M. BURRELL: The Prince of Wales was really kind to us. I was really sad when we had to move back to London.

KING: You liked him very much. I have never heard a bad thing about him. You liked him, too?

P. BURRELL: I did, yes.

M. BURRELL: He was good to us. He was very kind.

KING: And he's a good father.

P. BURRELL: He is.

KING: Di's ex-lover, James Hewitt was on this program last week, as you may have known. Here first is Di talking about that during her interview with the BBC. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Another book that was published recently concerned a Mr. James Hewitt in which he claimed to have had a very close relationship with you from about 1989, I think. What was the nature of your relationship?

DIANA, PRINCESS OF WALES: He was a great friend of mine at a very difficult time -- yet another difficult time. And he was always there to support me.

And I was absolutely devastated when this book appeared because I trusted him. And because, again, I worried about the reaction of my children. And, yes, there was factual evidence in the book, but a lot of it was -- comes from another world, didn't equate to what happened.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do you mean?

DIANA: Well, there was a lot of fantasy in that book. And it was very distressing for me that a friend of mine, who I had trusted, made money out of me. I really minded about that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: What do you think of James Hewitt?

P. BURRELL: First it's sad to see the princess talking like that, seeing her again, isn't it? Isn't it sad to see her. And know that she was betrayed in her lifetime and hurt by him.

KING: You were part of the betrayal? You were part of one betrayal, betrayal of Charles.

P. BURRELL: Well, you see -- well, what happened with James Hewitt was -- you met James at Highgrove, didn't you? I used to go pick him up from the station, smuggle him in to the back door. You met him. So you knew it was all going on. We facilitated that relationship. We helped it.

KING: You did it for her.

P. BURRELL: For her. I was doing it for her. But he betrayed her. The worst thins anyone could ever do, isn't it, is betray love secrets, your inner most feelings and thoughts.

KING: Did it bother you, Maria, that your husband was covering up something? Was engaged in something that, you know...

M. BURRELL: Not really, because I knew she -- she needed -- she needed someone to love her, really, and to show her.

KING: Prince Charles did not love her? Or stopped loving her.

P. BURRELL: Yes.

KING: In other words you said this was a woman who needed someone to love her. Mr. Hewitt fit that.

M. BURRELL: I also know that when she found out that he had written a book, she was devastated.

P. BURRELL: She told you.

M. BURRELL: She was getting ready to go out one evening and we were at Kensington Palace, and I can see her now. She was -- putting her dress on. I was zipping her dress. She was going to an evening engagement.

She said, I just can't believe that he's written this book. And I said, Oh, don't worry. I said, nobody will buy it. She said, Don't you think so? I said, No. Just to try and make her feel better. But she was. She was absolutely gutted.

P. BURRELL: I shredded it in front of her. I destroyed it because it was such is a betrayal.

KING: What did you make of it when you found out about the letters Di had written to him?

P. BURRELL: That whole thing happened while I was still at Kensington Palace. "The Daily Mirror", Pierce Morgan (UNINTELLIGIBLE) "Daily Mirror" got hold of those letters. Someone tried to sell them to him.

They were returned to Kensington Palace. And James came to Kensington Place to collect them because they were his property. And he came into the office. I can remember him coming in. And he looked at me. His eyes were full of tears. He said, Paul, you know that I would never sell those letters. You know that I would never betray the princess. He said that to me. Stood there in front of me.

So what's the truth? I mean, he told you that he would sell the letters. He's changed his mind. He obviously needs money. It's all about money.

KING: What do you think about that?

P. BURRELL: You know, some people do some desperate things when they need money. I have been accused of it because I had -- I told my story.

KING: What did you think when he told his story for money?

M. BURRELL: He hasn't told a story.

P. BURRELL: That's it. I haven't told my story.

KING: So you made money lying to...

P. BURRELL: No. I haven't told the whole story. I only told what I thought was appropriate to tell at that time because it was connected to my trial.

KING: Do you intend to tell the whole story some day?

P. BURRELL: Well, if James Hewitt can say that his letters were historical document, I think my life story is probably a historical document.

KING: Would you then be doing the same thing you're criticizing him of doing?

P. BURRELL: I would be, wouldn't I, if I told the inner most secrets.

KING: Which you will not do?

P. BURRELL: No. I will never betray the princess. People have accused me of doing that. But I will never betray the trust she had in me.

KING: She had problems inside her own family with the Spencers, didn't she?

P. BURRELL: Yes.

KING: That wasn't the happy...

M. BURRELL: Please don't ask me about the Spencers, Larry. I'll get really cross.

P. BURRELL: You can tell -- you can tell Larry.

(CROSSTALK)

KING: I love when people get cross. What about the Spencers don't you like? Oh, Maria, come on.

M. BURRELL: No. I just think it's very sad that people can sit in a courtroom and tell lies and think because they're title people, that they can get away with it. I just wanted to get on an orange box and shout to everybody, You're telling lies.

KING: At Paul's trial.

M. BURRELL: Yes. And it was so frustrating to think the people...

KING: What's the lie they told?

P. BURRELL: They forget. They forget the truth.

M. BURRELL: They told lots of thins that weren't true.

P. BURRELL: For instance, they forgot how close I was to the princess. They forgot how I helped them during that painful time.

For instance, Lady Sarah (UNINTELLIGIBLE) said in court that she didn't give me a pair of heart-shaped cuff links which were hanging in a blouse in the princess' wardrobe just after she died.

Well, they were busy raiding her apartment at that time and she took out these heart-shaped cuff links from a blouse and squeezed them into my hand...

KING: Those are the ones you're wearing.

P. BURRELL: No, these are the ones the princess gave me. But they are special to me as well because they're hearts. She was the Queen of Hearts.

KING: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)

P. BURRELL: I can't take this off, can I?

KING: There are no rules.

P. BURRELL: No, no rules. It's going to be hard for you to...

KING: If you can't take it off, let's get a shot of it. It's a really nice cufflink that Princess Di gave him. Can we get this shot of that?

P. BURRELL: There you go.

KING: Turn it a little that way. It's got a "D" on it and a crown.

P. BURRELL: And I think there are very few people that have something like that. KING: I would say. We'll take a break and we'll be back with more. In a little while we'll be taking your phone calls. Don't go away.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ladies and gentlemen, keep moving back, please.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: We're back with Paul and Maria Burrell. What does in service mean? That is a term that you use, right?

P. BURRELL: Royal service. Working below stairs.

KING: Upstairs, down stairs.

(CROSSTALK)

P. BURRELL: It is upstairs down stairs. Clear division.

M. BURRELL: You heard that in "My Lady's Chamber" that nursery rhyme.

KING: Yes, that's where it comes from.

P. BURRELL: Right.

KING: Did Diana's demands on Paul's time at all bother you? Because she was a demanding lady.

M. BURRELL: Yes, she was.

KING: She had great needs.

M. BURRELL: When she made that statement -- when she did that to BBC interview, and she said that there were three people in her marriage, there were three people in my marriage as well. There was me, him and the princess.

KING: Her? You had to live with that?

P. BURRELL: Yes.

KING: Do you accept the fact that Paul loved Di.

P. BURRELL: Yes. But he didn't -- he loved her like he'd love his sister. And I loved her like I'd love one of my best friends. You know...

KING: When the tabloids were really going at you, when one of them printed that you had gay liaisons, how did you react?

P. BURRELL: Well, it's very destructive. We had to sit down as a family and talk about our private lives.

KING: What did they say? That you had met men?

P. BURRELL: Yes. There's a certain -- certain British presenter whose name we are not going to mention, and said that I had an affair with him, which was totally untrue.

KING: He lied about an affair?

P. BURRELL: Total lies. Total lies.

KING: He's openly gay?

P. BURRELL: He said I had an affair. I had taken rings off the princess' dead body and showed them to him. He went into great detail in a Sunday tabloid.

KING: Why didn't you sue him?

P. BURRELL: Because that would make it worse, Larry, wouldn't it?

KING: No.

P. BURRELL: It would drag his name again into the spot and have to go through a court...

KING: It would be an absurd liar if you would sue him and win.

P. BURRELL: I hadn't got the stomach for it.

KING: How did you feel?

M. BURRELL: I was mad. And I felt hurt. I felt hurt.

P. BURRELL: I think we should go around his house and have a word with him.

M. BURRELL: I have got broad shoulders, but it's my boys. And they've been through enough the last two years without having to read awful things written about their dad. And I talked to them and they...

P. BURRELL: We all sat around the table.

M. BURRELL: We said dad's dad and we don't care what people say about him. We know who he is, so don't worry about it, Mom.

KING: How did you feel?

P. BURRELL: Well, I was devastated having to -- can you imagine, Larry, sitting around the table with your two young boys and your wife having to discuss things which, you know, you shouldn't have to discuss in your life. I mean, suddenly someone unzipped me and let everything out. And added more. You think to yourself, where does it end? Is all your life -- am I fair game for everybody now? KING: Your wife had to be pretty strong.

P BURRELL: Well, she is strong.

M. BURRELL: My boys are strong. I am very proud of them. They're good boys.

P. BURRELL: We're a strong family. We care.

KING: Have you had any contact with royals since this?

P. BURRELL: I have had some contact with some members of the family, yes.

KING: And they have been supportive?

P. BURRELL: Yes. I have had many messages sent to me.

KING: Were you surprised when the queen revealed that he was right and they were wrong and the trial was dismissed?

M. BURRELL: Yes, I was. I was pleased, but I just wish she had done it a bit earlier.

P. BURRELL: If that had taken place at the Prince of Wales, I had come to see him that morning the police had seen him. He saw the police. Then this whole thing would never have happened.

KING: What are you doing now, Paul?

P. BURRELL: I'm trying to get by and trying to sort of live life.

KING: You're not working any where.

P. BURRELL: You know, I always said when the queen pinned that medal on my chest, she should have been pinning it on Maria's chest, because she deserved it more than I did.

KING: You're still raising a family? You are not working are you?

M. BURRELL: I work at my flower shop.

KING: That's right, the both of you have a flow shop.

P. BURRELL: Yes. It's up and running again since it was burned down.

KING: Where is it? We'll give it a plug.

P. BURRELL: It's in North Wales.

M. BURRELL: Just on the border.

KING: What's the name of it? P. BURRELL: Paul Burrell flowers -- and gifts

M. BURRELL: And gifts.

KING: You're there manning the counter?

P. BURRELL: Yes.

M. BURRELL: This is quite a family affair. It's a love.

KING: Everybody chips in.

M. BURRELL: Yes. My friends and family.

KING: When we come back we'll take your phone calls for the Burrell. Paul Burrell long-time butler to Princess Di and Maria Burrell his wife, they met in the palace. This is her first ever television appearance. We'll include your phone calls.

Tomorrow night Dr. Laura. Her first appearance, to talk about the passing of her mother.

On Friday night, from Iraq with Dan Rather.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you think you will ever be queen?

DIANA: No, I don't. No.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why do you think that?

DIANA: I'd like to be a queen of people's hearts and people's hearts, but I don't see myself being queen of this country.

I don't think many people would want me to be queen actually. When I say many people, I mean the establishment that I married into, because they've decided that I'm a nonstarter.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: We're back with Paul Burrell, his wife Maria Burrell. We're going to go to your phone calls.

Portland, Oregon, hello.

CALLER: Yes, thank you, Larry. When I was in England in December there was an article in the newspaper about a baby being buried at Kensington Park by the butlers. I was wondering if Paul could elaborate on that.

KING: Paul? P. BURRELL: Well, there was -- there was an incident when that did happen. This was -- it was run by a newspaper in England. It happened to a personal friend of mine and the princess'. It was a very sad, solemn ceremony and very private one. I really...

KING: A lady worked there, lost her child.

P. BURRELL: One of the princess' friends lost a child. I don't really want to talk about it, Larry, because it is such a special and private thing, to lose a child.

KING: Canton, Ohio, hello. Canton, Ohio, hello. They told me line -- are you there, Canton.

CALLER: Yes, I'm right here.

KING: OK, you must speak up.

CALLER: OK. I would -- oh, you got it?

KING: Go ahead.

CALLER: All right. What was your reaction when you learned about Diana's secret correspondence with Andrew Morton for the writing of the book "Diana: Her True Story"? What did you know about it?

P. BURRELL: Well, I knew about it. I was there and I knew it was happening. I helped the princess to have a voice. And that's the only time that she could ever sort of say how she fell and thought. It didn't shock me because I was aware of the whole situation.

KING: Vienna, Austria, hello.

CALLER: Yes, hello. My question was, there seem to be (UNINTELLIGIBLE) that the queen didn't respond quick enough to Diana's death. And I was wondering if Paul could comment the relationship between the queen and Diana.

KING: I'd like both of you to comment on that. Paul.

P. BURRELL: Yes, well, the princess had a very close relationship with the queen. They corresponded regularly.

M. BURRELL: And they respected each other.

P. BURRELL: Absolutely. The princess...

KING: But the queen was slow to comment, was she not?

P. BURRELL: Yes, she was. But it was unprecedented. Something like that had never happened before, had it, in royal times. So queen was -- advised badly.

KING: Very.

P. BURRELL: I told you before that she relies on advice from the people around her and they don't always give the best advice.

KING: Augusta, Georgia, hello.

CALLER: Paul, Maria, I want to commend to for your loyalty. And to wish you success in the future.

My question is this, do you think Ken Wart, in his book "Diana's Detective" the book closely guarded secrets, do you think he betrayed her?

M. BURRELL: To be honest, I have not read it.

P. BURRELL: And neither have I.

M. BURRELL: So I don't really know...

KING: Is this Book out and about? I never heard of it.

CALLER: It's been out within the last year.

P. BURRELL: I don't think it sold that well. I can't really comment.

M. BURRELL: I haven't read it.

P. BURRELL: Someone told me my name isn't in it at all. I find that bizarre. I was there for most of the princess' life at Kensington Palace.

KING: Some question the monarchy when we read a story that Prince Charles has a valet.

P. BURRELL: Yes.

KING: Who squeezes out his toothpaste.

P. BURRELL: Yes.

KING: If you need somebody to squeeze -- you may be a great guy, but if you need somebody to squeeze out your toothpaste...

P. BURRELL: Obviously don't have time to do it.

KING: ... you're not living in a real world. Are you?

P. BURRELL: I don't think the royal family do live in a real world. They live in a different world.

M. BURRELL: What it is, Larry. Somebody bought the prince a special little silver -- you know like you open a tin of...

(CROSSTALK)

M. BURRELL: And you put it at the bottom of the toothpaste and you screw it up. So you're not wasting the toothpaste.

KING: Correct. So why do you need someone to do that?

P. BURRELL: They just -- a valet does everything he possibly can to save his master time.

KING: A valet likes this job?

P. BURRELL: I think the valet does like the job, yes. He's indispensable.

KING: Lewisburg, West Virginia, hello.

CALLER: Yes, hello. My question is, I was wondering what the relationship between Prince Charles and Princess Diana was at the time of her death. Were they friends or was there still animosity between them?

P. BURRELL: Do you want to answer that?

KING: Do you want to answer, Maria?

M. BURRELL: No.

P. BURRELL: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Well, I'll answer it.

M. BURRELL: I wasn't around anyway.

P. BURRELL: No, you weren't there. There was friction between the prince and princess.

KING: Over?

P. BURRELL: Over mainly the boys. The princess adored her boys, adored the children, wanted to see more of them. They were split between the two...

KING: They had like joint custody.

P. BURRELL: Joint custody. And of course, always a lovely lady there, the Justice of Kent. What a wonderful lady she is. And she gave us great support throughout the trial.

KING: Boca Raton, Florida, hello.

CALLER: Good evening, Paul, Maria, Larry. I would like to ask a question to Paul. From all your years of such loyalty and closeness to the royal family, how did you feel when, during your trial, the queen had forgotten, in inverted commas, the conversation you had with her during which you had told her how many keepsakes you had which were given to you for safe keeping by the princess?

P. BURRELL: As I said before I had nothing but tremendous admiration for the queen. She is the queen and she is what makes Britain great. I felt personally that that conversation I had with the queen was private, between me and her and I have not going to reveal the contents to anyone. What was important was the fact that the Prince of Wales knew more than the queen did but he left his mother to sort out the mess and perhaps he should have sorted it and not let his mother carry the can.

KING: Busying world the royals is.

P. BURRELL: It is. But look at the queen. She's incredible.

KING: Los Angeles, hello.

CALLER: Hi. Terry here. Terry Samson. I'm visiting from the U.K. I just wanted to ask Paul and Maria, what do you miss most of all since Diana passed away?

KING: Good question. What do you miss, Maria? What do you miss do you miss about working (UNINTELLIGIBLE)?

M. BURRELL: I miss her giggle.

P. BURRELL: I miss...

KING: Her giggle?

M. BURRELL: Yes. She had a fantastic giggle came right from here.

KING: From the gut.

M. BURRELL: Yes.

P. BURRELL: And I miss the closeness. I miss the everyday relationship. I miss the looking after someone so intensely. That's what I do well.

KING: Do you enjoy being a servant, Maria?

M. BURRELL: Yes, I did actually...

P. BURRELL: That's a bad word, a servant.

M. BURRELL: No it isn't. That's true. That's the word.

P. BURRELL: No it's not. The queen was asked if she -- how many servants she had. She said I don't have servants, I have members of staff. Servants died with Queen Victoria.

M. BURRELL: But it wasn't like...

P. BURRELL: It wasn't servitude existence.

KING: What did you make?

M. BURRELL: Money? I can't remember now.

P. BURRELL: I think you were around 500 pounds a year. M. BURRELL: I used to get a clothing allowance.

P. BURRELL: Yes, and I was on 900 pounds a year so I was (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

KING: Did you get tipped?

M. BURRELL: No.

P. BURRELL: Oh. We got -- we got very nice gifts from...

M. BURRELL: Yes, when we were at Buckingham -- I got a nice watch from King Khalid from Saudi Arabia.

P. BURRELL: And I got a very nice belt buckle from President Reagan.

KING: Really?

P. BURRELL: Yes.

KING: You attended to him?

P. BURRELL: I looked after him and Mrs. Reagan when they came to Windsor Castle on their state visit. They were fascinating. Absolutely fascinating. He gave me a nice belt buckle that I wear with my denims and my cowboy boots.

KING: Jeans. Cowboy (UNINTELLIGIBLE). The things you learn.

We'll be right back with more calls for the Burrells. Don't go away. ?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: We're back with the Burrells and we go to Buckley, Washington, hello.

CALLER: Good evening. Actually, I was reading -- we've read so much about Princess Diana and everything that she had gone through. I am serious as to what was her rock bottom? Was it her bulimia or was it the divorce? What was it?

KING: What made her hit rock bottom, Paul?

P. BURRELL: There was so many. There wasn't one particular thing. Yes, bulimia, anorexia, having her title stripped away from her, the divorce because she didn't want to be divorced. She did not want a divorce. Separation...

KING: Even though she wasn't in love.

P. BURRELL: A separation, fine. She wanted the family unit to stay together. So that her husband -- very like the Yorks now. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) York. They stick together as a family and bring up their children very nicely, those two daughters of theirs.

KING: They are divorced.

P. BURRELL: They are divorced, but they still have a great sort of influence...

M. BURRELL: Relationship.

P. BURRELL: ... and relationship with their family. That's what the princess wanted. She didn't want this division. She wanted a family unit. That's all she ever wanted.

KING: Bulimia, what did she do? Throw up her food?

P. BURRELL: Yes. Yes. And you knew that. And anorexia. She suffered...

KING: You knew it, Maria?

P. BURRELL: She suffered badly with lots of things. That was just a reaction to the way people were treating her.

KING: Ashland, Massachusetts, hello.

CALLER: Oh, hi, Larry. Hi, Paul and Maria.

KING: Hi.

M. BURRELL: Hi.

CALLER: I have two questions. Hi.

I just want to know, Do you still keep in touch with Prince William and Prince Harry? And I also want to know, When you said you sneaking Mr. Hewitt through the backdoor, where was Prince Charles at the time?

KING: You don't keep in touch with Harry, right?

M. BURRELL: No.

P. BURRELL: Actually, we wish we did have some more contact with them because they're wonderful boys.

KING: Well, are they kept away from you? I mean...

M. BURRELL: No, they're not.

P. BURRELL: No, I think they probably are.

M. BURRELL: They... P. BURRELL: They live in a different world.

M. BURRELL: They're...

P. BURRELL: William is at university. Harry's at school and they have their own life. It's difficult for them to come back into our world.

KING: And where was Prince Charles when you were sneaking...

P. BURRELL: Well, obviously he wasn't there, was he? He may have been elsewhere.

KING: Ever come close?

P. BURRELL: No.

KING: No hair-raising, of a guy coming through the door, one running out the backdoor?

P. BURRELL: No, I don't think so. No. No, that would be very unprofessional, wouldn't it?

KING: When you would get them into the palace and they would go into a private room with her, you would lock the door?

P. BURRELL: No. No, because the palace is secure.

KING: Did you stand outside the door?

P. BURRELL: I was always available, Larry, just at the end of a bell or a telephone or whatever.

KING: Detroit, hello.

CALLER: Oh, hi.

KING: Hi.

CALLER: Hi, Larry...

KING: Hi.

CALLER: And hi Paul...

P. BURRELL: Hi.

CALLER: And Maria.

M. BURRELL: Hi.

CALLER: I was just wondering if Diana, before she died, conquered her eating disorder or was it a time before that?

KING: Paul?

P. BURRELL: Yes. I don't think that ever left her.

KING: Even though she was with Fayed and said she was very happy and....

P. BURRELL: I think when you suffer from a disease like that, it comes back. It reoccurs whenever there's a drama in your life or a sadness or something dramatic happens.

KING: Did she -- what did she think she was fat?

P. BURRELL: All the time. She always thought she was fat. She was perfect.

M. BURRELL: Perfect.

KING: But she thought she was fat.

P. BURRELL: Yes, she never looked so good. I mean, towards the end of her life she looked absolutely fantastic. But the last time I saw her going down the staircase, I said to her, You've never looked so good. She was toned. She trained. She was at the gym. She was eating well. And she was at her prime.

KING: Sarasota, Florida, hello.

CALLER: Hello. This is a question for Paul. Does he think that Prince Charles ever loved Lady Diana or was it just a case of looking to -- for him to give him an heir to the throne?

P. BURRELL: No.

KING: Good question.

P. BURRELL: No. He loved her. Yes, he loved her in his way. And he gave her two beautiful boys. And that's what marriage brings.

KING: Do you believe that, Maria?

M. BURRELL: Yes, I do, actually. Yes.

KING: Victoria, British Columbia, hello.

CALLER: Good evening. I would like to say it's amazing to see how you honor Diana in life and in obviously death. And I was just wondering if Paul has any intentions of writing any kind of tribute or memoir regarding the princess so that the public has a positive literary document to recount her life.

KING: You could do that good work. That would be a good book.

P. BURRELL: Well, the last time I was here, Larry, you said I should do that book.

KING: Absolutely. You should do it.

P. BURRELL: And it has been very much in my thoughts recently. KING: There's enormous interest in her and who knows more about her? Now they're going to want salacious material, the publisher.

P. BURRELL: Of course they do, but tat's not my line. Have I ever said anything which is wrong or bad about the princess?

M. BURRELL: I wouldn't let him anyway.

KING: Bainbridge, Georgia, hello.

CALLER: Hi, Larry.

KING: Hi.

CALLER: This question is for Paul. It's actually a two-part question. The first question, I wanted to know if he foresaw any problems with the relationship with Dodi Fayed and if he maybe tried to talk the princess out of that?

And the second part is, kind of what you were just mentioning about the book. I'd like to know what was the princess' favorite movie and her food and what was her favorite perfume?

P. BURRELL: I knew you were going to say that. I was just waiting for that because we were discussing that tonight, perfume.

KING: What about Fayed?

P. BURRELL: There were no plans for marriage. She was not going to get married.

KING: She had obviously cared for him, though.

P. BURRELL: Yes, he cared for her. He looked after her.

KING: What was her favorite food?

P. BURRELL: She loved a trout. A freshly caught trout grilled with almonds.

KING: What was her perfume?

M. BURRELL: Hermes. She liked it.

KING: Hermes.

P. BURRELL: Hermes Fauburgh (ph) 24.

KING: Hermes Fauburgh (ph) 24.

P. BURRELL: Do you know that, Larry?

KING: No, 23 I know.

We'll be back with our remaining moments -- 23 is good. Twenty- two a little fruity. I don't mean -- never mind. We'll be back with the remaining moments. Don't go away.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DIANA: It was a symptom of what was going on in my marriage. I was crying out for help, but giving the wrong signals. And people were using my bulimia as a coat on a hanger. They decided that was the problem. Diana was unstable.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Instead of looking behind the symptom at the cause. What was the cause?

DIANA: Cause was a situation where my husband and I had to keep everything together because we didn't want to disappoint the public. And yet, obviously, there was a lot of anxiety going on within our four walls.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You mean between the two of you?

DIANA: Mmm-hmm.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: We're back with Paul Burrell and Maria Burrell.

And we go to Georgetown, Ontario. Hello.

CALLER: Hi, Larry. I have a question for Paul.

KING: Sure.

CALLER: When Diana was on the boat with Dodi (ph) just before she died, she told reporters that just wait in two weeks, I have news I'm going to tell you. Or it was like something was going to come out in two weeks. I always wondered what that was. She made it sound like there was a big secret or something.

P. BURRELL: There wasn't. No, there wasn't really. It was just she was having a game. She was playing with the reporters who were surrounding the boat.

KING: No announcement.

P. BURRELL: No announcement coming.

KING: Everyone presumed it was marriage announcement.

P. BURRELL: No, no.

KING: Did she like doing things like that?

P. BURRELL: She had the power to do that and she did. And it was -- I remember it was Camilla's (ph) birthday. She appeared on deck wearing a beautiful leopard skin swimsuit. Of course, she knew full well that her picture would take the front page of every tabloid in the country and not someone else. It's very clever.

KING: You've read those tabloids all your life, haven't you, Maria? Growing up, you read the tabloids in London.

P. BURRELL: We stopped reading them now.

KING: What was it like to be the subject of them?

M. BURRELL: I don't like the press, Larry, at all. I am paranoid about them.

KING: Really?

M. BURRELL: Yes.

KING: Paranoid?

M. BURRELL: Yes, really am.

KING: You afraid to look at the newspaper.

M. BURRELL: I don't -- we don't buy newspapers in our house.

P. BURRELL: No, we're told what's in them.

M. BURRELL: If someone says there's something in the newspaper, I just don't read them.

KING: Garden City, Michigan.

CALLER: Hello. Hi, Larry, hi Paul, hi Maria. I wanted to ask that -- sorry. Diana's pictures I read in a tabloid that they stole some of her stuff. I want to know if that's true. I love the royal family a lot.

P. BURRELL: Right. Is this true? This came out in my trial, that Spencer family did actually visit Kensington Palace one night and load up their cars with clothes and items from the palace. And drive away with them. But one of sisters couldn't remember doing that. And the other sister came to court and could remember doing that. Actually what she did say, she said that yes, we did, several times.

KING: Showlow, Arizona, hello.

CALLER: Hi, Larry. You have a beautiful wife, beautiful children.

KING: Thank you.

CALLER: Going on to Paul. Paul, you have known her so well. We read somewhere in tabloids that after Princess Di had had William up and Harry that she had a miscarriage. Is that true? And do you know anything about that?

P. BURRELL: No, that's not true.

KING: Not true?

P. BURRELL: No. Not true.

KING: Tampa, hello.

CALLER: Hi. This is...

KING: Go ahead.

CALLER: Hi. My name is (UNINTELLIGIBLE). I'm from Tampa, Florida.

KING: Go ahead.

CALLER: Hi. Yes, my question was this, of all the other members of the royal family besides the princess and of course Prince Phillip, who are some of the nicest and most interesting ones to work around and work for?

KING: Good question.

P. BURRELL: That's good. That's a good question.

KING: Who do you like?

P. BURRELL: Duchess of York, Fergie.

KING: Fergie.

P. BURRELL: Yes, she's a star. She's a winner.

KING: Who do you like?

P. BURRELL: Duchess of Kent.

M. BURRELL: I like the duchess of Kent.

P. BURRELL: She's a Christian lady.

M. BURRELL: I used to work part time for the duchess of (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

P. BURRELL: You wouldn't know who she was if she walked in this studio.

M. BURRELL: Yes, she does.

KING: What's her name?

M. BURRELL: She is married -- she's...

P. BURRELL: Vergeta (ph)

(CROSSTALK)

P. BURRELL: There are so many of them, Larry. KING: Duchesses.

P. BURRELL: Kensington Palace is full of them.

M. BURRELL: No. She's got -- she's well up in the royal family.

P. BURRELL: Well, she is.

KING: Next time you're on, we'll talk about what's it like just hanging around the palace.

What do they do for laughs? Thank you, Maria. You were wonderful.

(CROSSTALK)

P. BURRELL: Say hello to the boys. They're home watching.

KING: Yes, your sons are watching. What are their names?

P. BURRELL: Nick and Alex. They're in (UNINTELLIGIBLE) watching this live.

KING: Nick and Alex, you may now go to bed.

We'll be back in a minute to tell you about tomorrow night on LARRY KING LIVE.

Don't go away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: Tomorrow night Dr. Laura will make her first appearance since the death of her mother. To talk about that and other things and take you phone calls.

Friday Night Dan Rather in Iraq, will be with us. We'll tape it Friday morning and play it for you Friday night.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired January 15, 2003 - 21:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LARRY KING, CNN HOST: Tonight, exclusive.
We've heard royal secrets from Princess Diana's butler, Paul Burrell, but until now, never from his wife, Maria Burrell, former maid to Prince Phillip. In her first interview ever, Maria Burrell joins her husband, Paul, to talk about living with and working for the royals; their two sons growing up with Prince William and Prince Harry; her and her husband's relationships with Princess Diana; and surviving the tabloid storm of his trial last year. Paul and Maria Burrell for the hour with your calls next on LARRY KING LIVE.

She's not nervous. Don't be worried. Paul Burrell is here and his --when Paul was with us a couple weeks back, we asked him if we could get to invite his wife on. He said he would take care of it and voila, she's here.

PAUL BURRELL, FORMER ROYAL BUTLER: Just for you.

KING: Paul Burrell and Maria Burrell. This is Maria's first ever appearance, first ever interview and she's not nervous at all. Paul's more nervous than her.

Paul, by the way, to refresh your memory, Prince Di's longtime butler and close confidant, referred to him as her rock. Last year ,his trial on charges he had stolen 300 items from Diana's estate collapsed after information provided from the queen exonerated him. Burrell subsequently stirred up some controversy by selling his story to a tabloid.

All right. Maria, what was it like for you when Paul was arrested?

MARIA BURRELL, FORMER ROYAL MAID: It was devastating. It was -- it wasn't real. It was shocking.

KING: You were shocked.

M. BURRELL: Yes. It was terrible.

KING: Go back a little. How did you two meet?

M. BURRELL: We met at Buckingham Palace.

KING: What was your job?

M. BURRELL: I was the duke's maid and you were the queen's footman.

P. BURRELL: I always tell the story that we met over the queen's bed but that's not appropriate to say that, is it?

KING: Now you were the queen's footman.

P. BURRELL: I was.

KING: What does that mean?

P. BURRELL: I looked after everything...

KING: Her feet?

P. BURRELL: No. No. No. Every aspect of her personal life. From walking the corgis to bringing her breakfast.

KING: Her personal concierge.

P. BURRELL: Yes. Everything, yes.

KING: And your job, Maria, was?

M. BURRELL: I was the duke's maid. I just looked after his rooms, turned his bed down, cleaned his bath.

P. BURRELL: And knew all his secrets.

M. BURRELL: Yes.

KING: So you both worked at Buckingham Palace, were both happy there. You liked your job. You liked her job. You met, fell in love, got married.

P. BURRELL: A royal wedding below stairs.

M. BURRELL: Right.

P. BURRELL: Three years after the princess' wedding.

KING: Subsequently had two children?

P. BURRELL: Two children. Two boys. Yes.

KING: How old are they now?

M. BURRELL: Alex is 17 and Nick's 14.

P. BURRELL: Similar ages to Prince William and Prince Harry.

KING: And they know each other, right?

P. BURRELL: Oh, they grew up together.

M. BURRELL: Yes. Yes.

P. BURRELL: Yes.

KING: How did you react, Maria, to Paul's attachment, for want of a better word to Princess Di?

I mean, he lived for Princess Di. His cuff links. She gave him his cuff links. It says D on it, with a crown.

M. BURRELL: Well, I met her before Paul and I got married, so I knew her very well. I built up a relationship, you know, friendship with her.

KING: Liked her?

M. BURRELL: Loved her, yes. She was great. She was funny.

KING: So you're saying you understand Paul's...

M. BURRELL: Yes, and I worked in the household so I knew all the situations that goes on in a household. So it wasn't unnormal for us, really.

P. BURRELL: I think if outside it wouldn't have survived -- our marriage wouldn't have survived if it had been a stranger coming in from the outside.

KING: Because your wife had to understand your attachment to this woman.

P. BURRELL: Yes.

KING: How do you explain it? I mean, in a way, you loved her. You're not in love with her like your wife. But you loved her, didn't you?

P. BURRELL: Yes. True.

M. BURRELL: But I loved her, too.

KING: You both lost her.

P. BURRELL: We both lost her. The family lost her. My boys loved her. She was an aunt -- a surrogate mother to them, too. But, you see, it was part of our world and Maria knew that I'd go to work at 7:00 in the morning and or even earlier and wouldn't come back until midnight. But you knew where I was.

M. BURRELL: Down the road.

P. BURRELL: I was just down the road with my princess.

KING: Did you also know that he was covering for her when she would see other men, that he was involved in that?

P. BURRELL: Yes, you did.

M. BURRELL: I knew about certain things but he never went into detail. I didn't want to know, actually, so -- because it wasn't my business, really.

P. BURRELL: Some of those people had become friends of ours.

M. BURRELL: But I knew -- I knew -- yes. And I knew if, late at night -- if he had to go somewhere, I knew where he was going and why he was going, so...

KING: She had to be very understanding.

P. BURRELL: Yes.

KING: And the only way she's understanding is she had worked at the palace and knew of the relationship, right?

P. BURRELL: Yes. Yes.

KING: Where were you, Maria, when Princess Di died? How did you learn of it?

M. BURRELL: We'd been out to the theater to see "Beauty and the Beast," and we came home. Paul went to bed and I was -- actually, I had got ready for bed and I just got into bed when the phone rang. And it was quite late. And the last time the phone rang like that was when Paul's mother died. So I thought, Oh, no. It's my mother, or something happened.

KING: There's no good phone call late at night.

M. BURRELL: No.

P. BURRELL: No.

KING: So you answered it?

M. BURRELL: So I answered it. And it was Madam Dalima's (ph) -- I don't know whether it was a butler or who it was, asked to speak to Paul.

P. BURRELL: She was desperate to get hold of me.

M. BURRELL: So I come and told him that the phone -- he was wanted on the phone. And I didn't really say much. He said something had happened to the princess. So then Paul went to the phone and I stayed in bed. And then...

P. BURRELL: What I said to you, I have got to go now. I have got to go and I'm going to do my duty.

KING: Did you then know she was dead?

M. BURRELL: No.

P. BURRELL: No, I didn't know until about 3:00 in the morning.

M. BURRELL: We thought she had just broken her arm.

P. BURRELL: They did originally say she had broken her arm.

KING: Oh really? They didn't tell you the whole...

P. BURRELL: No, not until three in the morning.

KING: And you went to France, right?

P. BURRELL: Straightaway, soon as I could get there.

KING: And you understood that.

M. BURRELL: Yes. Yes.

P. BURRELL: I came home, packed a bag and said, You may not see me for some time. This is -- I have to do this.

KING: And then you had quite a role with the rest of it, right? I mean, you played a major part in the...

P. BURRELL: I did behind the scenes, yes, because they all came to me for answers. What was her favorite hymn? What was her favorite flower? What was her -- you know, what should we do next? Who should we invite to the funeral? And I said, Of course, you've got to invite her American friends. You've got to invite Tom Cruise and Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg and those people that she knew. You've got to invite them. Ask them to come across for the funeral, for goodness sakes. Her friends should be in Westminster Abbey. She'd want that.

KING: You got one interesting aspect among many involving you, Maria. You may have been the first royal maid to be pregnant, right?

M. BURRELL: Yes.

(CROSSTALK)

P. BURRELL: She did. Well, the queen changed the rules way back for us.

KING: What do you mean?

P. BURRELL: She changed the rules.

KING: You couldn't be pregnant?

M. BURRELL: No. Normally...

P. BURRELL: You couldn't stay in service.

M. BURRELL: ...normally, if a housemaid was getting married, then they automatically left the palace.

KING: And I understand that Di was very generous with you.

M. BURRELL: She was.

KING: A lot of gifts to you and to Paul, right? M. BURRELL: Yes. She was good.

P. BURRELL: You have a wonderful wardrobe, Versace.

M. BURRELL: It wasn't just gifts. She was -- I mean, when I had Alexander, I was having some trouble -- some gynecolo -- I can't say it. gyne trouble. Yes. And she came around to see me one day in the Royal Muse. That's where we lived. And she said, You look awful, Maria. What's the matter?

I said, Oh, I don't know what it is. I must have bad healing skin or something.

So the next day I had a phone call from her gynecologist and they put me in the hospital straightaway.

P. BURRELL: And within a day it was all sorted. So, he took care of us.

KING: Her doctor treated you?

P. BURRELL: Yes.

KING: We're going to take a break and come back. We'll be including calls for the Burrells. Paul Burrell, the former butler to Princess Di, and his wife, Maria, in her first appearance. And you're doing great.

M. BURRELL: Thank you.

KING: And we'll be right back with more. Don't go away.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: We're back with the Burrells. What was the relationship between your family and Princess Di's family, Maria? The kids and everything.

M. BURRELL: It was a very close relationship. Especially when we lived at Highgrove. When William and Harry were smaller and my boys were smaller they used to come on weekends. They'd come down to our cottage.

KING: Were you on rides together there?

M. BURRELL: Yes.

KING: Are the boys still friendly?

M. BURRELL: Well, they haven't seen the boys since the princess died. Sadly.

P. BURRELL: They've been whipped into another world. But they remember fondly those rides in tea cups and those rides on log flumes.

KING: And the boys got along?

P. BURRELL: There they are in the tea cup with William and Harry.

KING: And how did you, Maria, get along with Prince Charles?

M. BURRELL: The Prince of Wales was really kind to us. I was really sad when we had to move back to London.

KING: You liked him very much. I have never heard a bad thing about him. You liked him, too?

P. BURRELL: I did, yes.

M. BURRELL: He was good to us. He was very kind.

KING: And he's a good father.

P. BURRELL: He is.

KING: Di's ex-lover, James Hewitt was on this program last week, as you may have known. Here first is Di talking about that during her interview with the BBC. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Another book that was published recently concerned a Mr. James Hewitt in which he claimed to have had a very close relationship with you from about 1989, I think. What was the nature of your relationship?

DIANA, PRINCESS OF WALES: He was a great friend of mine at a very difficult time -- yet another difficult time. And he was always there to support me.

And I was absolutely devastated when this book appeared because I trusted him. And because, again, I worried about the reaction of my children. And, yes, there was factual evidence in the book, but a lot of it was -- comes from another world, didn't equate to what happened.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do you mean?

DIANA: Well, there was a lot of fantasy in that book. And it was very distressing for me that a friend of mine, who I had trusted, made money out of me. I really minded about that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: What do you think of James Hewitt?

P. BURRELL: First it's sad to see the princess talking like that, seeing her again, isn't it? Isn't it sad to see her. And know that she was betrayed in her lifetime and hurt by him.

KING: You were part of the betrayal? You were part of one betrayal, betrayal of Charles.

P. BURRELL: Well, you see -- well, what happened with James Hewitt was -- you met James at Highgrove, didn't you? I used to go pick him up from the station, smuggle him in to the back door. You met him. So you knew it was all going on. We facilitated that relationship. We helped it.

KING: You did it for her.

P. BURRELL: For her. I was doing it for her. But he betrayed her. The worst thins anyone could ever do, isn't it, is betray love secrets, your inner most feelings and thoughts.

KING: Did it bother you, Maria, that your husband was covering up something? Was engaged in something that, you know...

M. BURRELL: Not really, because I knew she -- she needed -- she needed someone to love her, really, and to show her.

KING: Prince Charles did not love her? Or stopped loving her.

P. BURRELL: Yes.

KING: In other words you said this was a woman who needed someone to love her. Mr. Hewitt fit that.

M. BURRELL: I also know that when she found out that he had written a book, she was devastated.

P. BURRELL: She told you.

M. BURRELL: She was getting ready to go out one evening and we were at Kensington Palace, and I can see her now. She was -- putting her dress on. I was zipping her dress. She was going to an evening engagement.

She said, I just can't believe that he's written this book. And I said, Oh, don't worry. I said, nobody will buy it. She said, Don't you think so? I said, No. Just to try and make her feel better. But she was. She was absolutely gutted.

P. BURRELL: I shredded it in front of her. I destroyed it because it was such is a betrayal.

KING: What did you make of it when you found out about the letters Di had written to him?

P. BURRELL: That whole thing happened while I was still at Kensington Palace. "The Daily Mirror", Pierce Morgan (UNINTELLIGIBLE) "Daily Mirror" got hold of those letters. Someone tried to sell them to him.

They were returned to Kensington Palace. And James came to Kensington Place to collect them because they were his property. And he came into the office. I can remember him coming in. And he looked at me. His eyes were full of tears. He said, Paul, you know that I would never sell those letters. You know that I would never betray the princess. He said that to me. Stood there in front of me.

So what's the truth? I mean, he told you that he would sell the letters. He's changed his mind. He obviously needs money. It's all about money.

KING: What do you think about that?

P. BURRELL: You know, some people do some desperate things when they need money. I have been accused of it because I had -- I told my story.

KING: What did you think when he told his story for money?

M. BURRELL: He hasn't told a story.

P. BURRELL: That's it. I haven't told my story.

KING: So you made money lying to...

P. BURRELL: No. I haven't told the whole story. I only told what I thought was appropriate to tell at that time because it was connected to my trial.

KING: Do you intend to tell the whole story some day?

P. BURRELL: Well, if James Hewitt can say that his letters were historical document, I think my life story is probably a historical document.

KING: Would you then be doing the same thing you're criticizing him of doing?

P. BURRELL: I would be, wouldn't I, if I told the inner most secrets.

KING: Which you will not do?

P. BURRELL: No. I will never betray the princess. People have accused me of doing that. But I will never betray the trust she had in me.

KING: She had problems inside her own family with the Spencers, didn't she?

P. BURRELL: Yes.

KING: That wasn't the happy...

M. BURRELL: Please don't ask me about the Spencers, Larry. I'll get really cross.

P. BURRELL: You can tell -- you can tell Larry.

(CROSSTALK)

KING: I love when people get cross. What about the Spencers don't you like? Oh, Maria, come on.

M. BURRELL: No. I just think it's very sad that people can sit in a courtroom and tell lies and think because they're title people, that they can get away with it. I just wanted to get on an orange box and shout to everybody, You're telling lies.

KING: At Paul's trial.

M. BURRELL: Yes. And it was so frustrating to think the people...

KING: What's the lie they told?

P. BURRELL: They forget. They forget the truth.

M. BURRELL: They told lots of thins that weren't true.

P. BURRELL: For instance, they forgot how close I was to the princess. They forgot how I helped them during that painful time.

For instance, Lady Sarah (UNINTELLIGIBLE) said in court that she didn't give me a pair of heart-shaped cuff links which were hanging in a blouse in the princess' wardrobe just after she died.

Well, they were busy raiding her apartment at that time and she took out these heart-shaped cuff links from a blouse and squeezed them into my hand...

KING: Those are the ones you're wearing.

P. BURRELL: No, these are the ones the princess gave me. But they are special to me as well because they're hearts. She was the Queen of Hearts.

KING: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)

P. BURRELL: I can't take this off, can I?

KING: There are no rules.

P. BURRELL: No, no rules. It's going to be hard for you to...

KING: If you can't take it off, let's get a shot of it. It's a really nice cufflink that Princess Di gave him. Can we get this shot of that?

P. BURRELL: There you go.

KING: Turn it a little that way. It's got a "D" on it and a crown.

P. BURRELL: And I think there are very few people that have something like that. KING: I would say. We'll take a break and we'll be back with more. In a little while we'll be taking your phone calls. Don't go away.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ladies and gentlemen, keep moving back, please.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: We're back with Paul and Maria Burrell. What does in service mean? That is a term that you use, right?

P. BURRELL: Royal service. Working below stairs.

KING: Upstairs, down stairs.

(CROSSTALK)

P. BURRELL: It is upstairs down stairs. Clear division.

M. BURRELL: You heard that in "My Lady's Chamber" that nursery rhyme.

KING: Yes, that's where it comes from.

P. BURRELL: Right.

KING: Did Diana's demands on Paul's time at all bother you? Because she was a demanding lady.

M. BURRELL: Yes, she was.

KING: She had great needs.

M. BURRELL: When she made that statement -- when she did that to BBC interview, and she said that there were three people in her marriage, there were three people in my marriage as well. There was me, him and the princess.

KING: Her? You had to live with that?

P. BURRELL: Yes.

KING: Do you accept the fact that Paul loved Di.

P. BURRELL: Yes. But he didn't -- he loved her like he'd love his sister. And I loved her like I'd love one of my best friends. You know...

KING: When the tabloids were really going at you, when one of them printed that you had gay liaisons, how did you react?

P. BURRELL: Well, it's very destructive. We had to sit down as a family and talk about our private lives.

KING: What did they say? That you had met men?

P. BURRELL: Yes. There's a certain -- certain British presenter whose name we are not going to mention, and said that I had an affair with him, which was totally untrue.

KING: He lied about an affair?

P. BURRELL: Total lies. Total lies.

KING: He's openly gay?

P. BURRELL: He said I had an affair. I had taken rings off the princess' dead body and showed them to him. He went into great detail in a Sunday tabloid.

KING: Why didn't you sue him?

P. BURRELL: Because that would make it worse, Larry, wouldn't it?

KING: No.

P. BURRELL: It would drag his name again into the spot and have to go through a court...

KING: It would be an absurd liar if you would sue him and win.

P. BURRELL: I hadn't got the stomach for it.

KING: How did you feel?

M. BURRELL: I was mad. And I felt hurt. I felt hurt.

P. BURRELL: I think we should go around his house and have a word with him.

M. BURRELL: I have got broad shoulders, but it's my boys. And they've been through enough the last two years without having to read awful things written about their dad. And I talked to them and they...

P. BURRELL: We all sat around the table.

M. BURRELL: We said dad's dad and we don't care what people say about him. We know who he is, so don't worry about it, Mom.

KING: How did you feel?

P. BURRELL: Well, I was devastated having to -- can you imagine, Larry, sitting around the table with your two young boys and your wife having to discuss things which, you know, you shouldn't have to discuss in your life. I mean, suddenly someone unzipped me and let everything out. And added more. You think to yourself, where does it end? Is all your life -- am I fair game for everybody now? KING: Your wife had to be pretty strong.

P BURRELL: Well, she is strong.

M. BURRELL: My boys are strong. I am very proud of them. They're good boys.

P. BURRELL: We're a strong family. We care.

KING: Have you had any contact with royals since this?

P. BURRELL: I have had some contact with some members of the family, yes.

KING: And they have been supportive?

P. BURRELL: Yes. I have had many messages sent to me.

KING: Were you surprised when the queen revealed that he was right and they were wrong and the trial was dismissed?

M. BURRELL: Yes, I was. I was pleased, but I just wish she had done it a bit earlier.

P. BURRELL: If that had taken place at the Prince of Wales, I had come to see him that morning the police had seen him. He saw the police. Then this whole thing would never have happened.

KING: What are you doing now, Paul?

P. BURRELL: I'm trying to get by and trying to sort of live life.

KING: You're not working any where.

P. BURRELL: You know, I always said when the queen pinned that medal on my chest, she should have been pinning it on Maria's chest, because she deserved it more than I did.

KING: You're still raising a family? You are not working are you?

M. BURRELL: I work at my flower shop.

KING: That's right, the both of you have a flow shop.

P. BURRELL: Yes. It's up and running again since it was burned down.

KING: Where is it? We'll give it a plug.

P. BURRELL: It's in North Wales.

M. BURRELL: Just on the border.

KING: What's the name of it? P. BURRELL: Paul Burrell flowers -- and gifts

M. BURRELL: And gifts.

KING: You're there manning the counter?

P. BURRELL: Yes.

M. BURRELL: This is quite a family affair. It's a love.

KING: Everybody chips in.

M. BURRELL: Yes. My friends and family.

KING: When we come back we'll take your phone calls for the Burrell. Paul Burrell long-time butler to Princess Di and Maria Burrell his wife, they met in the palace. This is her first ever television appearance. We'll include your phone calls.

Tomorrow night Dr. Laura. Her first appearance, to talk about the passing of her mother.

On Friday night, from Iraq with Dan Rather.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you think you will ever be queen?

DIANA: No, I don't. No.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why do you think that?

DIANA: I'd like to be a queen of people's hearts and people's hearts, but I don't see myself being queen of this country.

I don't think many people would want me to be queen actually. When I say many people, I mean the establishment that I married into, because they've decided that I'm a nonstarter.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: We're back with Paul Burrell, his wife Maria Burrell. We're going to go to your phone calls.

Portland, Oregon, hello.

CALLER: Yes, thank you, Larry. When I was in England in December there was an article in the newspaper about a baby being buried at Kensington Park by the butlers. I was wondering if Paul could elaborate on that.

KING: Paul? P. BURRELL: Well, there was -- there was an incident when that did happen. This was -- it was run by a newspaper in England. It happened to a personal friend of mine and the princess'. It was a very sad, solemn ceremony and very private one. I really...

KING: A lady worked there, lost her child.

P. BURRELL: One of the princess' friends lost a child. I don't really want to talk about it, Larry, because it is such a special and private thing, to lose a child.

KING: Canton, Ohio, hello. Canton, Ohio, hello. They told me line -- are you there, Canton.

CALLER: Yes, I'm right here.

KING: OK, you must speak up.

CALLER: OK. I would -- oh, you got it?

KING: Go ahead.

CALLER: All right. What was your reaction when you learned about Diana's secret correspondence with Andrew Morton for the writing of the book "Diana: Her True Story"? What did you know about it?

P. BURRELL: Well, I knew about it. I was there and I knew it was happening. I helped the princess to have a voice. And that's the only time that she could ever sort of say how she fell and thought. It didn't shock me because I was aware of the whole situation.

KING: Vienna, Austria, hello.

CALLER: Yes, hello. My question was, there seem to be (UNINTELLIGIBLE) that the queen didn't respond quick enough to Diana's death. And I was wondering if Paul could comment the relationship between the queen and Diana.

KING: I'd like both of you to comment on that. Paul.

P. BURRELL: Yes, well, the princess had a very close relationship with the queen. They corresponded regularly.

M. BURRELL: And they respected each other.

P. BURRELL: Absolutely. The princess...

KING: But the queen was slow to comment, was she not?

P. BURRELL: Yes, she was. But it was unprecedented. Something like that had never happened before, had it, in royal times. So queen was -- advised badly.

KING: Very.

P. BURRELL: I told you before that she relies on advice from the people around her and they don't always give the best advice.

KING: Augusta, Georgia, hello.

CALLER: Paul, Maria, I want to commend to for your loyalty. And to wish you success in the future.

My question is this, do you think Ken Wart, in his book "Diana's Detective" the book closely guarded secrets, do you think he betrayed her?

M. BURRELL: To be honest, I have not read it.

P. BURRELL: And neither have I.

M. BURRELL: So I don't really know...

KING: Is this Book out and about? I never heard of it.

CALLER: It's been out within the last year.

P. BURRELL: I don't think it sold that well. I can't really comment.

M. BURRELL: I haven't read it.

P. BURRELL: Someone told me my name isn't in it at all. I find that bizarre. I was there for most of the princess' life at Kensington Palace.

KING: Some question the monarchy when we read a story that Prince Charles has a valet.

P. BURRELL: Yes.

KING: Who squeezes out his toothpaste.

P. BURRELL: Yes.

KING: If you need somebody to squeeze -- you may be a great guy, but if you need somebody to squeeze out your toothpaste...

P. BURRELL: Obviously don't have time to do it.

KING: ... you're not living in a real world. Are you?

P. BURRELL: I don't think the royal family do live in a real world. They live in a different world.

M. BURRELL: What it is, Larry. Somebody bought the prince a special little silver -- you know like you open a tin of...

(CROSSTALK)

M. BURRELL: And you put it at the bottom of the toothpaste and you screw it up. So you're not wasting the toothpaste.

KING: Correct. So why do you need someone to do that?

P. BURRELL: They just -- a valet does everything he possibly can to save his master time.

KING: A valet likes this job?

P. BURRELL: I think the valet does like the job, yes. He's indispensable.

KING: Lewisburg, West Virginia, hello.

CALLER: Yes, hello. My question is, I was wondering what the relationship between Prince Charles and Princess Diana was at the time of her death. Were they friends or was there still animosity between them?

P. BURRELL: Do you want to answer that?

KING: Do you want to answer, Maria?

M. BURRELL: No.

P. BURRELL: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Well, I'll answer it.

M. BURRELL: I wasn't around anyway.

P. BURRELL: No, you weren't there. There was friction between the prince and princess.

KING: Over?

P. BURRELL: Over mainly the boys. The princess adored her boys, adored the children, wanted to see more of them. They were split between the two...

KING: They had like joint custody.

P. BURRELL: Joint custody. And of course, always a lovely lady there, the Justice of Kent. What a wonderful lady she is. And she gave us great support throughout the trial.

KING: Boca Raton, Florida, hello.

CALLER: Good evening, Paul, Maria, Larry. I would like to ask a question to Paul. From all your years of such loyalty and closeness to the royal family, how did you feel when, during your trial, the queen had forgotten, in inverted commas, the conversation you had with her during which you had told her how many keepsakes you had which were given to you for safe keeping by the princess?

P. BURRELL: As I said before I had nothing but tremendous admiration for the queen. She is the queen and she is what makes Britain great. I felt personally that that conversation I had with the queen was private, between me and her and I have not going to reveal the contents to anyone. What was important was the fact that the Prince of Wales knew more than the queen did but he left his mother to sort out the mess and perhaps he should have sorted it and not let his mother carry the can.

KING: Busying world the royals is.

P. BURRELL: It is. But look at the queen. She's incredible.

KING: Los Angeles, hello.

CALLER: Hi. Terry here. Terry Samson. I'm visiting from the U.K. I just wanted to ask Paul and Maria, what do you miss most of all since Diana passed away?

KING: Good question. What do you miss, Maria? What do you miss do you miss about working (UNINTELLIGIBLE)?

M. BURRELL: I miss her giggle.

P. BURRELL: I miss...

KING: Her giggle?

M. BURRELL: Yes. She had a fantastic giggle came right from here.

KING: From the gut.

M. BURRELL: Yes.

P. BURRELL: And I miss the closeness. I miss the everyday relationship. I miss the looking after someone so intensely. That's what I do well.

KING: Do you enjoy being a servant, Maria?

M. BURRELL: Yes, I did actually...

P. BURRELL: That's a bad word, a servant.

M. BURRELL: No it isn't. That's true. That's the word.

P. BURRELL: No it's not. The queen was asked if she -- how many servants she had. She said I don't have servants, I have members of staff. Servants died with Queen Victoria.

M. BURRELL: But it wasn't like...

P. BURRELL: It wasn't servitude existence.

KING: What did you make?

M. BURRELL: Money? I can't remember now.

P. BURRELL: I think you were around 500 pounds a year. M. BURRELL: I used to get a clothing allowance.

P. BURRELL: Yes, and I was on 900 pounds a year so I was (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

KING: Did you get tipped?

M. BURRELL: No.

P. BURRELL: Oh. We got -- we got very nice gifts from...

M. BURRELL: Yes, when we were at Buckingham -- I got a nice watch from King Khalid from Saudi Arabia.

P. BURRELL: And I got a very nice belt buckle from President Reagan.

KING: Really?

P. BURRELL: Yes.

KING: You attended to him?

P. BURRELL: I looked after him and Mrs. Reagan when they came to Windsor Castle on their state visit. They were fascinating. Absolutely fascinating. He gave me a nice belt buckle that I wear with my denims and my cowboy boots.

KING: Jeans. Cowboy (UNINTELLIGIBLE). The things you learn.

We'll be right back with more calls for the Burrells. Don't go away. ?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: We're back with the Burrells and we go to Buckley, Washington, hello.

CALLER: Good evening. Actually, I was reading -- we've read so much about Princess Diana and everything that she had gone through. I am serious as to what was her rock bottom? Was it her bulimia or was it the divorce? What was it?

KING: What made her hit rock bottom, Paul?

P. BURRELL: There was so many. There wasn't one particular thing. Yes, bulimia, anorexia, having her title stripped away from her, the divorce because she didn't want to be divorced. She did not want a divorce. Separation...

KING: Even though she wasn't in love.

P. BURRELL: A separation, fine. She wanted the family unit to stay together. So that her husband -- very like the Yorks now. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) York. They stick together as a family and bring up their children very nicely, those two daughters of theirs.

KING: They are divorced.

P. BURRELL: They are divorced, but they still have a great sort of influence...

M. BURRELL: Relationship.

P. BURRELL: ... and relationship with their family. That's what the princess wanted. She didn't want this division. She wanted a family unit. That's all she ever wanted.

KING: Bulimia, what did she do? Throw up her food?

P. BURRELL: Yes. Yes. And you knew that. And anorexia. She suffered...

KING: You knew it, Maria?

P. BURRELL: She suffered badly with lots of things. That was just a reaction to the way people were treating her.

KING: Ashland, Massachusetts, hello.

CALLER: Oh, hi, Larry. Hi, Paul and Maria.

KING: Hi.

M. BURRELL: Hi.

CALLER: I have two questions. Hi.

I just want to know, Do you still keep in touch with Prince William and Prince Harry? And I also want to know, When you said you sneaking Mr. Hewitt through the backdoor, where was Prince Charles at the time?

KING: You don't keep in touch with Harry, right?

M. BURRELL: No.

P. BURRELL: Actually, we wish we did have some more contact with them because they're wonderful boys.

KING: Well, are they kept away from you? I mean...

M. BURRELL: No, they're not.

P. BURRELL: No, I think they probably are.

M. BURRELL: They... P. BURRELL: They live in a different world.

M. BURRELL: They're...

P. BURRELL: William is at university. Harry's at school and they have their own life. It's difficult for them to come back into our world.

KING: And where was Prince Charles when you were sneaking...

P. BURRELL: Well, obviously he wasn't there, was he? He may have been elsewhere.

KING: Ever come close?

P. BURRELL: No.

KING: No hair-raising, of a guy coming through the door, one running out the backdoor?

P. BURRELL: No, I don't think so. No. No, that would be very unprofessional, wouldn't it?

KING: When you would get them into the palace and they would go into a private room with her, you would lock the door?

P. BURRELL: No. No, because the palace is secure.

KING: Did you stand outside the door?

P. BURRELL: I was always available, Larry, just at the end of a bell or a telephone or whatever.

KING: Detroit, hello.

CALLER: Oh, hi.

KING: Hi.

CALLER: Hi, Larry...

KING: Hi.

CALLER: And hi Paul...

P. BURRELL: Hi.

CALLER: And Maria.

M. BURRELL: Hi.

CALLER: I was just wondering if Diana, before she died, conquered her eating disorder or was it a time before that?

KING: Paul?

P. BURRELL: Yes. I don't think that ever left her.

KING: Even though she was with Fayed and said she was very happy and....

P. BURRELL: I think when you suffer from a disease like that, it comes back. It reoccurs whenever there's a drama in your life or a sadness or something dramatic happens.

KING: Did she -- what did she think she was fat?

P. BURRELL: All the time. She always thought she was fat. She was perfect.

M. BURRELL: Perfect.

KING: But she thought she was fat.

P. BURRELL: Yes, she never looked so good. I mean, towards the end of her life she looked absolutely fantastic. But the last time I saw her going down the staircase, I said to her, You've never looked so good. She was toned. She trained. She was at the gym. She was eating well. And she was at her prime.

KING: Sarasota, Florida, hello.

CALLER: Hello. This is a question for Paul. Does he think that Prince Charles ever loved Lady Diana or was it just a case of looking to -- for him to give him an heir to the throne?

P. BURRELL: No.

KING: Good question.

P. BURRELL: No. He loved her. Yes, he loved her in his way. And he gave her two beautiful boys. And that's what marriage brings.

KING: Do you believe that, Maria?

M. BURRELL: Yes, I do, actually. Yes.

KING: Victoria, British Columbia, hello.

CALLER: Good evening. I would like to say it's amazing to see how you honor Diana in life and in obviously death. And I was just wondering if Paul has any intentions of writing any kind of tribute or memoir regarding the princess so that the public has a positive literary document to recount her life.

KING: You could do that good work. That would be a good book.

P. BURRELL: Well, the last time I was here, Larry, you said I should do that book.

KING: Absolutely. You should do it.

P. BURRELL: And it has been very much in my thoughts recently. KING: There's enormous interest in her and who knows more about her? Now they're going to want salacious material, the publisher.

P. BURRELL: Of course they do, but tat's not my line. Have I ever said anything which is wrong or bad about the princess?

M. BURRELL: I wouldn't let him anyway.

KING: Bainbridge, Georgia, hello.

CALLER: Hi, Larry.

KING: Hi.

CALLER: This question is for Paul. It's actually a two-part question. The first question, I wanted to know if he foresaw any problems with the relationship with Dodi Fayed and if he maybe tried to talk the princess out of that?

And the second part is, kind of what you were just mentioning about the book. I'd like to know what was the princess' favorite movie and her food and what was her favorite perfume?

P. BURRELL: I knew you were going to say that. I was just waiting for that because we were discussing that tonight, perfume.

KING: What about Fayed?

P. BURRELL: There were no plans for marriage. She was not going to get married.

KING: She had obviously cared for him, though.

P. BURRELL: Yes, he cared for her. He looked after her.

KING: What was her favorite food?

P. BURRELL: She loved a trout. A freshly caught trout grilled with almonds.

KING: What was her perfume?

M. BURRELL: Hermes. She liked it.

KING: Hermes.

P. BURRELL: Hermes Fauburgh (ph) 24.

KING: Hermes Fauburgh (ph) 24.

P. BURRELL: Do you know that, Larry?

KING: No, 23 I know.

We'll be back with our remaining moments -- 23 is good. Twenty- two a little fruity. I don't mean -- never mind. We'll be back with the remaining moments. Don't go away.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DIANA: It was a symptom of what was going on in my marriage. I was crying out for help, but giving the wrong signals. And people were using my bulimia as a coat on a hanger. They decided that was the problem. Diana was unstable.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Instead of looking behind the symptom at the cause. What was the cause?

DIANA: Cause was a situation where my husband and I had to keep everything together because we didn't want to disappoint the public. And yet, obviously, there was a lot of anxiety going on within our four walls.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You mean between the two of you?

DIANA: Mmm-hmm.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: We're back with Paul Burrell and Maria Burrell.

And we go to Georgetown, Ontario. Hello.

CALLER: Hi, Larry. I have a question for Paul.

KING: Sure.

CALLER: When Diana was on the boat with Dodi (ph) just before she died, she told reporters that just wait in two weeks, I have news I'm going to tell you. Or it was like something was going to come out in two weeks. I always wondered what that was. She made it sound like there was a big secret or something.

P. BURRELL: There wasn't. No, there wasn't really. It was just she was having a game. She was playing with the reporters who were surrounding the boat.

KING: No announcement.

P. BURRELL: No announcement coming.

KING: Everyone presumed it was marriage announcement.

P. BURRELL: No, no.

KING: Did she like doing things like that?

P. BURRELL: She had the power to do that and she did. And it was -- I remember it was Camilla's (ph) birthday. She appeared on deck wearing a beautiful leopard skin swimsuit. Of course, she knew full well that her picture would take the front page of every tabloid in the country and not someone else. It's very clever.

KING: You've read those tabloids all your life, haven't you, Maria? Growing up, you read the tabloids in London.

P. BURRELL: We stopped reading them now.

KING: What was it like to be the subject of them?

M. BURRELL: I don't like the press, Larry, at all. I am paranoid about them.

KING: Really?

M. BURRELL: Yes.

KING: Paranoid?

M. BURRELL: Yes, really am.

KING: You afraid to look at the newspaper.

M. BURRELL: I don't -- we don't buy newspapers in our house.

P. BURRELL: No, we're told what's in them.

M. BURRELL: If someone says there's something in the newspaper, I just don't read them.

KING: Garden City, Michigan.

CALLER: Hello. Hi, Larry, hi Paul, hi Maria. I wanted to ask that -- sorry. Diana's pictures I read in a tabloid that they stole some of her stuff. I want to know if that's true. I love the royal family a lot.

P. BURRELL: Right. Is this true? This came out in my trial, that Spencer family did actually visit Kensington Palace one night and load up their cars with clothes and items from the palace. And drive away with them. But one of sisters couldn't remember doing that. And the other sister came to court and could remember doing that. Actually what she did say, she said that yes, we did, several times.

KING: Showlow, Arizona, hello.

CALLER: Hi, Larry. You have a beautiful wife, beautiful children.

KING: Thank you.

CALLER: Going on to Paul. Paul, you have known her so well. We read somewhere in tabloids that after Princess Di had had William up and Harry that she had a miscarriage. Is that true? And do you know anything about that?

P. BURRELL: No, that's not true.

KING: Not true?

P. BURRELL: No. Not true.

KING: Tampa, hello.

CALLER: Hi. This is...

KING: Go ahead.

CALLER: Hi. My name is (UNINTELLIGIBLE). I'm from Tampa, Florida.

KING: Go ahead.

CALLER: Hi. Yes, my question was this, of all the other members of the royal family besides the princess and of course Prince Phillip, who are some of the nicest and most interesting ones to work around and work for?

KING: Good question.

P. BURRELL: That's good. That's a good question.

KING: Who do you like?

P. BURRELL: Duchess of York, Fergie.

KING: Fergie.

P. BURRELL: Yes, she's a star. She's a winner.

KING: Who do you like?

P. BURRELL: Duchess of Kent.

M. BURRELL: I like the duchess of Kent.

P. BURRELL: She's a Christian lady.

M. BURRELL: I used to work part time for the duchess of (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

P. BURRELL: You wouldn't know who she was if she walked in this studio.

M. BURRELL: Yes, she does.

KING: What's her name?

M. BURRELL: She is married -- she's...

P. BURRELL: Vergeta (ph)

(CROSSTALK)

P. BURRELL: There are so many of them, Larry. KING: Duchesses.

P. BURRELL: Kensington Palace is full of them.

M. BURRELL: No. She's got -- she's well up in the royal family.

P. BURRELL: Well, she is.

KING: Next time you're on, we'll talk about what's it like just hanging around the palace.

What do they do for laughs? Thank you, Maria. You were wonderful.

(CROSSTALK)

P. BURRELL: Say hello to the boys. They're home watching.

KING: Yes, your sons are watching. What are their names?

P. BURRELL: Nick and Alex. They're in (UNINTELLIGIBLE) watching this live.

KING: Nick and Alex, you may now go to bed.

We'll be back in a minute to tell you about tomorrow night on LARRY KING LIVE.

Don't go away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: Tomorrow night Dr. Laura will make her first appearance since the death of her mother. To talk about that and other things and take you phone calls.

Friday Night Dan Rather in Iraq, will be with us. We'll tape it Friday morning and play it for you Friday night.

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