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American Morning

Interview with Robert Jobson

Aired November 12, 2002 - 07:45   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.


PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Back across the pond in Britain, Prince Charles is expected to announce a public probe into the scandal that is rocking Buckingham Palace. The inquiry would look into allegations of a rape cover-up, and how the trial of Princess Diana's former butler collapsed.
It is the butler's revelations that have sparked all of this furor.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL BURRELL, DIANA'S FORMER BUTLER: It was they, not me or my family, who first mentioned in court a sensitive tape about a rape in a royal palace. Letters to the princess from members of the royal family were also mentioned in court. The clear implication was in court that these items were in my possession. They never have been.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZAHN: Joining us now from London with more on how this could affect the House of Windsor is royals' commentator, Robert Jobson.

Welcome back -- good to see you, sir.

ROBERT JOBSON, ROYALS' COMMENTATOR: Hi, Paula.

ZAHN: Let's talk a little bit about what these headlines are screaming this morning. I guess the allegation is that Prince Charles tried to silence these rape charges, and allegedly male prostitutes were smuggled into the royal palaces all of the time. How damaging are these allegations, and is there any truth to them?

JOBSON: Well, I think they are hugely damaging for the royal family. There must be some degree of truth in the allegations that there was a cover-up, because there was only an internal investigation into the rape inquiry. It was only during the investigation by police into the Paul Burrell that they found out about this tape, and then started an investigation into the alleged rape.

They have actually completed the alleged rape investigation, the police, and have decided to take no further action. But that hasn't stopped the newspapers really gunning for Prince Charles over this alleged cover-up.

ZAHN: So, if police say they've completed this alleged rape investigation, what's the point of this inquiry by Prince Charles? JOBSON: Well, the point is really, Paula, is that they actually did not report it to police initially, and that's causing a wave of protest over here, and a lot more questions than answers to the problems that have been going on.

So, I think that Prince Charles has decided that he's got to come clean over this whole issue and show that there is transparency. We expect in about two hours' time from now an announcement from St. James's Palace, which is Charles's London headquarters, if you like, that they will be carrying out an internal inquiry with an independent senior figure of the establishment carrying that out, perhaps a former judge or someone of repute.

ZAHN: So, what is the worst thing that can come out of all of this?

JOBSON: I think the very fact that both the queen and Prince Charles have got to be questioned by somebody in an internal inquiry is embarrassing, to say the least. There have also been reports from this former valet who has actually said in his allegations made to a national newspaper that he saw an incident involving a member of the royal family and a servant, which could be explosive and damaging to the royal family.

I personally don't think that will actually come out, but I do think the very fact that the royal family are being brought to book in this fashion is embarrassing and damaging to the monarchy.

ZAHN: And, of course, all of this is coming out when Paul Burrell is making quite a spectacle of himself. As he travels around New York City, the paparazzi can't get enough of this guy. But the news has also hit that a 47-year-old man claims to have been his lover for two years, and this man claims he had access to the queen's private quarters.

Are these vindictive fabrications of a man who is alleged to be an alcoholic mess (ph)?

JOBSON: Well, I don't think that that -- there are two issues here. The alcoholic mess (ph) guy is the fellow that actually basically is making allegations against another servant, so there's slight confusion there. But the Paul Burrell incidents are coming from people all over the world that have claimed to be his lover when he was a much younger man.

I mean, I don't know about Paul Burrell's private life, but I bet he wishes he had stayed silent after the collapse of his trial, and simply gone on a lecture tour and talked about to fold napkins, which is what he did last time and made a lot of money. I don't think he's done himself any good whatsoever.

ZAHN: So, you think he has very little credibility left.

JOBSON: Well, a lot of people over here found the interview that he gave with Sir Trevor McDonald (ph) laughable. They felt that he was somebody that seemed to be studying the panorama interview that Diana made so famous, and he seemed to be almost believing his own myth.

A lot of people, such as Ken Wolf (ph), Diana's former bodyguard -- other senior people that were close to Diana have said that this butler really thought he was more important than he actually was. Diana had a lot of rocks, and he was simply the butler, somebody that she relied on as a servant and nothing more.

He seems to think that he's now probably more important than Diana herself, and he seems to be mirroring her antics, if you like.

So, I think his credibility is totally shot, yes.

ZAHN: Thanks so much for all of your information this morning. Royals' commentator, Robert Jobson -- glad to have you with us.

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 November 12, 2002 - 07:45   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Back across the pond in Britain, Prince Charles is expected to announce a public probe into the scandal that is rocking Buckingham Palace. The inquiry would look into allegations of a rape cover-up, and how the trial of Princess Diana's former butler collapsed.
It is the butler's revelations that have sparked all of this furor.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL BURRELL, DIANA'S FORMER BUTLER: It was they, not me or my family, who first mentioned in court a sensitive tape about a rape in a royal palace. Letters to the princess from members of the royal family were also mentioned in court. The clear implication was in court that these items were in my possession. They never have been.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZAHN: Joining us now from London with more on how this could affect the House of Windsor is royals' commentator, Robert Jobson.

Welcome back -- good to see you, sir.

ROBERT JOBSON, ROYALS' COMMENTATOR: Hi, Paula.

ZAHN: Let's talk a little bit about what these headlines are screaming this morning. I guess the allegation is that Prince Charles tried to silence these rape charges, and allegedly male prostitutes were smuggled into the royal palaces all of the time. How damaging are these allegations, and is there any truth to them?

JOBSON: Well, I think they are hugely damaging for the royal family. There must be some degree of truth in the allegations that there was a cover-up, because there was only an internal investigation into the rape inquiry. It was only during the investigation by police into the Paul Burrell that they found out about this tape, and then started an investigation into the alleged rape.

They have actually completed the alleged rape investigation, the police, and have decided to take no further action. But that hasn't stopped the newspapers really gunning for Prince Charles over this alleged cover-up.

ZAHN: So, if police say they've completed this alleged rape investigation, what's the point of this inquiry by Prince Charles? JOBSON: Well, the point is really, Paula, is that they actually did not report it to police initially, and that's causing a wave of protest over here, and a lot more questions than answers to the problems that have been going on.

So, I think that Prince Charles has decided that he's got to come clean over this whole issue and show that there is transparency. We expect in about two hours' time from now an announcement from St. James's Palace, which is Charles's London headquarters, if you like, that they will be carrying out an internal inquiry with an independent senior figure of the establishment carrying that out, perhaps a former judge or someone of repute.

ZAHN: So, what is the worst thing that can come out of all of this?

JOBSON: I think the very fact that both the queen and Prince Charles have got to be questioned by somebody in an internal inquiry is embarrassing, to say the least. There have also been reports from this former valet who has actually said in his allegations made to a national newspaper that he saw an incident involving a member of the royal family and a servant, which could be explosive and damaging to the royal family.

I personally don't think that will actually come out, but I do think the very fact that the royal family are being brought to book in this fashion is embarrassing and damaging to the monarchy.

ZAHN: And, of course, all of this is coming out when Paul Burrell is making quite a spectacle of himself. As he travels around New York City, the paparazzi can't get enough of this guy. But the news has also hit that a 47-year-old man claims to have been his lover for two years, and this man claims he had access to the queen's private quarters.

Are these vindictive fabrications of a man who is alleged to be an alcoholic mess (ph)?

JOBSON: Well, I don't think that that -- there are two issues here. The alcoholic mess (ph) guy is the fellow that actually basically is making allegations against another servant, so there's slight confusion there. But the Paul Burrell incidents are coming from people all over the world that have claimed to be his lover when he was a much younger man.

I mean, I don't know about Paul Burrell's private life, but I bet he wishes he had stayed silent after the collapse of his trial, and simply gone on a lecture tour and talked about to fold napkins, which is what he did last time and made a lot of money. I don't think he's done himself any good whatsoever.

ZAHN: So, you think he has very little credibility left.

JOBSON: Well, a lot of people over here found the interview that he gave with Sir Trevor McDonald (ph) laughable. They felt that he was somebody that seemed to be studying the panorama interview that Diana made so famous, and he seemed to be almost believing his own myth.

A lot of people, such as Ken Wolf (ph), Diana's former bodyguard -- other senior people that were close to Diana have said that this butler really thought he was more important than he actually was. Diana had a lot of rocks, and he was simply the butler, somebody that she relied on as a servant and nothing more.

He seems to think that he's now probably more important than Diana herself, and he seems to be mirroring her antics, if you like.

So, I think his credibility is totally shot, yes.

ZAHN: Thanks so much for all of your information this morning. Royals' commentator, Robert Jobson -- glad to have you with us.

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