The Burrell affair was a scandal in United Kingdom, as the Queen is the head of state of a constitutional monarchy and is theoretically the embodiment of the state in all legal proceedings, and any involvement of a reigning monarch in a law court would be unprecedented. The only trial of a reigning monarch was that of Charles I, which occurred during a state of outright civil war.

The scandal followed the collapse of the trial (for theft) of Paul Burrell, the butler of Diana, Princess of Wales, after evidence was given that the British monarch had spoken with Burrell regarding the items he was accused of stealing. This seemed to provide support for his assertion that he was keeping Diana's possessions for safe_keeping with the consent of the Royal Family, rather than stealing them. However, calling upon the Queen to give evidence might have triggered a constitutional crisis.

There had been curious revelations about documents and tapes kept by Paul Burrell, creating rumours that the trial was an attempt at a cover-up of some unmentionable secret.

The scandal threatened to undermine the goodwill towards the monarchy which had increased in recent years following the death of Diana and the Queen Mother.

In the absence of any confirmation or denial of the various stories in a court of law, progressively more scandalous allegations began circulating, including rumours of rape by a high-profile royal aide, and of a palace cover-up designed to divert attention away from a covert liaison between the aide and a member of the Royal Family.

The story remained at the centre of British press attention for a number of months after it emerged. The rumours combined the elements of monarchy, class, wealth, politics, sexual innuendo, secrecy, conspiracy and allegations of serious crimes together with issues of constitutional law in a story which held an irresistible attraction for the press, especially when combined with a tabloid circulation war which was raging at the time.

See also

• George Smith

External links

• BBC: Prince 'considers' Burrell inquiry (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/2447413.stm)
• The Guardian: Support for royals plunges to record low (http://politics.guardian.co.uk/polls/story/0,11030,843713,00.html)