Paul Burrell said he believes Diana sent his now-husband (Image: GETTY)
Former butler Paul Burrell has revealed that he believes his now-husband was sent to him by the late .
Paul, 66, worked for the late royal for a decade before her tragic death. Diana was just 36 at the time of her death in August 1997.
Speaking on the What If? podcast, Paul revealed that he had a “sliding doors moment” while on a train journey from Euston to Crewe in 2007, where he met now-husband Graham Cooper.
Discussing his difficult decision to come out as gay, Paul said: “And one day, a sliding doors moment… I was on a train coming from London.
“Euston to Crewe. And on that train, down the other end of the carriage, was a man who smiled at me. That’s all, I just looked down the aisle, and he smiled, and I thought ‘Oo, what just happened then? Something happened’.”
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He continued: “So I didn’t speak to him the whole journey, it’s an hour and a half to Crewe, he started to get off at Crewe – got his briefcase down and a coat, and I thought ‘Oh wow, what if he gets off the train and it’s sliding doors and I’ll never see him again in my life?’
“He walked towards me and I thought ‘I’m going on to Chester, I’m not getting off here!’. And I thought ‘What do I say, what do I say, think quick, think quick’. So I looked up at him as he passed me and I said ‘Have you got a card?’.”
“And he had the card in his hand, ready to leave on the table. He smiled again, and left the train. So I’m left with his number and a card.”
Speaking of the late royal, he added: “Now, what if? I think she [Princess Diana] sent him. Yes. To take care of me, yes.”
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Diana and Paul pictured in 1994 (Image: GETTY)
Speaking to Lorraine Kelly, who is the host of the podcast, Paul was then asked if he believed Diana knew he was gay.
He said: “Oh Lorraine, Lorraine, I did fabulous flower arrangements, I chose the right dress for the right occasion, I knew which jewels and shoes, heels or no heels, stockings or no stockings, come on.
“Yeah. Yeah. We had an understanding, we had an understanding and so I was safe and she was safe. So it didn’t matter in our world.”