King Charles and Queen Camilla’s coronation took place on May 6. On the minds of many people during the crowning was Charles' first wife and mother of Prince William and Prince Harry- Princess Diana. Paul Burrell- who began working for the royal family when he was 18 years old and served as Queen Elizabeth II’s personal footman until he moved to then-Prince Charles and Princess Diana’s household in 1987- also confirmed that Camilla was thinking about the late princess too at that moment.
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The coronation felt surreal, Paul Burrell, who remained Princess Diana’s butler until her death in 1997, said in an interview with Spin Genie.
“It was a bittersweet moment for me and very emotional. I realized I was witnessing history being made but it wasn’t the history I expected to be made. What a meteoric rise Camilla has had, from the most reviled woman in Britain to the queen – that takes some consideration. When I was watching it I couldn’t help but think of our late queen and I couldn’t help but think of Diana," he said.
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He continued, “Diana’s spirit was there as I said because as I said before the coronation, I defy anyone in the country not to think of Diana because her boys would be thinking about her and Charles would be thinking about her, his wife who gave birth to his heir and spare. Surely Camilla would’ve thought of Diana, sat in her chair, standing in her shoes, wearing her crown.
{{/usCountry}}He continued, “Diana’s spirit was there as I said because as I said before the coronation, I defy anyone in the country not to think of Diana because her boys would be thinking about her and Charles would be thinking about her, his wife who gave birth to his heir and spare. Surely Camilla would’ve thought of Diana, sat in her chair, standing in her shoes, wearing her crown.
{{/usCountry}}“Odd, the way history has kinks and twists and there she is, sat with a crown on her head. She looked petrified, like a rabbit in the headlights," he further said.