Royal Household and inquest-related Burrell has been routinely mentioned in relation to Diana. At times the coverage has been adverse; for example, in a 2002 case where he was charged with theft related to Diana's possessions. The trial collapsed after evidence was given that the Queen had spoken with him regarding disputed events and a
public-interest immunity (PII) certificate was presented by the
Crown Prosecution Service. In January 2008, Burrell appeared as a witness at the inquest into the death of Diana. Burrell said he had approached a Catholic priest about a private marriage between Diana and the heart surgeon
Hasnat Khan, and denied rumours that Diana was about to announce her engagement to
Dodi Fayed. The coroner dismissed notions of a "secret" that Burrell knew about Diana that he swore he "would never reveal," as detailed at the end of his book,
A Royal Duty. and allegations about his personal life. On 18 February 2008,
The Sun newspaper reported that Burrell had admitted, on tape, that he had not told "the whole truth" during his appearance at the Diana inquest; he also said he had thrown in a "few red herrings". Some reports suggested that Burrell could be charged with
perjury.
The Sun said it would hand the tape to the court on 19 February 2008. Burrell was criticised for copying Diana's letters and his integrity was called into question. The coroner,
Lord Justice Scott Baker, said: "In the end, there is an important issue as to the credibility of the witness."
Memoirs In 2003, Burrell released a memoir,
A Royal Duty, which follows his career as a member of the Royal staff. It deals with his time as butler to the Prince and Princess of Wales at
Highgrove House in Gloucestershire, his move to Diana's staff at
Kensington Palace after her divorce from Prince Charles, and the dismissal of the theft charges against Burrell. ==Media career==