Princess Princess Diana Enjoyed Gossiping, Created Tension Amongst Royal Staff Members

During her time in the royal family, Princess Diana was known for breaking royal traditions and changing the way the public viewed the unapproachable monarchy.

Although the Princes of Wales is still praised for her iconic fashion statements and charitable contributions, behind the scenes, her love for gossip created tension between her staff members.

In the documentary “Royal Servants,” Robert Jobson, a royal correspondent for the Evening Standard, claimed Diana would share the gossip that she heard about other members of the royal family with her staff.

“Diana was far freer, she was far more relaxed about the way she ran her court. She would go down and spend time with the chefs, chat with the chauffeur, talk to her bodyguard ‒ she was far more relaxed,” he explained.

Princess Diana’s personal chef Darren McGrady also claimed that Diana would divulge scandalous secrets during her trips to the kitchen. “One day she would come in and she would talk about something she had just been chatting to the Queen about,” he sais.

“She would walk in, burst through the doors, and say, ‘You’ll never believe what Fergie’s just told me!’ Or she would just come in and say, ‘Darren, can you believe what’s happening on Brookside?’”

While staff members would gain Princess Diana’s favor through flattery, her former butler Paul Burrell was her go-to confidant. Their close relationship became an issue for her private secretary.

“Imagine being Patrick Jephson. You have been the organizer, the efficient organizer to perfect detail, the princess’ world, and all of a sudden you find yourself frozen out,” Journalist Steve Dennis said.

“You find your work being questioned because the princess is showing letters or asking advice to Paul Burrell. Imagine being Patrick Jephson for a minute and thinking ‘I’m being usurped, I’m being questioned, by an effing Butler.”

Since Princess Diana’s death in 1997, Burrell has often reflected on his close relationship with the late royal and has spoken fondly of the time they spent together.