Mohamed Al-Fayed made alleged indecent proposal to Princess Diana, former royal butler claims
Princess Diana’s former butler and friend has detailed a troubling encounter with disgraced ex-Harrods owner Mohamed Al-Fayed.
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A disgraced Mohamed Al-Fayed once made an indecent proposal to Princess Diana which left the royal “shaking”, her former royal butler claims.
Paul Burrell said the mother-of-two – who died with the tycoon’s son Dodi in a Paris car crash in August 1997 – was visibly trembling following an alleged unsavoury encounter with Al-Fayed, describing him as a “creep”.
The incident happened before she began a relationship with Dodi.
“I want you to marry my son because in Egyptian tradition, the father goes first,” Burrell said.
“(He then allegedly boasted) I’m going to sleep with you.”
Burrell, 66, also claims that the princess nicknamed the ex-Harrods magnate “Yoda” after the wrinkly green Star Wars character, and “God” because of his rampant ego.
Princess Diana allegedly branded him “creepy” and “slimy” and complained: “He’s always putting his hands on me”, Burrell said.
“I was in the car when she came running out from his office shaking and told me, and these are her exact words, that he said, ‘I want you to marry my son because in Egyptian tradition, the father goes first’,” Burrell said.
“He said, ‘I’m going to sleep with you’. She then said in shock, ‘Can you imagine making love to Yoda?’.
“That’s what she called him. I was disgusted by his behaviour.
“Diana was repulsed by the thought of having to surrender to him. By making that comment, he was setting the stage for that encounter and he was serious.
“He thought that was his right and that it would actually happen — that he would actually sleep with the Princess of Wales. And that was always in her mind all through her romance with Dodi.”
Burrell, who worked for Diana from 1987 to 1997, said the billionaire was trying to soften her up and exploit her vulnerability.
“Harrods offered a safe haven for her. It was only round the corner from her favourite restaurant, San Lorenzo, and she loved being able to pop in,” he said.
“Fayed saw a chance to bring her into his domain. He let her use a secret tunnel that takes you under and back up into the store.
“What he did was give her something the royals didn’t give her. He facilitated an escape for her — and he knew what he was doing.
“He gave her an avenue to explore she thought was safe.”
Burrell, who lives near Chester, added: “I told her to be careful of him and not to trust him.
The latest allegations come as police identified 19 allegations against Fayed between 2005 and 2023. Three were of rape and 15 of sexual assault.
Al-Fayed, who died last year, has been accused of raping five women and sexually abusing at least 15 others when they worked at the luxury department store, a BBC investigation revealed.
More than 20 women, all of whom were the late Fayed’s former employees, told a BBC documentary they were sexually assaulted by him and that Harrods covered up the abuse.
London’s Met Police have vowed to “fully explore whether any other individuals could be pursued for any criminal offences” related to the horrors Al-Fayed has been accused of, and are urging sex assault victims of his to come forward.
Al-Fayed sold the famous London store in 2010 to the investment arm of Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund for a reported £1.5 billion ($2.9 billion).
Harrods’ current owners said last week that they were “utterly appalled” by the allegations and that his victims had been failed.
“As a business we failed our employees who were his victims and for this we sincerely apologise,” Harrods said in a statement.
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