Princess Diana's Former Butler Makes Bold Claims About The Crown's Accuracy

Well, if Buckingham Palace had hoped to quell the flames of renewed public outcry in defense of Princess Diana and against Prince Charles and now-wife Camilla by having the U.K. Culture Secretary write a letter to Netflix requesting the network clarify that The Crown is fictional, the man who served as butler to the late Diana has thrown one giant monkey wrench into their plans. Since the fourth season of The Crown, which focuses on Diana and Charles' royal marriage, debuted just weeks ago, a whole new generation of people have been swept up into the drama that ruled tabloids, newspapers, and magazines in the 1980s and 1990s. Charles and Camilla have had to limit the ability for Twitter users to comment on their recent tweets due to the new outrage being hurled in their direction (via InStyle).

Now, adding fuel to the rapidly spreading fire is Diana's former butler Paul Burrell's recent interview with The Sun, in which he says the show's portrayal of Charles' treatment of Diana is "pretty close to the truth."

And Burrell didn't mince words or leave out detail. "Josh O'Connor plays Prince Charles as a rather uncaring, cold person. And I'm afraid that's what I saw behind closed doors," he told The Sun. "He was married to probably the most beautiful woman in the world. But he didn't look after her, and that's what comes across in The Crown," he said. Burrell worked for Diana for over a decade and had a front-row seat to her daily experiences. It is from this vantage point that he confidently tells The Sun, "Diana said to me, 'I thought when I got married that my husband would be there for me, to care for me, to support me, to encourage me, but he isn't," Burrell said. With regard to how this played out in The Crown, he said, "People that jump up and say, 'Well, that's not factual,' well, that's pretty close to the truth."

He goes on to fault Charles' jealousy of Diana's popularity for the rift that grew between them and ultimately ended their union. "You're seeing an unknown young girl rise while Charles's star doesn't and her popularity becomes greater than his. And that's the whole problem," he said.