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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Diana 'said Queen would abdicate' | Diana 'said Queen would abdicate' |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| Princess Diana claimed the Queen would abdicate in April 1996, her former lawyer has told her inquest. | Princess Diana claimed the Queen would abdicate in April 1996, her former lawyer has told her inquest. |
| Maggie Rae said Diana stated to her lawyers in October 1995 that the Queen would stand aside for Prince Charles. | Maggie Rae said Diana stated to her lawyers in October 1995 that the Queen would stand aside for Prince Charles. |
| The princess also said there were plans to sideline her through an accident where she would be seriously injured, Ms Rae told the hearing. | The princess also said there were plans to sideline her through an accident where she would be seriously injured, Ms Rae told the hearing. |
| Diana's former butler Paul Burrell will give more evidence at the inquest into the deaths of Diana and Dodi Al Fayed. | Diana's former butler Paul Burrell will give more evidence at the inquest into the deaths of Diana and Dodi Al Fayed. |
| The princess and Mr Al Fayed died after a car crash in a Paris road tunnel in 1997. | The princess and Mr Al Fayed died after a car crash in a Paris road tunnel in 1997. |
| Royal succession | Royal succession |
| Princess Diana's claims came at a meeting with her legal team at Kensington Palace, said Ms Rae. | Princess Diana's claims came at a meeting with her legal team at Kensington Palace, said Ms Rae. |
| Diana also told the lawyers that she felt the succession should skip a generation and that her son, Prince William, should be made king. | Diana also told the lawyers that she felt the succession should skip a generation and that her son, Prince William, should be made king. |
| Her leading lawyer, the late Lord Mishcon, was so surprised by what she said at the meeting that he made a note of it and kept it securely until after her death. | Her leading lawyer, the late Lord Mishcon, was so surprised by what she said at the meeting that he made a note of it and kept it securely until after her death. |
| In the note, Lord Mishcon said he was alarmed and asked the princess's private secretary Patrick Jephson whether any of it could be true. | In the note, Lord Mishcon said he was alarmed and asked the princess's private secretary Patrick Jephson whether any of it could be true. |
| Mr Jephson said he did half-believe some of it. | Mr Jephson said he did half-believe some of it. |
| Microwaving meals | Microwaving meals |
| Ms Rae said she had also been surprised and did not really believe that any of the claims could be backed up. | Ms Rae said she had also been surprised and did not really believe that any of the claims could be backed up. |
| She said she had been taken aback by the meeting and felt that the princess had been very lonely, living a rather strange existence at Kensington Palace, and perhaps certain things had played on her mind. | She said she had been taken aback by the meeting and felt that the princess had been very lonely, living a rather strange existence at Kensington Palace, and perhaps certain things had played on her mind. |
| Ms Rae talked at the inquest of Diana being in lonely, silent apartments at Kensington Palace. She said she had spoken to Diana one weekend when the princess had been alone all the time and microwaving her own meals. | Ms Rae talked at the inquest of Diana being in lonely, silent apartments at Kensington Palace. She said she had spoken to Diana one weekend when the princess had been alone all the time and microwaving her own meals. |
| Ms Rae and fellow solicitor Sandra Davis told the hearing that Diana often expressed fears that she would be killed. | Ms Rae and fellow solicitor Sandra Davis told the hearing that Diana often expressed fears that she would be killed. |
| Ms Davis said the princess had been "deadly serious" about her concerns at the meeting in October 1995, and those present informed the police. | Ms Davis said the princess had been "deadly serious" about her concerns at the meeting in October 1995, and those present informed the police. |
| 'Big machine' | 'Big machine' |
| Diana also thought both she and Camilla Parker Bowles, now the Duchess of Cornwall, were to be "put aside" in favour of royal nanny Tiggy Legge-Bourke. | Diana also thought both she and Camilla Parker Bowles, now the Duchess of Cornwall, were to be "put aside" in favour of royal nanny Tiggy Legge-Bourke. |
| Ms Rae said Diana felt she was up against a "big machine" in the shape of the Prince of Wales's staff during her divorce proceedings. | |
| Michael Mansfield, representing Dodi Al Fayed's father Mohamed Al Fayed, read an extract in court from the diaries of Tony Blair's former communications chief Alastair Campbell. | Michael Mansfield, representing Dodi Al Fayed's father Mohamed Al Fayed, read an extract in court from the diaries of Tony Blair's former communications chief Alastair Campbell. |
| Writing about a dinner party at Ms Rae's home in 1997, Mr Campbell wrote of Diana: "Tony Blair couldn't work out whether to flirt with her or treat her like a visiting dignitary, he ended up doing a bit of both but wasn't comfortable." | Writing about a dinner party at Ms Rae's home in 1997, Mr Campbell wrote of Diana: "Tony Blair couldn't work out whether to flirt with her or treat her like a visiting dignitary, he ended up doing a bit of both but wasn't comfortable." |
| Ms Rae said Mr Blair, who was in opposition at the time, was keen to meet the princess but was concerned there would be "armies of photographers on the doorstep". | Ms Rae said Mr Blair, who was in opposition at the time, was keen to meet the princess but was concerned there would be "armies of photographers on the doorstep". |
| 'Not listening' | |
| The lawyer said she had taken care of some of Diana's correspondence, including a letter from the Queen which said the princess and Prince Charles needed to get divorced. | |
| The letters were returned to Diana shortly before her divorce. | |
| Speaking about Diana's fears, Mr Mansfield asked Ms Rae: "It may be that underneath it all people were just not listening or taking her seriously. Is that a possibility to you?" | |
| "Yes," she replied. | |
| Former Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Sir David Veness denied at the inquest that he "sat on" the note from Lord Mishcon because the security services were involved in the crash. | |
| Lord Mishcon handed over the note to Sir David and former Met Commissioner Sir Paul Condon soon after Diana died in 1997 but the inquest was not made aware of it until 2003. | |
| Sir David said he "unequivocally" rejected a suggestion from Mr Mansfield that he improperly sat on information that he should have handed over because he knew something improper happened in Paris. | |
| Sparked friction | Sparked friction |
| Mr Burrell's testimony has already revealed details of the intimate relationship the princess shared with heart specialist Hasnat Khan. | Mr Burrell's testimony has already revealed details of the intimate relationship the princess shared with heart specialist Hasnat Khan. |
| And he has told how the relationship sparked friction with her mother Frances Shand Kydd. | And he has told how the relationship sparked friction with her mother Frances Shand Kydd. |
| Mr Burrell's testimony was due to last one day, but he failed to hand over relevant documents to the inquest. | Mr Burrell's testimony was due to last one day, but he failed to hand over relevant documents to the inquest. |
| And, on the idea that any member of the royal family was behind a plot to kill Diana - not true, according to Mr Burrell The BBC's Daniela Relph What the butler saw | And, on the idea that any member of the royal family was behind a plot to kill Diana - not true, according to Mr Burrell The BBC's Daniela Relph What the butler saw |
| He told the court he had kept a journal or diary during his time with the princess, but was reluctant to disclose them. | He told the court he had kept a journal or diary during his time with the princess, but was reluctant to disclose them. |
| Mr Burrell, 49, said that he was happy for the coroner to look at letters written to him by the princess. | Mr Burrell, 49, said that he was happy for the coroner to look at letters written to him by the princess. |
| He said his journal and diary were "very private and very personal", and he did not think they had any connection to the circumstances surrounding Diana's death. | He said his journal and diary were "very private and very personal", and he did not think they had any connection to the circumstances surrounding Diana's death. |
| But the coroner, Lord Justice Scott Baker, told him to "hot-foot" it overnight from London to his home in Cheshire to retrieve the material. | But the coroner, Lord Justice Scott Baker, told him to "hot-foot" it overnight from London to his home in Cheshire to retrieve the material. |
| In the early hours, Mr Burrell arrived at his home and spent 50 minutes gathering documents. | In the early hours, Mr Burrell arrived at his home and spent 50 minutes gathering documents. |
| Outside he told reporters that he could not comment about the nature of the documents or anything to do with the inquest because he was still under oath. | Outside he told reporters that he could not comment about the nature of the documents or anything to do with the inquest because he was still under oath. |