Exclusive: Princess Diana Would “Send Romantic Cards to Prince Charles” But “He Never Returned the Compliment,” Per Former Royal Butler
Diana’s butler, Paul Burrell, tells ‘Marie Claire’ how the royals “never acknowledged” Valentine’s Day.
Valentine's Day is seen by some as a bit of a Hallmark holiday, and it seems the Royal Family used to think the same way—at least according to one former royal butler. Paul Burrell, who served Princess Diana from 1987 until her 1997 death, tells Marie Claire that the royals weren't big on Valentine's Day, except for the late princess.
Speaking on behalf of Prime Casino, Burrell says, "Do you know what reminds me of Valentine's Day, is the fact that the royals never acknowledged it. It was never a day for the royal family [more of] a day for the people."
"The people celebrated it, but the royals didn't," he continues, noting that "as people, as a country, we do things very differently to the Royal Family." In fact, Burrell says this tradition extended to other occasions. "It's like birthdays and Christmas, they never send cards to each other. I could never understand that either."
However, Burrell points out that "Diana had been a girl of her time, she was such a romantic, she did send romantic cards to Prince Charles. She was very much in love with him."
Prince Charles and Princess Diana shared a kiss on their 1981 wedding day.
The couple, seen shortly before their 1992 separation, divorced in 1996.
"It's such a sad thing to say that he never loved her and so he never returned the compliment," the former palace employee says of Charles. "He wasn't romantic. He tried to be, but he didn't have a romantic bone in his body."
Diana married Prince Charles in July 1981, with the couple separating in December 1982 and officially divorcing in 1996. Throughout their relationship the princess shared her frustrations about how the then-Prince of Wales didn't seem to return her love and affection, even confessing to her dance teacher that she felt as if she "was not enough for him."
Charles, of course, went on to marry his longtime love Camilla Parker Bowles, with Burrell noting that even if he wasn't romantic with Princess Diana, "he made up for it with Camilla."
Today, it seems that at least some of the royals enjoy a V-Day celebration, with Prince William and Princess Kate breaking royal tradition by sharing their first-ever Valentine's post on Instagram in 2025. Meghan Markle and Prince Harry also celebrate the holiday, and the Duchess of Sussex recently stepped out in a pair of diamond earrings she received as a Valentine's Day gift from her husband last year.
