Diana, Dodi relationship not serious, butler testifies

The late Princess of Wales gave no hint she intended to marry Dodi Fayed and was still recovering from a previous breakup, her former butler testified Monday at a coroner's inquest.

Paul Burrell, who worked for Diana for 10 years, testified he didn't believe she was planning to announce an engagement to Fayed, who was killed with Diana in a car crash in a Paris tunnel on Aug. 31, 1997.

"I think she would have cleared the decks and made space, certainly in the week preceding the announcement," he told the court.

Fayed's father, Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed, has claimed Diana was pregnant with his son's child and was going to marry Dodi.

However, Burrell characterized Diana's relationship with Fayed as a "30-day relationship," saying she was still getting over a two-year affair with heart surgeon Dr. Hasnat Khan.

"The princess had just finished a long-term relationship with someone she cared deeply about," Burrell said. "I know that, because I was there. I saw it."

Burrell, referred to by Diana as "her rock," testified Diana had told him, "I need marriage like a rash."

Diana's good friend, Lady Annabel Goldsmith, used similar language during testimony in December, telling the inquiry Diana told her she wanted another marriage "like a rash on my face."

Last week, Rodney Turner, a friend of Diana's family, told the inquest that he spoke to her about two weeks before she died. Turner said Diana told him her relationship with Fayed had ended.

Burrell has been a controversial figure in the years following Diana's death. He was aquitted of stealing items from Diana's estate in 2002, and has sold interviews to tabloids and British television. He has also written two books about his relationship with her.

The inquest, which started in October, is probing the deaths of Diana and Dodi Fayed, and is expected to last about six months.