Royal Butler 'stole Diana's clothes in 3.30am palace visit'

The former royal butler Paul Burrell made a pre-dawn trip to Kensington Palace shortly after the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, to take away some of her clothes and valuables, the Old Bailey was told yesterday.

Mr Burrell, who is accused of amassing more than 300 items belonging to the Princess, the Prince of Wales and Prince William, was seen emerging from an alleyway at 3.30am shortly after her death, carrying two evening dresses and a mahogany box.

He had reversed his Ford Escort close to an entrance of the luxury apartments, the prosecution alleged.

Mr Burrell told a royal protection officer who challenged him about the visit that he had been asked by his employer's family to destroy the possessions. He said he had chosen the hour in an attempt to be discreet. But the court heard that the Princess's sister and the executor of her will, Lady Sarah McCorquodale, told detectives investigating the collection of royal memorabilia found in Mr Burrell's home in January last year that no such request had been made.

William Boyce QC, for the prosecution, said: "In fact, no one was allowed to remove property from that location early in the morning. No request had been made for him to dispose of clothing other than that which [Diana] was wearing at the time of her death. Permission was not given for him to enter her apartments at that stage."

Prosecutors said the incident highlighted the behaviour of the butler, 44, in the month after the Princess's fatal car crash in Paris in August 1997. The court was told he had built up a treasure chest, ranging from a 19th-century silver salver to negatives for 3,020 personal photographs and a key to Kensington Palace. Mr Burrell, who has two children, denies three counts of theft.

The second day of the trial was told Mr Burrell initially denied he had kept anything from the palace when he was questioned by police from Scotland Yard's special inquiries unit.

The valuables were found after police pursuing a different line of inquiry arrived at the Burrell family home at 6.50am on 18 January last year.

Detective Sergeant Roger Milburn, one of the officers leading the inquiry, told the court they had not been expecting to find such a wide range of property. The officer said: "If I had known, I would have brought with me a photographer, a video camera operator, a full search team and a removal van."

After Mr Burrell's arrest, he presented a widely varied series of explanations for the items found in the study, loft and a bedroom of his home in Farndon, Cheshire.

Detectives from the investigation, codenamed Operation Plymouth, were told that much of the property had been gifts from Diana, or possessions she had entrusted into his care, or items he was asked to dispose of, including a pair of monogrammed pyjamas belonging to the Princess, but had not been able to do so.

Asked about a number of negatives of Diana's wedding dress, Mr Burrell said: "I didn't get around to it. I was aware of a number of items of personal property but I haven't done this because my memories of the death of the late Princess are still much too raw.''

Three framed and signed photographs of Prince William with the models Claudia Schiffer, Naomi Campbell and Christy Turlington, found in the butler's study, had not been sent to the women because Diana did not consider it appropriate, it was claimed.

A box of china, which Mr Burrell said he had been asked to destroy as Kensington Palace was being cleared, was taken home because it would have been "too noisy" to break it in the royal residence, the court heard.

The jury was told that there was "tension" in Mr Burrell's accounts of his actions between his response to Diana's death, an event about which he said he remained traumatised, and the manner in which he had allegedly collected his employer's belongings.

Mr Boyce said: "There appear to be tensions in Mr Burrell's accounts – forgetfulness, inadvertence, post-traumatic stress syndrome and a rather cool, calculated withholding of materials for rather cool, calculated reasons."

In a 39-page statement to police, the former butler intimated that he had clashed with Lady McCorquodale.

He said that he had been forced to retain many personal documents because the executors of the royal will were destroying papers which he believed should be passed to Princes William and Prince Harry. Mr Burrell said: "Such action was the only way to preserve her memory."

Several paragraphs from Mr Burrell's statement cannot be reported because the trial judge, Mrs Justice Rafferty, ruled that they were of "such a sensitive and personal nature" that they should be read by the jury alone.

The trial continues today.