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Diana's butler: 'This is how her anorexia started'

Princess Diana's former butler Paul Burrell has revealed what he believes really triggered her lifelong battle with an eating disorder.

During Wednesday night's I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!, the 59-year-old claimed it was due to Diana's turbulent relationship with her mother, Frances Shand Kydd.

Diana's mother divorced her father Earl Spencer when she was just seven years of age and her father gained sole custody of her and her three siblings: Sarah, Jane and Charles.

Diana's former butler has revealed what he thinks caused her eating disorder. The late princess is pictured here in 1983. Source: Getty
Diana's former butler has revealed what he thinks caused her eating disorder. The late princess is pictured here in 1983. Source: Getty

Frances then married Peter Shand Kydd, splitting her time between Australia, Scotland - where the couple owned a property - and London.

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"She wasn't a very kind person," Paul recalled on I'm A Celeb. "Diana was the daughter which came very late. Then she left her husband Earl Spencer and went to Australia to marry Peter Shand-Kydd the wallpaper tycoon."

Paul Burrell believes Diana's 'anoxeria' was down to her turbulent relationship with her mother. Source: Ten
Paul Burrell believes Diana's 'anoxeria' was down to her turbulent relationship with her mother. Source: Ten

Paul then went on to reveal how Diana had thought she was at fault for her mother leaving her father which is what triggered her eating disorder.

"Diana always thought it was her fault that mummy had left home," he said. "She blamed herself and that's where her anorexia started. She suffered with it all her life."

The late princess' former butler went on to explain the pair did eventually reconcile but Diana was never sure if it was for 'the best restaurant tables in London' or 'to go to Wimbledon'.

Paul is here with Diana in Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1997. Source: Getty
Paul is here with Diana in Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1997. Source: Getty

However, Diana always said she suffered from bulimia.

In secret recordings Princess Diana did for the basis of Andrew Morton's book Diana: True Story, the former HRH said her eating disorder, bulimia, began when Prince Charles called her 'a bit chubby', soon after they got engaged in 1981.

"The bulimia started the week after we got engaged (and would take nearly a decade to overcome)," an abstract published by the Daily Mail read. "My husband put his hand on my waistline and said, ‘Oh, a bit chubby here, aren’t we?’ and that triggered off something in me."

For confidential help, call Lifeline at 13 11 14 or visit https://www.lifeline.org.au/.

Got a story tip? Send it to tips@yahoo7.com.au

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