Diana considered 'marrying Khan'

Paul Burrell worked for Princess Diana for more than 10 years

Princess Diana's former butler has told the inquest into her death she had considered a private marriage to heart surgeon Hasnat Khan.

Paul Burrell said he spoke to his parish priest about how a Christian woman and Muslim man might marry.

Mr Burrell worked for Diana for more than 10 years.

He also said that he "connected all the princess's friends and all her world" and was "at the hub of the wheel, everybody was at the spokes".

She asked me if it was possible to arrange a private marriage between her and Hasnat Khan Paul Burrell

Mr Burrell said Diana told him that she had been more in love with Mr Khan than "any other man".

The "extremely serious relationship" had lasted for two years, he said, and Dr Khan had been a regular visitor to Kensington Palace until the couple parted in July 1997.

When asked by Ian Burnett QC, representing the inquest, whether she "contemplated" marriage with Mr Khan, the former butler replied: "Yes, she did.

"She asked me if it was possible to arrange a private marriage between her and Hasnat Khan."

However, it is not known whether Mr Khan was aware of these discussions.

Mr Burrell also said he had not been given the impression that her boyfriend, Dodi Al Fayed, was "the one".

The next gift you are going to receive will be a ring and it could be misconstrued as an engagement ring Paul Burrell to Diana

He described Diana's relationship with Mr Al Fayed as "a very new friendship which developed into something more".

He told the High Court in London that he did not believe the couple's romance had begun during a holiday on Mr Al Fayed's yacht at the end of July 1997.

Instead he thought it was only after their return that the pair became romantically linked.

Diana had taken a holiday on Mohamed Al Fayed's yacht, the Jonikal, with her sons, Princes William and Harry.

When asked by Mr Burnett about the early nature of the relationship, Mr Burnell replied: "It was very fresh, new and exciting."

Mr Burnett also asked: "By that stage had you any sense from the Princess that... to use a hackneyed phrase that has appeared in so many media reports, Dodi was 'the one'?"

Mr Burrell replied: "No, I didn't have that impression.

Showered with gifts

"I certainly don't think the romance started on the first holiday. I think that would have been inappropriate with William and Harry being in attendance."

Mr Burrell also said a ring bought by Mr Fayed for the princess was "not an engagement ring, it was a friendship band".

He said that to make sure no-one, including Mr Al Fayed, would be misled into thinking it was anything else, Diana wore it on the fourth finger of her right hand instead of on her left.

Mr Burrell said this was his idea, made to the excited princess as she was being showered with gifts of "very expensive" Bulgari jewellery by her new beau that included a necklace, earrings, a bracelet and a watch.

Mr Burrell said he told Diana: "You know what is coming next. The next gift you are going to receive will be a ring and it could be misconstrued as an engagement ring.

'On the rebound'

"She said 'If he gave me a ring, what should I do with it?' and I said 'Put it on the fourth finger of your right hand and immediately he will see that it is a friendship ring, not an engagement ring' and that's when she said 'I need marriage like a rash'."

Mr Burrell said the couple were definitely not engaged and rubbished rumours that they planned to wed.

"This was only a 30-day relationship. The princess had just finished a long-term relationship with someone she had cared deeply about. I know that because I was there and saw it.

"And on the rebound from that relationship, (she) had met someone who was very kind, generous and spoiling. The princess enjoyed it."

He said that if Diana had got engaged she would have told close friend Lucia Flecha de Lima or "someone she trusted as much as me".

Unrivalled knowledge

Coroner Lord Justice Scott Baker has previously said the jury may think Mr Burrell had unrivalled knowledge of intimate aspects of Diana's life as he "plainly had a close professional relationship with Diana."

Diana died along with her lover Dodi Al Fayed and their driver Henri Paul in a car crash in Paris in 1997.

Mr Burrell is likely to be questioned about a note from the princess to him in which she said that her husband Prince Charles was "planning an accident in my car".

He may also be asked about a conversation he had with the Queen in which he claims she warned him: "There are powers at work in this country about which we have no knowledge."

In 2002 Mr Burrell, who worked for the Royal Family for more than 20 years, was cleared of stealing Diana's possessions after an Old Bailey trial collapsed.

Russia summons UK envoy over row

Two British Council offices defied a Russian closure order by re-opening

The Russian foreign ministry has summoned the UK ambassador amid an escalating row over the reopening of two British Council offices.

The Council's branches reopened on Monday despite a government ban.

Russia called the move a "provocation" and said it would not issue new visas to British Council staff.

The offices were ordered to shut last month in the latest clash over the fatal poisoning of former Russian agent Alexander Litvinenko in London.

The branches which reopened are in St Petersburg and Yekaterinburg. The ban does not apply to the British Council's Moscow office.

'Inflaming tensions'

A statement on the Russian foreign ministry's website said: "Russia views such actions as an intentional provocation aimed at inflaming tensions in Russian-British relations.

UK-RUSSIA ROW Nov 2006: Alexander Litvinenko dies in London May 2007: UK accuses ex-KGB agent Andrei Lugovoi of murder July: Russia refuses UK request to extradite Mr Lugovoi July: UK expels four Russian diplomats July: Russia expels four British embassy staff December: Russia tells British Council to shut two offices Jan 2008: British Council re-opens both offices

"The Russian side will not issue visas to new employees sent to work in the (British) consular offices of St Petersburg and Yekaterinburg to carry out British Council work."

The UK embassy in the Russian capital declined to comment on the schedule of the ambassador, Sir Tony Brenton.

But BBC Moscow correspondent Richard Galpin says the envoy will appear at the Russian foreign ministry on Monday afternoon.

He says the escalating diplomatic crisis between the two countries is now coming to a head and it is not clear if either side is willing to back down.

The British Council, which aims to promote cultural and educational ties, was accused of violating Russian tax rules.

A spokesman for the Council insisted on Monday that its activities were "fully compliant with Russian and international law".

"We believe we're caught up in a political matter," the spokesman told the BBC News website.

'Valuable work'

The British Council's chief executive, Martin Davidson, said they would continue talking to the Russians in the hope of continuing their work.

He told the BBC: "We have to understand the issues, the problems they have with our work, but we believe [our work] is enormously valuable.

Russia has linked its action to wider British-Russian tensions

"We know ordinary Russian people believe it is of real value to them, as well of course to us here in the UK, to have that relationship with Russia."

The offices in Yekaterinburg are on the premises of the UK consulate-general.

The row came on top of continuing tensions over the death of former KGB officer Alexander Litvinenko in London in November 2006. He had been given a fatal dose of radioactive polonium 210.

The UK wants Russia to hand over businessman Andrei Lugovoi, whom UK investigators suspect of murdering Mr Litvinenko.

When Russia refused to extradite Mr Lugovoi, Britain expelled four Russian diplomats and Moscow followed suit.

Russian officials have described the action against the British Council as a retaliatory measure.