It's hard to believe Princess Diana died almost 30 years ago. Since then, interest in the former Princess of Wales has only increased, and many ex-Royal Family employees have written books about their experiences. According to one of Princess Diana's former butlers, the royal kept one secret hidden in a drawer in her home.
Writing in his book A Royal Duty, former royal butler Paul Burrell revealed that Princess Diana used to sell her old clothing in order to generate money to spend on her sons, Prince Harry and Prince William.
According to Burrell, Diana's old clothing included designer labels such as Chanel, Versace, Catherine Walker—a Princess Kate favorite—and Armani. "An outfit worth £2,000 [approximately $2,660] would be sold for around £200 [approximately $266], and somebody, somewhere, would be walking around in the princess's clothes," the ex-butler wrote.
Diana would allegedly generate a lot of money from selling her old clothing.
"These regular sales netted the princess around £11,000 [approximately $14,650], which she kept stuffed into an envelope in a bottom drawer," Burrell claimed.
Unsurprisingly, the princess's decision to keep a large amount of cash at home shocked some of her employees.
"[I]n April 1997, she decided to hand it over to [her financial manager] Michael Gibbins, whose jaw hit the floor when he opened the envelope," per Burrell.
The ex-butler continued, "He took the money and banked it, unaware of how such a sum had been raised. Even the accountant had been left in the dark about the princess's most private finances—until then."
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