Diana didn’t actually want to divorce Charles, a close friend has claimed

Hers was a marriage that became very bitter - but it turns out that Princess Diana may not have actually wanted it to end.

A close confidant of Diana's has revealed that she didn't want to divorce Prince Charles but was strong-armed into it by the palace. Paul Burrell, who was the princess's personal butler, has claimed that Diana was open to separation but not divorce. The couple had been officially separated since December of 1992. “For the children’s sake, I want to remain a family unit," Paul recalled her saying. But the Queen intervened, asking her in December of 1995 to accept a divorce. “The Queen wrote to Princess Diana and said for the sake of the monarchy, and the country, and the Church, we think best if you and Charles divorce,” Burrell explained to Express. “The Princess was furious,” he says. “She said: ‘This is my marriage, not theirs. It’s nothing to do with the Church, its to do with me and Charles and the children.’ “In the very end, she had to succumb to a divorce." Their divorce was finalised in August of 1996. She died a year later in a car accident in Paris. Paul worked for the family for 21 years and helped Diana adjust to royal life but left his role after her death.