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SHE WAS SICKENED
Mohamed Fayed made indecent proposal that left Diana shaking, reveals Paul Burrell who says she dubbed tycoon ‘Yoda’
She also branded him 'creepy' and 'slimy' and complained: 'He’s always putting his hands on me'
PROLIFIC sexual predator Mohamed Fayed once made an indecent proposal to Princess Diana that left her sickened, her former butler revealed yesterday.
Paul Burrell said Diana, who died with the tycoon’s son in a Paris car crash in August 1997, was left shaking after the encounter with the man she called a “creep”.
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The incident came before she began a relationship with Dodi.
Burrell said Fayed, who is believed to have attacked hundreds of women, told Diana: “I want you to marry my son because in Egyptian tradition, the father goes first.”
He then boasted: “I’m going to sleep with you.”
Burrell, 66, added that the princess referred to the former Harrods tycoon as “Yoda” after the wrinkly green Star Wars character — and “God” because of his rampant ego.
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She also branded him “creepy” and “slimy” and complained: “He’s always putting his hands on me”, Burrell added.
He said Fayed, who died last year aged 94, had courted Diana since 1986 when he met her at a polo match sponsored by Harrods.
Burrell said he was disgusted on hearing the unsavoury “sleep with you” remark by sleazy Fayed — who was then in his 60s and almost twice Diana’s age.
He said: “I was in the car when she came running out from his office shaking and told me, and these are her exact words, that he said, ‘I want you to marry my son because in Egyptian tradition, the father goes first’.
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“He said, ‘I’m going to sleep with you’. She then said in shock, ‘Can you imagine making love to Yoda?’.
“That’s what she called him. I was disgusted by his behaviour.
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“Diana was repulsed by the thought of having to surrender to him. By making that comment, he was setting the stage for that encounter and he was serious.
“He thought that was his right and that it would actually happen — that he would actually sleep with the Princess of Wales. And that was always in her mind all through her romance with Dodi.”
Fayed lavished Diana with gifts, let her use a secret entrance into his Knightsbridge store, and became a confidant and father figure.
Harrods vans would arrive at Kensington Palace with the latest gadgets and computer games which Diana sent back only for a lackey to arrive on foot with more parcels.
Burrell, who worked for Diana from 1987 to 1997, said billionaire Fayed was trying to soften her up and exploit her vulnerability.
In 1995, the year Fayed is said to have made his indecent offer, she gave a TV interview in which she spoke about her struggling marriage to Charles and her mental health.
I was in the car when she came running out from his office shaking and told me, and these are her exact words, that he said, ‘I want you to marry my son because in Egyptian tradition, the father goes first’
Paul Burrell
Burrell said: “Harrods offered a safe haven for her. It was only round the corner from her favourite restaurant, San Lorenzo, and she loved being able to pop in.
“Fayed saw a chance to bring her into his domain. He let her use a secret tunnel that takes you under and back up into the store.
“He told her she could have anything she wanted for free, which she declined, and let her and the boys do late-night shopping.
“What he did was give her something the royals didn’t give her. He facilitated an escape for her — and he knew what he was doing.
“He gave her an avenue to explore she thought was safe.”
Burrell, who lives near Chester, added: “I told her to be careful of him and not to trust him.
With Diana, he couldn’t go too far. She always had the upper hand because he could not afford to lose her. Unfortunately, most of the ladies that worked for him didn’t
Paul Burrell
“She agreed. She said to me, ‘Like Jackie Kennedy, I need to find an Onassis who’ll keep me safe’.”
Diana and film producer Dodi had started dating after Fayed invited her and her sons to stay at his 30-bed mansion in St Tropez in 1997.
She and Dodi were famously snapped kissing aboard Fayed’s luxury yacht the Jonikal.
Burrell said: “We all concentrated on Dodi and the Princess. But, really, the puppet-master was Fayed.
“What he wanted above everything else was to be related to the Royal Family. Fayed bought the boat before that holiday for Dodi to be able to entertain her in private.
“He spent millions trying to court her and his son was just a pawn in his game.”
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Burrell said that years before Diana and Dodi were killed in Paris, and when he was a footman to the late Queen, he saw Fayed touch women inappropriately.
He said: “His hands would wander. He would literally put his hands on ladies without asking.
“With Diana, he couldn’t go too far. She always had the upper hand because he could not afford to lose her. Unfortunately, most of the ladies that worked for him didn’t.
“She would say how Fayed was always putting his hands on her.
“People don’t touch members of the Royal Family but I saw him stroke her arm and linger too long, kiss her hand almost like a pet, and put his arm around her waist.
“If he’s doing that with Princess Diana, you can imagine what he’s doing with other women. Can you imagine the power that that man had in his store? Everybody was scared of him. When he came into the room, everybody disappeared or stood at the side.”
She knew he was wrong and had overstepped the mark. I think she knew exactly who Fayed was and she wasn’t going to be part of that game. He was always advancing and she was always retreating
Paul Burrell
Burrell also said Diana devised a plan to placate Fayed when she called in at Harrods.
He went on: “He’d pop up every single time we went in. The security guards would tell him she was there and seconds later he would be down to meet her.
“It became like a state visit. So, she started going to visit him on the top floor to say hello, for about five to ten minutes, and then he would leave her in peace.
"She didn’t want to be alone with him more than she had to be. There was a sigh of relief when it was over and she could shop in peace.”
Ex-butler Burrell revealed how Diana described Harrods’ top floor as Fayed’s “bubble”.
He added: “Diana said he was always surrounded by women in short skirts. She realised that this was his harem.
His hands would wander. He would literally put his hands on ladies without asking
Paul Burrell
“She knew things weren’t quite what they seemed but she couldn’t put her finger on it. It’s quite obvious to me that he was grooming women on that top floor. That’s just my opinion but I do think she saw him as a predator too, and saw him as being a predator to her.
“She knew he was wrong and had overstepped the mark. I think she knew exactly who Fayed was and she wasn’t going to be part of that game. He was always advancing and she was always retreating.
“It was a predatory game but not one he could win.”
Burrell’s revelations come after dozens of women told a BBC documentary that they had been assaulted or raped by Fayed.
The tycoon, who owned Harrods from 1985 to 2010, is believed to have preyed on hundreds of staff.
Burrell said Diana would stand by his victims if she were alive today.
If Princess Diana was here, she’d have stood with them, united, and said, ‘Well, it could have happened to me. It didn’t. Thank God. But I’ll be with you all the way’
Paul Burrell
He added: “I don’t think she would be surprised by these allegations because she knew he was creepy towards women.
“She wouldn’t be surprised because he propositioned her. That, ‘I’m going to sleep with you’ comment sealed it for me.
“It showed his true character because he thought he was God at Harrods and being treated like God, he could have anything or anybody he wanted.
"If Princess Diana was here, she’d have stood with them, united, and said, ‘Well, it could have happened to me. It didn’t. Thank God. But I’ll be with you all the way’.”
Burrell, who Diana described as her “rock”, went on: “She would speak about her own experience. I wish she was here telling you this.
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“It’s only the fact I was with her, and knew what she said and thought, that I’m able to do that.
“These women have been brave enough to stand up and expose Fayed. And Princess Diana is in that group. She is with them. She is one of them.”
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