Princess Diana's former butler Paul Burrell shares heartbreaking reality of returning home for Prince Harry

Princess Diana's former butler Paul Burrell has shared the heartbreaking reality of returning home for Prince Harry.

• Princess Diana's former butler Paul Burrell has opened up on the heartbreaking reality of Prince Harry's return home
• The former servant of the British Royal household has known the Duke of Sussex since he was just aged three
• This royal news (opens in new tab) comes as we ask can Prince Harry still be king and is he still a prince now he lives in the US? (opens in new tab)

Princess Diana's former butler Paul Burrel has opened up on the heartbreaking effect Prince Harry's return home (opens in new tab) will have on him, as he details the Duke's struggles.

Mr Burrell worked as the butler of Prince Harry's late mother for 10 years and following the death of Prince Philip (opens in new tab) aged 99, and the fall out the couple have had with the royal family since the airing of their bombshell Oprah Winfrey interview (opens in new tab), will now hit Harry more than ever.

Prince Harry jetted over for his grandfather's funeral (opens in new tab) last week and aside from reports he reached out before the funeral (opens in new tab), he came face to face with his brother Prince William and dad Charles for the first time since the interview aired.

But Mr Burrell believes Harry, 36, is facing the hardest part yet. He explained, “Harry’s world was torn apart when he left the UK and moved to California last year – and now he’s faced with the consequences. And in such devastating circumstances – to commemorate the loss of his grandpa.

“Being back in the UK, seeing his family – the family he has criticised – is extremely difficult. Seeing his beloved granny, the Queen, and to face his father and brother would not be easy. Even submerging himself back into the House of Windsor and the buildings that hold so many memories.

Mr Burrell continued, “The chapel – the same chapel where he married Meghan (opens in new tab) almost three years ago in very different circumstances. It will have stirred up all kinds of painful emotions for him. He will really have felt the impact of the decisions he’s made now and it’ll hit home.”

The Duke of Sussex has since returned home to his wife Meghan Markle and their son Archie, one, to their home in LA (opens in new tab), missing his grandmother's 95th birthday (opens in new tab) but Mr Burrell admitted his emotional visit back to the UK would haunt him on his return to America.

“His heart is on two different sides of the Atlantic now. Meghan will be faced with that dilemma – the bombshell that Harry now feels split in two," added Mr Burrell.

And he warned, "Meghan will believe that what they’ve done is right – but Harry will be feeling totally torn and so things will now have to change. She will have to figure out what their next steps will be. Those two – from different worlds – are going to have to work it out to align themselves."

But he does believe Prince Harry will win back the hearts of the public, he added, "I’m very fond of Harry and there’s something in his DNA that the public and the family will always forgive him. He’s always had a very soft spot in his granny’s heart and his grandpa’s heart."