Charles Enters Royal Saga

After more than a week of silence, Prince Charles has waded into the controversy that followed the abrupt end of former royal butler Paul Burrell’s theft trial, ordering an inquiry into his household’s role in the affair.

Charles’ private secretary, Sir Michael Peat, announced Tuesday that the prince told him to review questions raised by the trial. Peat plans to examine whether the palace covered up allegations that a former member of Charles’ staff raped a male colleague. Since the case against Burrell was dropped Nov. 1, the royals have been reeling from his intimate tales of life with Princess Diana, who died in 1997.

The saga has emboldened other palace sources to come forward with seedy stories. Most seriously, George Smith, a former royal servant, has alleged that he was raped by one of Charles’ servants in 1989 and that the man tried to assault him again in 1995. Smith accused Charles of trying to cover up the incident.

The inquiry will also look at how the theft case against Burrell collapsed so suddenly with Queen Elizabeth II’s eleventh-hour recollection that the butler had told her he was keeping Diana’s possessions safe.

Critics claimed that the queen wanted to keep embarrassing revelations from emerging if Burrell testified.