Diana planned secret wedding with Khan

London: Diana, Princess of Wales explored the possibility of a secret wedding to Hasnat Khan, the heart surgeon with whom she had a two-year relationship, her butler told the inquest into her death.

Aware of the complications entailed in the Christian mother of a future king marrying a Muslim man, the Princess asked her butler, Paul Burrell, to find out "if it would be possible to arrange a private wedding".

Burrell, 49, discussed the matter in 1996 with his priest, Father Anthony Parsons, at the Carmelite Catholic Church in Kensington, west London, without Khan's knowledge.

The Princess, who described Khan as her "soul mate" and "the man she loved more than any other", Burrell said, broke off her relationship with Khan in July 1997, after he said he did not want to become a public figure.

On a dramatic day of evidence, Burrell also disclosed that:

• Princess Diana had discussed giving Khan his own rooms in Kensington Palace and having a second home in his native Pakistan.
• Prince Philip wrote "startling" and "cutting" letters to the Princess after her marriage to the Prince of Wales broke down.
• Princess Diana dated Dodi Fayed to make Khan jealous in the hope he would rekindle their romance.
• The Princess's mother, Frances Shand Kydd, called her a "whore" and talked disparagingly of her relationships with Muslims.
• - The Queen warned Burrell to "be careful" of "powers at work in this country of which we have no knowledge".

Burrell said the Princess had a "very deep, spiritual relationship" with Khan, which ended "abruptly" during a late-night meeting days before she met Dodi Fayed. He said Diana was "excited" by Fayed's attentions, but believed she was still "burning a candle" for Khan.

Evidence: Mum said 'disgraceful'

Diana, Princess of Wales, was called a "whore" by her mother Frances Shand Kydd, Paul Burrell told the inquest.

The Princess stopped talking to her mother in June 1997 after two telephone calls from her, one of which Burrell listened to at the Princess's invitation.

Reluctantly revealing what was said in the call, Burrell said: "She called the Princess a whore and she was disgraceful and said some very nasty things."

Following the Princess's death, the late Shand Kydd spent several days at Kensington Palace going through her belongings and shredding dozens of documents.

Burrell was concerned she might be destroying "historical" letters from members of the Royal Family.

He also said a member of the Royal Family had warned the Princess: "You need to be discreet, even in your own home, because they are listening to you all of the time."

He wrote down the name of the mystery royal on a piece of paper and handed it to the coroner, who did not disclose it to the public.

- The Telegraph Group Limited, London 2008