The Queen has taken measures to make sure none of her staff follow in the footsteps of Princess Diana's former butler Paul Burrell. The monarch has spent nearly £100,000 on having new contracts, which include a strict confidentiality clause, drawn up for royal servants.
All staff must now sign the watertight agreements, which have been carefully designed to avoid the legal loopholes which have frustrated the Windsors in the past.
Until now palace employees have had to sign a privacy deal with an individual member of the royal family, but this contract became obsolete if the principal died. From now on the agreements will be renewed every three years and signed by the Sovereign, which is a permanent legal entity.
The new arrangements also mean any staff members who do decide to tell their stories will have to donate their profits to charity.
News of the new contracts came with the publication of Buckingham Palace's latest accounts, which revealed the investment in the new agreements. And protecting the Royal Family's privacy does not come cheap - the monarch's legal advice bill has jumped from £32,000 to a staggering £117,000. Palace insiders believe it will be money well spent if it can prevent the controversies of recent years being repeated.
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