As the platinum jubilee approaches, guests of the M4 Business Network’s latest breakfast event were given the chance to hear first hand accounts of life inside Buckingham Palace from Princess Diana’s former butler Paul Burrell.

Mr Burrell regaled the network’s 160 members and guests with behind-the-scenes accounts of a life in service which have made him a best-selling author and one of the nation’s most recognisable Royal commentators.

He recounted that his inspiration to work at Buckingham Palace came at the age of eight, when he watched the Changing of the Guard during a trip to London.

That dream was realised ten years later, when he received a letter offering him a position in the Royal household, which would see him become the Queen’s personal footman a year later.

However, Paul Burrell is best known for the time he spent with the household of Charles and Diana at Highgrove House.

Reflecting on that period he revealed how he became close with Diana, serving at her side through “the good times and the hardships”, until a car accident in Paris claimed her life.

Mr Burrell also shared stories from what he calls “the second phase of my life”. Those milestones included marrying his husband, authoring a best-selling account of his service to the Royals, and entering the jungle as a contestant in the fourth series of the ITV reality show ‘I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here’.

M4 Business Network chairman and managing partner of UHY Hacker Young Paul Byett said: “It was a pleasure to once again welcome our members back to the M4 Business Network alongside those who are joining us for the first time.

“I’d like to thank Paul for providing and open and insightful window into his life and career with the Royal household. He has upheld our breakfast club’s reputation for securing entertaining and informative speakers, and I look forward to announcing our next guest host very soon.”

The next meeting of the M4 Business Network will take place at the Celtic Manor Resort on September 13.

For more information about the network visit www.m4businessnetwork.org.