The royal's and 'normal' people

[Padgates staff]

I know the Royals employ a lot of people, every now and again they seem to employ people who then get ideas of grandeur and above their stations, I just wonder if they think mimicry is the finest form of flattery or if they just get starstruck by the life style!

Dale Tryon, Baroness Tryon
Dale Elizabeth Tryon, Baroness Tryon (3 January 1948 – 15 November 1997), was a colourful figure in royal court circles, being a close friend of both Prince Charles and Diana, Princess of Wales, and a successful businesswoman in the international fashion world, with the fashion label "Kanga" and couture line "The Dale Tryon Collection". "Kanga" also came to be her own nickname. Tryon gave her support to a number of charities including SANE—the mental health charity of which she was the Chairman.
Born Dale Elizabeth Harper in Melbourne, Australia, she was the eldest of three children of a wealthy publishing magnate. In early childhood Dale was diagnosed with Perthes disease, which affects the hip joint. which she suffered with until the age of nine after being in a children's hospital in irons from feet to chest. On her graduation, she worked in London as a public relations officer for the airline Qantas.
A committed socialite described by family and friends as having "tremendous joie de vivre," within two weeks of arriving in England she had met Anthony Tryon, Baron Tryon who was a member of Prince Charles's inner circle. It was through her husband that she first met the Prince of Wales, although he had attended Geelong Grammar School in Australia. Dale and Anthony married in 1973, and had four children: Zoe, Charles, and twins Edward and Victoria.
Although married, her friendship with Prince Charles developed. Both enjoyed fly fishing, which they undertook regularly. Through this close friendship, there were continual tabloid rumours that Dale was Charles's mistress. This was in part fuelled by Dale's relationship with the press, including the Daily Mail diarist Nigel Dempster. However, in all her publicised newspaper and television interviews, Dale never revealed the extent of their friendship; although Prince Charles publicly described Kanga as "the only woman who ever understood me." Prince Charles also had a long term friendship with the also married Camilla Parker Bowles, but Dale and Camilla didn't get on, and this feud continued throughout her ongoing relationship with Prince Charles. Prince Charles was also godfather to Camilla's son Tom and Dale's son Charlie.
In 1983, Dale started a fashion business called Kanga, located in Beauchamp Place, Knightsbridge. Launched through a personal television appearance on the ITV1 show This Morning hosted by friends Richard and Judy, Dale persuaded Diana to wear a Kanga dress to the Live Aid concert. Kanga quickly became a favourite of the Sloane Ranger set, and resultantly became a successful international business. Dale lived between London and Lord Tryon's family home the 109-room Manor House at Great Durnford, near Salisbury. From the early 1980s her clothes were sold in shops from England to America to Australia, France and Spain, and her own boutique in Knightsbridge was later joined by branches in Salisbury, Hong Kong and Dublin. Both "Kanga" and her couture line named "The Dale Tryon Collection" were very successful. Tryon also did a great deal of work for a number of charities including SANE—the mental health charity of which she was the Chairman.
Some reports are quoted as saying that after the birth of her twins, Dale suffered from a recurrent bout of Spina Bifida, during the treatment for which it was discovered she was suffering from cancer of the uterus in 1993. However Spina Bifida is a physical deformity of the spine - a permanent condition - and is not suffered in 'bouts'. It is more likely that her health suffered from her known diagnosis of Legg–Calvé–Perthes syndrome. After this point she travelled for a period with a nurse, a physiotherapist, and her daughter who would lie next to her as she slept, rolling her over regularly. During Prince Charles's and Diana's divorce Dale tried to remain friends with both parties; for a while it had become well-founded tabloid speculation that Prince Charles had, since the breakdown of his own marriage, been continuing an affair with Camilla Parker Bowles, which led to Dale and Charles starting to become distant.
To help her recover from her medical treatments, Tryon became very interested in alternative medicine and a wide variety of spiritual practices; she also decided to undertake a retreat in the Himalayas. Soon after she received the 'all clear' from cancer, Tryon underwent treatment at Farm Place, an alcohol and drug rehabilitation clinic in Surrey. She was on a heavy dose of painkillers, and drank excessive quantities of vodka and champagne. While undergoing treatment for addiction at the Farm Place Clinic, she jumped from a first-floor window, broke her back and became paralysed.
Tryon was left a paraplegic from her fall and even after more than a year in a spinal rehab she never walked again. Coupled with recurring depression, and after being told by her husband that he wanted a divorce, she was detained on 17 June 1997 under the Mental Health Act for 28 days, after leaving the Black Horse Inn in Great Durnford. After release from the spinal injuries unit at Salisbury District Hospital, she returned home. After her divorce she renounced her title,[8][dead link] and moved into The Ritz hotel, from where she gave her last recorded interview with journalist Christopher Wilson.
On her return from a trip to Australia and India, Tryon was admitted to the King Edward VII Hospital, Westminster, suffering from complications from severe bed sores. Tryon died on 15 November 1997, a few months after Diana, at King Edward VII Hospital from septicaemia, aged 49. She was buried four days later in England, and in her will left her £1.3 million estate to her children.
On 4 November 2008, Tryon was the subject of a documentary, Prince Charles' Other Mistress, aired by Channel 4 television.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26oQjwgS6kE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGkzdbiMqaA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5U3SN1E8xUs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrtsBD0uNZw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JM3kfmAga4o

[Padgates staff]

Paul Burrell
Paul Burrell, RVM (born 6 June 1958) is a former servant of the British Royal Household. He was a footman for Queen Elizabeth II and later butler to Diana, Princess of Wales. Since her death in 1997, Burrell has featured in the media, sometimes prominently, in connection with her, and since 2004 as an occasional entertainment show celebrity.
Burrell was awarded the Royal Victorian Medal in November 1997 for services to the Royal Family.
Personal life
Burrell is married to Maria Cosgrove, who formerly worked for Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. The pair met while working In Buckingham Palace together. They have two sons, Alexander and Nicholas. When they married in 1983, established precedent dictated that one of them would have to give up their job with the Royal Family, but Queen Elizabeth II made an exception for them, allowing both to remain in Royal service. This situation earned them a measure of fame at the time. Burrell is a fan of Wrexham Football Club and St Helens Rugby Football Club.
Background and career in the Royal Household
Paul Burrell grew up in Grassmoor, Derbyshire, a coal-mining community in England's Midlands. His father was a lorry driver and it was initially assumed that Burrell would go to work in the local colliery, but had decided aged eight years that he wanted to work at Buckingham Palace after a trip to London with his family, where he witnessed the Changing of the Guard. He attended William Rhodes Secondary School in Chesterfield and left, aged 16, with six O-Levels before attending High Peak College in Buxton where he studied hotel management.[3]
Burrell entered Royal Service at age 18, as a Buckingham Palace footman, becoming the Queen's personal footman a year later. He was nicknamed "Small Paul", to distinguish him from a taller footman, who was known as "Tall Paul"According to his autobiography, he had received a simultaneous job offer from cruise line Cunard but his mother had burned it because "He'll chuff off on that boat and we'll never see him again".In 1987 Burrell joined the household of heir to the throne Charles and Diana at Highgrove House in Gloucestershire, where he acted as butler to the princess until her death in August 1997. He was awarded the Royal Victorian Medal in November 1997 for services to the Royal Family.
Diana, Princess of Wales
Burrell claims to have been a faithful butler. Diana, Princess of Wales described him as "the only man she ever trusted". She was very fond of him, and she described him as her "rock", but her mother, Frances Shand Kydd, detested him and believed that he was "just another hanger-on grasping at Diana's celebrity".A reader who wrote a review about a book he wrote, The Way We Were: Remembering Diana, described him as a man who "writes with honesty and love for the woman he served for so many years".
Events since the death of Diana, Princess of Wales
Royal Household and inquest related
Since the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, and the ten-year gradual unfolding of the matter leading to a Coroner's Court in 2007-2008, Burrell has been routinely mentioned in the context of Diana, and has gained a measure of renown in the media. At times the coverage has been adverse, for example in a 2002 case where he was charged with theft related to Diana's possessions. The trial collapsed after evidence was given that the Queen had spoken with him regarding disputed events, and a Public Interest Immunity (PII) certificate was presented by the Crown Prosecution Service on the basis that disclosure of certain information would be harmful to the public interest. The aftermath of the collapse of the trial led to the Burrell affair.
In January 2008 Burrell appeared as a witness at the inquest into the death of Diana. Burrell said that he had approached a Catholic priest about a private marriage between Diana and the heart surgeon Dr Hasnat Khan, and he rubbished rumours that Diana was about to announce her engagement to Dodi Fayed. He was also questioned about a letter to him from Diana in October 1993, in which she said her husband was planning to have her killed to make the path clear for him to marry Tiggy Legge-Bourke. The coroner dismissed notions of a "secret" that Burrell knew about Diana that he swore he "would never reveal", as detailed at the end of his book, A Royal Duty. number of other matters were discussed in relation to this case, many alleged and not proven. These included allegations of perjury at the coroner's court, and allegations regarding his personal life. Burrell stated he would not return to court for fear of being embarrassed and humiliated by the possible questioning.
On 18 February 2008 The Sun newspaper reported that Burrell had admitted, on tape, that he had not told "the whole truth" during his appearance at the Diana inquest, he also said he had thrown in a "few red herrings". Some reports suggested that Burrell could be charged with perjury. The Sun newspaper said it was turning the tape over to the court on 19 February 2008.
Burrell received much criticism for copying Diana's letters and his integrity was called into question. He referred to himself as the princess's "rock," and the coroner, Lord Justice Scott Baker accused him of being "a rather porous rock - given in mind what leaked out."
Burrell has since continued to profit from his closeness to the princess.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Burrell
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccCt90Pdaik

[Padgates staff]

William John Stephenson Tallon, RVM (Backstairs Billy) (12 November 1935 – 23 November 2007) was a steward and extrovert member of the Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother's staff at Clarence House.
Tallon's first job in the Royal Household was as a junior assistant, at Easter Court at Windsor in 1951, at age 15. He had been writing letters asking for work with the Household for the previous five years. He was later employed at Buckingham Palace. He was set to join Queen Elizabeth II on her Commonwealth tour in 1953-1954 but was kept back and did his National Service with the RAF. Subsequently, he asked the Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother if he could join the staff as her home, Clarence House. She agreed, and he remained with her until her death in 2002.[
After the death in 2000 of his partner, Reg Wilcock, the House Deputy Steward and the Queen Mother's Page of the Presence, in 2000, Tallon reportedly suffered from depression when the Queen Mother turned to a younger team. When she died in 2002, at age 101, Tallon left Clarence House. He settled in a ground-floor flat with a garden in Kennington, where he was found dead on 23 November 2007, at age 72.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backstairs_Billy
Channel 4 released a TV documentary Backstairs Billy: The Queen Mum's Butler in 2009 in which he was portrayed as a bully, a good time lad and with ideas above his station!

[Padgates staff]

Jane Andrews
Jane Andrews (born 1967) is a one-time Royal dresser for Sarah, the Duchess of York who was convicted of murdering her lover Tom Cressman during a sensational trial in 2001 at the Old Bailey that attracted much public interest, both due to the dramatic circumstances of the killing and the story of the working-class girl who mixed intimately with the rich and glamorous, though officially only as a servant.
Early life
Andrews was born in Cleethorpes, North Lincolnshire, the youngest of three children. Her father worked as a joiner and her mother was a social worker. As a child, Andrews was promising and intelligent, excelling in grammar school. But due to the family's debt, they moved to a small townhouse in the nearby seaport town of Grimsby.
Throughout her teenage years, Andrews struggled with various psychological problems, including depression, panic attacks, and an eating disorder. At the age of 15, she attempted suicide by overdose after her mother discovered her truancy. Two years later at age 17, she became pregnant and had an abortion, which she stated was a traumatising experience.
Since her childhood, Andrews aspired to leave her blue-collar roots behind. She enrolled in a fashion course at the Grimsby College of Art, and afterwards took a job designing children's clothes at Marks and Spencer. However, at age 21, she answered an anonymous ad in The Lady magazine for a personal dresser. Six months later, she interviewed with Sarah, Duchess of York and began working for her at Buckingham Palace four days later. Despite a modest salary of only 18,000 euros, Andrews lived a newfound opulent lifestyle, and she was able to purchase a new flat in Battersea Park. It is alleged that Andrews stole approximately 250,000 euros worth of jewels from the Duchess' suitcases in 1995, although these allegations were never proven. The job brought Andrews a higher status and a new circle of friends; she was reportedly involved with several men whom she met through work.
Previous relationships
In August 1990, after a short courtship, Andrews married Christopher Dunn-Butler, an IBM executive twenty years her senior. The couple divorced five years later; Andrews cited that "pressures of work" led to the couple's split, although Dunn-Butler cited multiple counts of infidelity on Andrews' part. Andrews admitted to her infidelity, saying that "I had a couple of flings. I'm not proud of it."
Following her divorce, Andrews met Dimitri Horne, the son of a Greek shipping magnate. However, after a bitter breakup, Andrews trashed the flat they shared. That brought Andrews into a deep depression. She overdosed again but survived without seeking medical treatment.
During this time, it is alleged that the Duchess was having an affair, with Tuscan aristocrat Count Gaddo della Gheradecsu. However, he supposedly also had feelings for Andrews. Shortly after this alleged fling, Andrews was dismissed from her job as the Duchess' royal dresser. Although it is believed by some that this issue led directly to Andrews' termination, Buckingham Palace officials state there is no truth in this and that her departure was part of a cost-cutting exercise.
Relationship with Cressman
Andrews was introduced to Thomas Cressman, a former stockbroker, in 1998 by a mutual acquaintance. Cressman ran a successful business selling car accessories, and mixed in the upper echelons of London society. Due to her supposed financial hardships at the time, Andrews moved into Cressman's flat in Fulham shortly into their relationship. She got a job at the Claridge's Hotel in October 1999 as a PR manager, but was forced to leave after only two months. For the next two years in the couple's relationship, Andrews made it obvious that all her hopes were pinned on Cressman as her future husband and father of her children.
Murder
In September 2000, Andrews accompanied Cressman on a holiday in Italy and to his family's villa on the French Riviera. Andrews was reportedly expecting Cressman to propose marriage to her during their vacation, but Cressman told her that he had no intention of marrying her. After returning to the couple's Fulham flat, the couple allegedly got into a heated argument. Cressman had called police reporting that "somebody is going to get hurt", but police never came to his apartment. That night while Cressman was sleeping, Andrews smashed him with a cricket bat and then stabbed him with a knife. Following the bloody attack, Andrews fled the scene. She contacted her ex-husband Christopher Dunn-Butler shortly after killing Cressman, and then sent out text messages to friends inquiring about her lover's whereabouts and well-being. She claimed to have no involvement in Cressman's death and stated that he was being blackmailed. After having been untraceable for days, police were able to locate Andrews in Cornwall, England, where she was found overdosed in her car. She once again survived her suicide attempt, and after a police interrogation, Andrews was arrested for murder.
Trial
In May 2001, eight months after Tom Cressman's murder, Jane Andrews went to trial at London's historic Old Bailey courthouse. Her trial made international headlines. Prosecutors stated that the motive for the killing was a woman scorned. Andrews, however, testified in her own defence that Cressman had been abusive to her during their relationship. She cited his sexual obsessions and an incidence from two years earlier where she had broken her arm while dancing, stating that Cressman had pushed her. She also claimed that she suffered abuse during childhood, which led her to kill. After twelve hours of jury deliberation, she was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison.
Imprisonment
In 2002, a psychiatrist diagnosed Andrews with borderline personality disorder. In November 2009, after having served nine years in custody, Andrews escaped from the East Sutton Park Prison in Kent, England. After being an escapee for three days, she was captured in a hotel room with her family just six miles away from the prison from where she escaped. She was ultimately not charged with absconding.
In October 2011, she was considered for early release. In May 2012, she was judged to be still a danger to the public and therefore unsuitable for release for at least another year.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Andrews