that Diana asked him to listen in on a conversation in June 1997 with her mother , Frances Shand Kydd , who died in 2004 and who was critical of her relationship with Muslim men . `` She called the princess a ` whore ' and she said that she was messing around with ` effing Muslim men ' and she was ` disgraceful ' and said some very nasty things , '' Burrell said . He agreed that , as a result of such calls Diana , decided not to talk to her mother again . The inquest , which began in October and is expected to last another two or three months , aims to uncover the facts surrounding the deaths of the Princess and Dodi and determine their cause of death -- whether by accident or otherwise . Asked earlier in the day if he believed that Fayed was `` the one , '' Burrell said `` no , I did not have that impression . '' He also cast doubt on claims that Fayed and Diana were engaged or on the cusp of engagement , saying : `` I find that difficult to believe . ''
LONDON , England -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Princess Diana 's relationships with two Muslim men provoked an outburst from her mother , who called her daughter `` a whore '' , Paul Burrell , the princess 's former butler , told an inquest Monday . Diana once referred to her former butler Paul Burrell as `` my rock . '' Burrell , who returned to Britain from his home in Florida to give evidence , was the first star witness of the London inquest , now in its fourth month . His role as confidant to Diana , who died in a Paris car crash on August 31 , 1997 , along with her boyfriend Dodi Fayed and hotel security chief Henri Paul , meant his testimony was eagerly anticipated . Burrell , whom the late princess once called `` my rock , '' cast doubt on whether Diana was ready to marry Fayed . According to Burrell , the princess was still `` holding a candle '' for former boyfriend and heart surgeon Hasnat Khan -- who she called `` her soulmate '' -- when she started dating Fayed `` on the rebound . '' Burrell told the inquest