The trial of Paul Burrell filled the British press corps with gleeful anticipation. The former butler to Diana, Princess of Wales (pictured with Burrell in 1997), was accused of stealing hundreds of personal items, including clothing, letters and photos, from his employer, and there was the possibility that members of the royal family would be called to testify and perhaps even reveal intimate secrets. But it was not to be.
Twelve days into the trial, Queen Elizabeth suddenly remembered a salient tidbit of information that dramatically, and conveniently, ended the proceedings. While prosecutors claimed Burrell had unlawfully secreted...
