Mansion 'haunted by the ghost of Princess Diana' was previously owned by a close friend of the Queen

The mansion that Paul Burrell claims is haunted by the ghost of Princess Diana was previously owned by a close friend of the Queen, MailOnline has learned.

The former royal butler sparked surprise this week with claims that his Cheshire home is apparently haunted by the former Princess of Wales – even though she never visited the property and he himself only moved in 20 years after her death.

The mock Tudor mansion is actually owned by Burrell's partner, retired litigator Graham Cooper, 64, who appears with the butler in an upcoming episode of the show Celebrity Help! My House is Haunted on Discovery Plus.

Mr Burrell, 65, and his husband called in paranormal 'experts' after allegedly claiming they were kept awake at night by shadowy figures, whiffs of cigarette smoke and unexplained bumps.

Now MailOnline can reveal that the mansion itself, like Mr Burrell, has links to the royal family.

The previous owner, from whom Mr Cooper bought the house, was Timothy John Edward Tollemache, the 5th Baron Tollemache, a close friend of the Queen.

The stately home near Chester sits on land that was once part of an estate surrounding Peckforton Castle.

Land registry documents show the aristocrat struck a deal with Mr Cooper and another man in November 1998, with Mr Cooper subsequently becoming the sole owner of the property in 2008.

Eton-educated Baron Tollemache, who lives in Helmingham Hall, Suffolk, was Lord Lieutenant of that county for 11 years until 2014.

Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh were both close friends of Baron Tollemache for decades, making 27 consecutive annual visits to stay with his family in Helmingham.

After the queen's death, Baron Tollemache said: 'It was there where they could take off their shoes and relax in front of the fire, especially in bad times like those she described… such as her 'annus horribilis', including after the death of the queen. things, the Windsor Castle fire earlier that same week.”

Historically, the Tollemache family were the largest landowners in Cheshire in the 19th century – and the family built Peckforton Castle as a Victorian country house in the style of a medieval castle.

The faux-Tudor house is believed to date from the 19th century, when wealthy landowner Tollemache built about 50 houses on the 35,000-acre estate.

Many of the properties, built in the 1860s and '70s, included up to 3 acres of land to encourage workers to take out the leases to farm their own plots to supplement their income.

The castle was sold to a hotel group in 1998, while the house now occupied by Mr Burrell and Mr Burrell – also believed to be the ghost of the Princess of Wales – stood on a separate plot which was also sold on the same plot. time.

It is not clear how much Mr Cooper and his associate paid for it. But in the current market the house is believed to be worth around £2 million.

The property also previously featured in an episode of the property show Through the Keyhole, in which Mr Burrell discussed it.

Mr Burrell previously lived with his wife Maria Cosgrove in a more modest home in the province before they separated.

In the program, the ghost hunting team deploys a device that they claim can “listen beyond the human ear to any contact with nearby spirits.”

The machine reported back with the words 'sorry' and 'France' and Mr Burrell believes the latter could be a reference to the Princess's death in a car crash while passing through the Pont de L'Alma tunnel Paris was driven.

The Mirror reports that the former royal butler said: 'I don't understand why it would say 'France' other than the fact that the princess died in France and the fact that I went to France to bring her home.

'I had been introduced to this world before by the princess, she was deeply involved in spirituality.'

Diana's ex-butler has previously described herself as the late princess's 'best friend', claiming she called him 'the only man she ever trusted'.

And Mr Burrell is convinced Diana is still contacting him more than 26 years after her death.

“If you have loved someone in your life – and I have loved her – and that person passes away very quickly, a little piece of them remains and you carry them with you for the rest of your days,” said he.

Mr Burrell added that he dreams about Diana regularly, usually around 3am, but is not obsessed with her as he only has one photo of the two together, although he has hundreds of photos of the princess.

The former royal servant also said that Queen Elizabeth II believed in ghosts and would only stay at Allt-na-giubhsaich, the cottage in Balmoral, when her corgis were with her because they would sense a supernatural presence before she could.

This comes after Mr Burrell applauded King Charles for being so open about his prostate condition on Monday.

Mr Burrell was given the 'all clear' by doctors last year after a long battle with prostate cancer.

Speaking on ITV's Lorraine, he said: 'His problems and condition are very different to mine, but similar in other ways. It will be uncomfortable for him, but his message is clear, he wants people to know about it and he wants people to come. forward.

“This is also what I say, but he has a bigger platform than I do, people follow him and go to the doctor, people go en masse.”