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Princess Diana's 'rock' Paul Burrell has hit out at claims from his agent that he is touting details of a gay orgy he took part in on the Royal Yacht Britannia for cash.

His agent claimed he was willing to discuss the scandal, claiming that when the Queen found out, she threatened to fire him if he didn't settle down with a woman.

Adam Muddle told The Sun: 'He wants to talk about the scandal that happened on the Royal Yacht Britannia, which is where members of the Navy were dismissed for being caught up in a gay orgy.

'Paul was there. But he wasn't arrested or subjected to any sort of criminal charges because he was the Queen's right hand man at that point.'  

The orgy, which supposedly included several members of the navy who were later dismissed, reportedly took place in 1981, when homosexuality was still illegal in the British military.

The claims come a day after the father-of-two, 58, came out as gay and announced he would be marrying his long-term partner.

But a furious Mr Burrell hit back: 'I would like to unequivocally distance myself from the gutter quotes, attributed to my representative, that are not only unacceptable but totally misrepresent me.

'I will review how and why this 'pitch' ever came to pass without my knowledge.'

Princess Diana's 'rock' Paul Burrell (pictured fifth from right) was part of a gay orgy on the Royal Yacht Britannia, his agent claims. None of the people in the above photo of the Britannia are thought to have been involved in the reported orgy

Getting married: Princess Diana's former butler Burrell is believed to be tying the knot to his lawyer partner Graham Cooper next month (both pictured)

Mr Burrell added: 'I would ask that people judge me on words from my mouth, not what a newspaper predicts I'll say, and not what someone might wish for me to say.

'I did not commission my agent to say anything along the lines of what's been reported in The Sun.

'Any conversation on such subject matter happened only between him and the newspaper, and yet the headline attributes to me words which I repudiate.

'I would ask that people judge me on words from my mouth, not what a newspaper predicts I'll say, and not what someone might wish for me to say.

'I did not commission my agent to say anything along the lines of what's been reported in The Sun.

'Any conversation on such subject matter happened only between him and the newspaper, and yet the headline attributes to me words which I repudiate.' 

Reports from 1981 show that a trial against naval members were held in secret, which prompted rumours of a cover-up, which officials denied.

The men involved were accused of 'disgraceful conduct of a cruel, indecent or unnatural kind', and sailors were arrested after X-rated photos were found during a drugs raid.

When the Queen found out about the orgy, she threatened to fire Burrell unless he found a woman to marry. Two years later, he wed his wife of more than 30 years, Maria

The Queen was kept up to date on disciplinary proceedings during the case, and Prince Phillip was shown a special report on the case, the Sun reported.

Buckingham Palace would not comment on claims that the Queen knew Mr Burrell was involved in the orgy.

Two years later, in 1983, Burrell wed his wife Maria.

Mr Burrell, who divorced his wife last year, first hinted at the orgy in letters to his friend, Greg Pead, who claimed to have an affair with Burrell, said they had a romance in the 1980s.

Mr Pead says he had a passionate two year affair with the royal butler in the early 1980s, before he wed wife Maria and had two children, and even received a marriage proposal by letter.

When Mr Burrell was caught up in the gay porn investigation aboard the yacht Britannia, he wrote to Mr Pead explaining how he had lost his job only to be re-instated by the Queen.

Mr Pead said: 'He wrote to me saying: 'As you are aware, Greg, this has been a terrible time for me - I was dismissed from royal duties and thought my life had ended... the Queen reinstated me and said: 'Paul, I am so glad to have you back. Let's put this unsavoury business behind us.'

'I believe it was her way of trying to stop his homosexual behaviour.'

The 63-year-old, who now runs a vintage clothes store on Australia's Gold Coast, told MailOnline he also still possesses the letter from Burrell where he talks about marriage.

Speaking exclusively to Mail Online Mr Pead said: 'I've still got the letter Paul wrote to me saying he wanted to get married and he would wear white.

'I wonder if he will be wearing white for his own wedding?'

In 2009, Mr Pead told a documentary that Mr Burrell was told by the Royal family that he had to settle down or find a new job.

Mr Burrell has never talked about his sexuality even though it was well known within royal circles that he was gay.

Gay affair: Greg Pead, now 63, says he had a passionate two year relationship with the royal butler in the early 1980s, before Burrell wed wife Maria and had two children, and even received a marriage proposal by letter 

Close: Burrell, 'Mandy' and Mr Pead in London, 1981, when Pead says he was in the midst of a passionate affair with the royal butler and was invited to Buckingham Palace

Royals: Burrell, who served Princess Diana (pictured together in 1994) for ten years, claimed the Princess of Wales called him her 'rock' and the 'only man I ever trusted' - her sons would later accuse him of 'betrayal'

His spokesman confirmed that Burrell and his partner Graham Cooper, also 58, will marry in April. They have reportedly been together for a decade.

The ex- royal flunkey and his wife Maria have been living separate lives for over five years. They divorced last year after 32 years of marriage.

The couple's sons, Alex, 27, and Nick, 24 have been nothing but supportive of their father's announcement.

A friend told The Mirror that the men told their father: 'Don't worry, dad, we will stand proud beside you on your big day.'

Pead, who first went public with details of his affair with Burrell in 2002, said the announcement of Burrell's wedding to his 58 year old partner is due to take place in April.

He went public with the wedding after being approached by a national newspaper who had been tipped off about the nuptials.

Burrell's sexuality will come as no shock to members of the royal family and other members of staff.

While he always denied being gay – except to Princess Diana – others within the royal circle were aware.

One story circulating within the royal household was that Mr Burrell, then a footman at Buckingham Palace was told to get married or lose his job after allegedly being linked to gay pornography on the royal yacht Britannia.

In 1983 he wed Maria Cosgrove, a maid to the Duke of Edinburgh and they had two sons Alexander, now 27 and Nicholas,24.

The marriage took place three years after the alleged affair with Mr Pead had ended.

Previous relationship: Paul Burrell and ex-wife Maria, who divorced last year after 32 years of marriage, left in 1984, and have two sons, who were only told recently their father was gay

Mr Pead even claimed that Mr Burrell later invited him into the Queen's private quarters to see her corgi dogs.

Although only a footman, Mr Pead said Mr Burrell was treated like royalty by the other staff.

He said Mr Burrell would write love letters to him on embossed stationery from the royal yacht , Windsor Castle and the Palace.

In the letters Mr Burrell's term of endearment for his lover was 'Pumpkin Pie' and called a part of his anatomy 'roo'.

The affair continued in 1981 when Mr Pead made trips to London, and also when Burrell visited Sydney, Australia for a three weeks arriving on New Year's Eve.

Mr Pead recalled that the affair fizzled out when Mr Burrell refused to move to Australia and they last saw each other in 1982 when Mr Pead said they slept together twice.

He had no further contact with Mr Burrell but said he was stunned when he saw photos of his ex-lover's wedding to Maria in the Australian press.

Pead first went public with details of the affair 20 years after it ended when Burrell was in the headlines for allegedly stealing Diana's possessions following her death in 1997.

His trial at the Old Bailey was sensationally stopped when the Queen 'remembered' he had told her he was holding on to them for safe keeping.

New love:  Mr Burrell and partner Mr Cooper while on a holiday in Missouri, US, in 2014

Home: Paul Burrell lives in this rural Cheshire mansion with his fiance Graham, who he plans to marry next month

Following his acquittal Burrell cashed in on his close relationship with Diana by writing a tell all book.

But in a rare public statement, Prince William and Prince Harry accused him of betraying their mother and said she would have been mortified by his breach of confidence.

'We cannot believe that Paul, who was entrusted with so much, could abuse his position in such a cold and overt betrayal,' they said in 2003.

'If we may say so, we feel we are more able to speak for our mother than Paul. We ask Paul to bring these revelations to an end.'

With the proceeds of the book, he bought a property in Clermont, near Orlando, Florida, in 2004 but his wife and children remained at their home in Cheshire.

Mr Burrell spent weeks at a time touring the US as he gave speeches on etiquette and his life in royal service.

His Florida home was ironically on a road called Majestic Isle in an up market gated community about 30 miles from the Disney theme parks of Orlando.

Maria and the children later moved to Florida and the boys attended US college. Alexander worked as a swimming pool cleaner part time during breaks from his studies.

Paul and Maria Burell have two sons together, Alexander and Nicholas (pictured, in 2002)

When Mr Burrell moved back to Cheshire to run a flower shop his wife and children remained in Florida.

They were divorced last year by mutual consent.

Maria has never publically spoken about her husband's alleged sexuality.

Her only comment on the subject came when her brother Ron Cosgrove sold a story to a Sunday newspaper alleging that she knew he was bisexual.

Cosgrove also claimed Mr Burrell had a gay affair with his neighbours in Florida and he and Maria only stayed married for the sake of their children.

He later sold another story for £45,000 alleging Mr Burrell had told him he had slept with Princess Diana. Solicitors for the ex-butler said the story was false and filed a complaint to the press watchdog and Maria denied the allegations.

As the most high profile of royal servants Mr Burrell has been subject to numerous stories about his sexuality.

In 2002 comic Michael Barrymore claimed Mr Burrell had tried to seduce him while he was grieving over the death of the Princess.

Paul and Maria Burrell met while they were both working at Buckingham Palace, with Maria serving as the Duke of Edinburgh's maid, and married in 1984.

An established tradition suggested one of them should give up their job with the Royal Family, but the Queen made an exception for them, allowing both to remain in Royal service.

Mr Burrell started working for Diana four years later and went on to become one of her most trusted members of staff.

He joined Prince Charles and Diana at Highgrove House in Gloucestershire in 1987 and remained there until her death in 1997.

In 2006 Mr Burrell released his second book about his time serving Princess Diana, called The Way We Were

HOW PAUL BURRELL BECAME THE 'ONLY MAN' PRINCESS DIANA TRUSTED

Paul Burrell served as Princess Diana's private butler for 10 years

Burrell, who entered Royal Service at age 18, as a Palace footman, became the Queen's personal footman a year later.

He joined Prince Charles and Diana at Highgrove House in Gloucestershire in 1987 and remained there until her death in August 1997. 

Burrell was the only non-family member to be present at Diana's private burial at the Spencer estate Althorp. 

In 1993 she wrote a letter to him that claimed the Prince of Wales was plotting to kill her so he could marry Tiggy Legge-Bourke, the former nanny to Princes William and Harry.

The note was shown at the inquest into her death and was sent to Burrell in October - 10 months after her separation from Prince Charles was announced.

Burrell wrote two tell-all books after her death - A Royal Duty in 2003 and a follow-up book called The Way We Were in 2006 - in which he claimed she had called him 'the only man I can trust'.

It is believed the Princess of Wales entrusted him with her private papers during her divorce.

He said: 'She was surrounded by the richest, most educated people and she chose a lorry driver's son from Derbyshire. 

'She called me her rock and I took care of her.'

Mr Burrell then made millions from a series of books about his life with the princess and from appearing on reality shows such as I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here.

In the international bestseller he claimed Diana described him as her 'rock' and 'the only man I can trust'.

In 2003 he wrote a tell-all memoir 'A Royal Duty' that went into detail about his time serving the Prince and Princess of Wales, and featured letters to him from Diana.

But in a rare public statement, Prince William and Prince Harry accused him of betraying their mother and said she would have been mortified by his breach of confidence. 'We cannot believe that Paul, who was entrusted with so much, could abuse his position in such a cold and overt betrayal,' they said in 2003.

'If we may say so, we feel we are more able to speak for our mother than Paul. We ask Paul to bring these revelations to an end.'

With the proceeds of the book, he bought a property in Clermont, near Orlando, Florida, in 2004.

The relocation came two years after he was accused of stealing 352 items from Princess Diana's estate after she died - charges that were later dropped.

In 2006 he also released a follow-up book called The Way We Were. In this work, he claimed Diana's mother Frances Shand Kydd didn't like him and believed he was 'just another hanger-on grasping at Diana's celebrity'.

Maria Burrell moved to Florida in 2010 after her husband admitted he had not told 'the whole truth' at the inquest into Diana's death in 1997, which was held in 2008.

Last year they divorced.

Mr Burrell has made a number of TV appearances since Diana's death, including on Ant And Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway (left) and on ITV's I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here in 2004 (right)

Mr Burrell was quoted as saying: 'I still love my wife. Marrying her was the best thing in my life, and to witness the boys being born – nothing compares. It's sad when people part, but it happens a lot.'

A spokesman announced last year that their decision to divorce was a 'mutual one'.

A statement said: 'Our clients Paul and Maria Burrell would like to end any speculation over the past few days by confirming that they are currently going through a divorce.

'The decision to file for divorce was a mutual one, both Paul and Maria remain the best of friends and have two wonderful sons together who remain their priority.

'Paul and Maria will not be giving any further comments and would kindly request that their privacy is respected during this time.'

After his career serving the Royals, Burrell made a number of TV appearances.

In 2004 he was runner-up in series four of I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here! in which he stayed in the Australian jungle for three weeks - coming second to comedian Joe Pasquale.

He was also a judge and trainer on Australian Princess in 2005, and in March 2006 appeared on Countdown in Dictionary Corner.

In early 2006, he appeared as Richard Gere on ITV's Stars In Their Eyes, singing Razzle Dazzle from the film Chicago.

In September 2015, Paul appeared in Celebrity Big Brother as part of a shopping task.