BRITAIN: A new court battle which threatens fresh discomfort for Britain's royal family was looming yesterday over secret videos made by Diana, Princess of Wales.
Up to 20 tapes allegedly show an angst-ridden Diana laying bare her troubled marriage to the Prince of Wales. The videos, said to have been made in the early 1990s by the Princess's voice coach, Mr Peter Settelen, are currently held by Scotland Yard after being seized in a January 2001 raid on ex-royal butler Mr Paul Burrell's home.
Mr Settelen (52), who was training Diana to speak in public, claims the tapes are his property and is preparing for a High Court battle beginning tomorrow. But Diana's family, headed by Earl Spencer, say the tapes are theirs.
In order to establish ownership of copyright, the videos, amounting to some 21 hours of footage, could be shown during a court hearing. If Mr Settelen won, he could make millions by selling them to a broadcaster.