The trial of a second former royal butler charged with stealing jewellery from the late Princess Diana ended abruptly today to spare Britain's royal family any further embarrassing revelations.
The case comes just a month after the sensational collapse of the trial of Mr Paul Burrell after the intervention of the country's queen.
Her move is also the reason for the scrapping of the case today against Mr Harold Brown (50) almost before it had begun, lawyers said.
Mr Brown had been charged with stealing a bejewelled model sailing boat, a bangle, a pair of earrings and a diamond daffodil motif from Diana's estate in 1997 - the year of her death in a Paris car crash.
He claimed he had been authorised by Mr Burrell to sell the jewelled model Arabian dhow and that Diana had given him the other items.
The news about the Brown trial will be a relief to the House of Windsor as it attempts to recover from claims of gay rape, fraud and impropriety among heir-to-the-throne Prince Charles's retinue that surrounded the end of the Burrell trial.
Mr Burrell was cleared last month of stealing more than 300 personal items belonging to Diana after the intervention of the queen, who effectively provided him with a defence. She recalled a meeting with Mr Burrell five years ago when he told her he had taken some of Diana's possessions into safekeeping.