Fridae

In the latest twist in the bizarre media feeding frenzy surrounding Britain's royal family, a former aide of Prince Charles said in a newspaper interview that he was raped by another man on the staff, who has since broken his silence anonymously to vigorously deny the allegations.

The royals have also been accused of covering it up by conducting an internal inquiry rather than calling in the police.

George Smith, 42, a former royal valet, waived his legal right to anonymity and voluntarily named himself and elaborated on the incident in The Mail on Sunday. He said he was 29 and married with two children when he was assaulted by one of Charles' staff in 1989. He said he was invited to the man's home for lunch, given gin, beer and champagne, and raped as he slept on a sofa.

While the alleged attacker was not identified by the British media, he was named by an Italian newspaper and its website.

A potentially even more damaging revelation in The Mail on Sunday was of an alleged "incident" involving a member of the royal family and a palace servant - some media outlets have however chosen not to repeat the allegations for legal reasons.

Other disclosures in newspapers over the weekend included allegations surrounding Burrell's sex life, gay slurs involving famous personalities as well as allegations that gifts given to the royal family were given to servants or sold for cash.

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While the Prince's aide has denied the accusations, the Palace is under pressure to explain why it only initially carried out an internal inquiry rather than calling in police. The Palace explained that the matter was dropped because the alleged victim did not want to pursue charges.

The rape allegation was just one of the sensational claims that had first emerged from the trial of former royal butler Paul Burrell who had been charged with stealing hundreds of items belonging to the late Princess Diana, Prince Charles and their son Prince William.

Burrell, was however acquitted on Nov. 1 after the Queen suddenly revealed she knew he took the items for safekeeping.

During the trial, the jury heard Diana was said to have kept a tape recording of the alleged rape victim talking about the incident. There was no dispute over whether the tape - which has since disappeared - was recorded.

According to a CNN report, Burrell was paid about �300,000 (US$477,000) by the Daily Mirror to share his stories, including that of the tape. He insisted on Monday he had not made anything up. "Telling my story was never about money -- only about truth and justice," Burrell said.

Burrell who is currently on as a media tour of New York and is even considering several offers for a book deal said his acquittal had ended 21 months of hell for him and his family. He is due to appear on Barbara Walters' 20/20, breakfast show Good Morning America and daytime show The View.