Paul Burrell hopes to move from Chester to US permanently

Dec 24 2009 Chester Chronicle

ROYAL butler Paul Burrell and wife Maria hope to move to America permanently.

Their three storey Georgian home in Farndon and next door florists is on the market for £600,000 but reports suggest the couple are struggling to find a buyer.

A spokesman for Mr Burrell said: “Regardless of the often inaccurate national press coverage, Paul and Maria have always been working towards a life full-time in Florida. As for the house sale, they're facing the same realities of the current market as much as everyone else.”

Mr Burrell has spent the last few years based in Florida promoting his business interests while wife Maria has stayed on in a flat above the shop but visits her husband on a regular basis.

Their grown-up sons Alex and Nick live with Mr Burrell in the States.

Mr Burrell previously said he was based in the US in order to promote his range of ‘Paul Burrell’ merchandise and not because he feels unwelcome in Britain.

He said: “Because I spend a lot of time in America and because I work in America doesn’t mean I’m hiding in America. If I walk down the street in Chester, a lot of people approach me and there’s a lot of warmth from the public and gladly they don’t believe all they read in the newspapers.

“I’m attached to a phenomenon, a modern day legend. I may be quite famous because of my association and people think I’m a celebrity but I have never seen myself as that. And that’s not me being modest. I’m just an ordinary man thrown into extraordinary circumstances.”

Estate agents Cavendish Ikin say of the Burrells’ property: “The premises is currently a combined commercial and residential property, suitable for continuing use or alternatively capable of being self contained.

“The ground floor is an attractive retail shop trading as a florist with preparation area and small office to the rear leading to the superb first and second floor residential accommodation with an outlook to the rear over a large garden.

“The residential area has been refurbished within the last 12 months to a high specification including a new gas central heating system, new radiators, new windows, oak boarded floors and doors. Double garage and parking, large garden and terrace, family garden room, kitchen, utility room, dining room, lounge, four large double bedrooms, two bathrooms.”