PALACE officials warned last night that Princes William and Harry are so distraught at the disclosures of a former royal butler that they “cannot take any more”.

As it emerged that Paul Burrell is suggesting that he may reveal more damaging secrets about Diana, Princess of Wales and other royals, a spokeswoman at Clarence House said that the princes’ sense of betrayal was “a heartfelt reaction” rather than a considered statement by courtiers.

“It is a heartfelt reaction by two young men who cannot take any more. Prince William just wants the revelations to stop. It’s damaging the princess’s memory and it’s upsetting for everybody. People should examine their consciences,” she said.

In an interview in today’s Sunday Times Burrell suggests that he might disclose further letters and secrets damaging to the royal family.

He says the letters he has already made public are the “tip of the iceberg” and that if “dark forces” threaten him or his family he might release more documents.

Clarence House is understood to have suggested a “peace conference” between the princes and Burrell in an attempt to forestall further damaging allegations.

Burrell, whose book about his time as a royal butler is published this week, is unrepentant despite the princes’ deploring his “cold and overt betrayal”.

He accuses palace courtiers of “poisoning” the princes’ “little minds” and says both the Queen and the Prince of Wales are poorly advised, suggesting that the Queen is like a “dinosaur”.

He also launches an attack on Prince Charles for failing to listen to him before his Old Bailey trial last year on charges of stealing Diana’s possessions. Burrell wanted to “grab (Charles) by the throat” and tell him his version of events. The trial collapsed after the Queen revealed to prosecutors that Burrell had told her years before that he was holding some of Diana’s personal effects for “safekeeping”.

After a week of embarrassing revelations by Burrell that have further undermined the royal family, officials at Buckingham Palace believe that it is time for the relationship between Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles to be given “clarity”.

Senior courtiers are suggesting it is in the best interests of the monarchy for the prince and Parker Bowles to make a public statement on whether they hope to marry or, if not, how they see the future of their relationship.

Sir Robin Janvrin, the Queen’s private secretary, is among advisers understood to favour some form of “clarification” about the relationship.

This weekend, a former close aide to the prince is also urging action. Writing in The Sunday Times today, Mark Bolland,who used to be the prince’s deputy private secretary, states: “One of the biggest recurring controversies is the uncertainty over Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles. Their relationship has to be acknowledged.

“Let the couple get on with it. Get them out of the no man’s land that is as uncomfortable for them as it is for the rest of us.”

He also suggests the present system of courtiers clustered around the royal family should be replaced by a Head of State’s department, funded by government. Downing Street is understood to think the idea has merit.

Friends said this weekend Charles was “devastated” by media coverage surrounding Burrell’s book, which details affairs, royal deceptions, hot tempers and intimate vignettes of the Queen’s daily life, including how she gets down on her knees to put her corgis to bed.

Dickie Arbiter, a former press secretary to the Queen, said he feared Burrell was a “runaway train”. He said: “I don’t think he’s going to stop.”

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