Former servant of Britain's Prince Charles says he was raped

LONDON -- The royal family was faced with further awkward revelations on Sunday after a former servant of Prince Charles said in a newspaper interview that he was raped by another man on the staff.

Prince Charles' office has said the allegations were investigated internally, and by police, and that there was no basis for prosecution.

George Smith, 42, a former royal valet, told The Mail on Sunday tabloid he was assaulted by one of Charles' servants in 1989.

Smith, who was 29 and married with two children at the time, said he was invited to the man's home for lunch, given gin, beer and champagne, and raped as he slept on a sofa. The alleged attacker was not identified in the report.

Smith was quoted as saying the man also tried to assault him while they accompanied Prince Charles on a visit to Cairo.

The law firm Kingsley Napley later released a statement on behalf of the unnamed alleged rapist, denying Smith's claims.

"The allegations made now to the Mail on Sunday by Mr. Smith differ substantially and significantly in many regards from those made to the police last year and must cast serious doubt on Mr. Smith's reliability and the accuracy of any allegations he might be persuaded to make."

"Our client has consistently denied that these offenses ever took place, and whilst he has no desire to enter into the current media frenzy, cannot allow wholly untrue allegations against him to be reported and unchallenged."

The allegation of a homosexual rape was one of the sensational claims to emerge from the trial of Princess Diana's former butler, Paul Burrell.

Last week Charles' office at St. James's Palace said the alleged victim did not raise the issue until 1996. It said in a statement the allegation was fully investigated but not reported to the police as "no evidence was forthcoming and because the person concerned did not want to pursue the matter further."

The allegation surfaced again in 2001 and police investigated, but the Crown Prosecution Service decided not to prosecute.

A spokeswoman for Prince Charles repeated Sunday that police found no evidence to support his allegation.

"If Mr. Smith has some new evidence relating to the case, he should provide it immediately," she said, speaking on condition that her name not be used.

Smith's revelations came as other tabloid newspapers continued their attack on Burrell, claiming he had been involved in homosexual relationships.

The former royal butler has sparked a frenzy in the tabloid press by selling his story to the Daily Mirror newspaper for a reported $620,000. While the Mirror has portrayed Burrell as a man of integrity who merely wants to set the record straight, other papers, whose bids for his story were rejected, have been vitriolic in their attacks -- calling him a royal outcast, liar and "blabbermouth."

On Sunday, The News of the World tabloid said Burrell attempted to seduce Michael Barrymore, a television personality and homosexual.

The newspaper also alleged Burrell, who is married with two sons, had a gay relationship in the early 1980s. The People tabloid also alleged he tried to seduce two men.

Burrell's agent David Warwick said on Sunday he had not discussed the allegations with the former butler. He said he had only known Burrell for a number of weeks and said he had not discussed his client's sexuality with him.

Burrell's wife of 18 years, Maria, however, said in an interview with The Sunday Mirror that she knew of his past.

"We have confronted these issues," she was quoted saying.

"There are no secrets between Paul and me. What's in the past is in the past. I went into this marriage with my eyes wide open. Whatever we face, whatever people throw at us, our marriage is strong and we will survive."