His job was one of the most glamorous in the world -- bodyguard to the Princess of Wales. Years after he left her service, her life was tragically cut short. Ken Wharfe spoke to JENNY SCOTT about is own reaction to the event that shook the world. . .

FOR many it was a day of incredulity, shock and profound grief. But for Ken Wharfe, August 31, 1997 these feelings were mingled with a deep sense of helplessness and frustration.

For six years Ken, 56, had worked as Princess Diana's personal protection officer -- prepared to lay down his life for hers -- before leaving her service in 1993 as the Princess determined to embark on a more "normal" existence.

And on the day of her death in a Paris car crash, he felt not only grief-stricken for his former employer, but also a sense she'd been failed by the very people supposed to protect her.

"Diana's death wasn't a conspiracy," he said. "There were far too many variables for somebody trying to stage-manage a road accident.

"Rather it was down to the inefficiency of the security surrounding her at that particular time.

"If I were Mohammed Al Fayed, I wouldn't be spending all this time on conspiracy theories; I'd be asking why the security failed -- because it did."

The sole survivor of the crash, which killed Diana, her lover Dodi Al Fayed and driver Henri Paul, was Dodi's bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones.

While many have felt sympathy with a man who says he has no memory of the accident, Ken's own pity is tempered by his professional opinion that more should have been done to protect the princess.

"What I would have done is contact the police and say, 'There are too many paparazzi.' And the police would gladly have helped. They did it for me many times when I was in Paris with Diana.

"The worst-case scenario then would have been Henri Paul driving into the back of a police motor cycle."

Ken also finds it difficult to believe the Princess of Wales wasn't wearing a seat belt when the accident took place which could -- he claims -- have saved her life.

"Diana needed someone in the car that night to tell her, 'Ma'am, do your belt up'.

Ken spent nearly half his 34 year career protecting the royal families of Europe. When he left the princess's service he subsequently worked with the Queen's cousin, the Duke of Kent. Did he ever envisage such a career when he joined the Metropolitan Police Force at the age of 17?

"Not at all," he said. "At that sort of age I thought you had to swim through shark-infested waters to get to work with the Royal Family. I never thought I'd end up in such a job. It was a marvellous experience."

At first employed to protect Princes William and Harry, Ken has fond memories of the human side of a family known to most people only through the distorted media lens.

"One of my funniest memories is of William's first day at school," he said. "There were 120 photographers banked up outside the gates and we went through to meet the headmistress.

"Then we went to stand in reception and one of the kids came up to us and said to William, 'Is it true you know the Queen?' William replied: 'Don't you mean granny?'"

While he would hesitate to refer to the Princess as a friend, he inevitably knew many of her secrets. Infamously, he was mentioned on the Dianagate tapes, which revealed how he arranged her clandestine meetings with James Gilbey. Knowing about such arrangements was, Ken insists, part of his duty.

"For example, in James Hewitt's case we knew what was going on with him and Diana. But only when we knew what was happening could we provide the best security for her."

Since Diana's death, he has published a best-selling book Diana: Closely Guarded Secret, appeared on many TV documentaries and embarked on a lecture tour. So how does he respond to accusations that he's cashing in on the Princess' name?

"The reason I got involved in the first place was because I wanted to place into context all that was in the public domain and show the positive side of Diana.

"You get people saying the Princess was mad and unwell. Well, I worked with her. I know she was a bit unreliable sometimes, but she wasn't bonkers."

So Ken would see himself as the polar opposite of Paul Burrell -- Princess Di's publicity-hungry butler.

"Paul caught a dose of red carpet fever and allowed the word celebrity to creep into his life," said Ken.

"There's a certain amount of fantasy in his outlook, but it would be wrong for me to criticise him for having a story to tell."

Only last week Ken featured in the CBS programme that broadcast pictures of Diana's fatally injured body in America.

"CBS made a huge mistake in using that picture and had any of the contributors, including myself, been told about that they wouldn't have had a programme," he said.

"The rival channel, NBC, had scored a huge hit by broadcasting audio tapes of Diana talking about her marriage and CBS wanted to rival that. I don't think they realised how much outcry there would be."

Despite such notorious appearances, Ken claims he doesn't enjoy treading the celebrity cakewalk.

After 30 years of marriage, he was recently divorced and has now retired from royal protection.

His lecture tour -- in which he details his career and conducts a question and answer session -- is a new experience.

"It's a new dimension for me," he said. "I've done after-dinner speaking before, but nothing like this. Hopefully it's an evening that will prove interesting to people."

Catch Ken at Burnley Mechanics on May 6. For tickets call (01282) 664400.