Legal bills soar to stop 'kiss and tell' servants

The Queen's legal bill has "rocketed" in a bid to stop staff selling royal secrets.

New accounts show the amount nearly quadrupled last year as the Queen moved to stop staff cashing in.

City law firm Herbert Smith has been brought in to give specialist advice on employeegagging clauses.

The Queen spent £117,000 on legal advice, up from £32,000 in 2002, the biggest percentage increase of any item of royal household expenditure.

Paul Burrell, Princess Diana's ex-butler, reportedly made millions by selling his story to a newspaper and writing a bestselling book.

Previously, staff signed a confidentiality deal with an individual member of the royal family and that contract ended with the principal's death.

New contracts are renewed every three years and signed with the Sovereign - which is a permanent legal entity meaning they never lapse.

In future, any "kiss and tell" servant will be contracted to hand over all profits to a charity of the Queen's choice.

A senior royal aide said today: "Confidentiality has been tightened up very considerably."