London - Prince Charles has never visited the grave of his former wife, Princess Diana, Britain's Express newspaper said on Tuesday, contradicting earlier reports that he had paid his respects along with their sons, William and Harry.
Charles had been just 10km from Althorp, where Diana lies buried on her family's Northamptonshire estate, on Monday - four days after the third anniversary of her death - but had not gone to the grave, said the Express.
St James's Palace, Charles' office, declined to explain the decision. "It is a private matter," a spokesperson said. The palace also refused to say whether Charles had ever visited Diana's island grave, insisting it was "personal and private".
But the Express quoted what it termed "a well-placed source" as saying, "He has not visited the grave since the funeral - unless he stole in at the dead of night without anyone seeing him and that has not happened."
The newspaper said it understood William had visited the grave on more than one occasion, but it was not known if Harry had.
The Express, which regularly reports on the royal family and has sources close to the palace, explicitly denied earlier reports that Charles had been to the grave with William and Harry. - Sapa-DPA