A former royal valet for Prince Charles has spoken publicly for the first time about allegations he was raped by one of his colleagues.

George Smith, from Newport, south Wales, waived his right to anonymity by speaking to the Mail on Sunday newspaper about the alleged assault.

The 42-year-old Falklands veteran has also accused the Royal Family of a cover-up.

A spokeswoman for the Prince of Wales said there had been a full police investigation and no evidence had been found.

"If Mr Smith has some new evidence relating to the case, he should provide it immediately," she said.

Tape recording

Details of the alleged rape of Mr Smith emerged following the collapse of the theft case against Paul Burrell, former butler to Diana, Princess of Wales.

During his trial it emerged the princess had kept a cassette tape containing details of a case of alleged male rape of one of Prince Charles' members of staff.

The tape, which supposedly consisted of an interview Diana conducted with the alleged rape victim, went missing from a locked chest in Kensington Palace and has never been found, the Old Bailey jury heard.

Mr Smith has waived his right to anonymity

In Mail on Sunday, Mr Smith said that in 1996 he told the princess about the alleged rape against him and she recorded his accusation on tape.

St James' Palace issued a statement on Friday saying there was a full investigation between October 2001 and February 2002, of events "alleged to have taken place" in the late 1980s.

"When these allegations first emerged in 1996 they were investigated by the Palace and no evidence was forthcoming in support of them and the person concerned did not want to pursue the matter any further," said the statement on Friday.

The allegations re-surfaced and a member of the Royal household was interviewed by police voluntarily in November 2001, the statement said.

New allegation

But after a review by the police and the Crown Prosecution Service and the Director of Public Prosecutions, no proceedings were brought.

Mr Smith's interview comes after Buckingham Palace confirmed that a new allegation of male rape, unconnected to his, within the royal household was investigated last year.

A junior member of the Buckingham Palace staff complained of an attack by a fellow worker.

The person concerned did go to the police, but later decided not to proceed with the complaint, the palace said on Saturday.