A Troubled Fairy Tale
When Lady Diana Spencer married Prince Charles in 1981, it seemed like the stuff of fairy tales. Yet that fairy tale that lost its magic long before the tragic events of August 31, 1997, and a Paris car crash that is still shrouded in mystery and controversy.
Diana And Dodi
Diana had spent nine days on the French and Italian Riviera with her boyfriend, Dodi Fayed, before the fateful decision to fly to Paris. The yacht was owned by Fayed’s father, businessman Mohamed Al-Fayed.
En Route To London
Once they landed in Paris en route to London, they headed to the Hôtel Ritz, owned by Fayed’s father. The plan was to fly to London the next day.
John Mathew Smith, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Change Of Plans
After settling in at the hotel, the couple wanted to dine out, but decided to cancel their plans in order to avoid the paparazzi that were constantly trailing them. Instead, they would head to the apartment that Dodi’s father owned close to the Hôtel Ritz.
The Driver Is Called
Mohamed Al-Fayed called the Hôtel Ritz’s acting security head, Henri Paul, and told him to drive Diana and Dodi over to his place. Unfortunately, Paul had been drinking in the hotel bar since finishing work three hours earlier. Investigators pointed to this fact as critical to the events that would happen next.
An Attempted Diversion
A car with Diana’s two bodyguards left the front of the hotel in an attempt to trick photographers into following the decoy car.
Just After The Midnight Hour
Meanwhile, at the back of the hotel, Diana and Dodi Fayed got into a 1994 black Mercedes-Benz S280, along with Dodi’s bodyguard, Trevor Rees-Jones. It was twenty minutes after midnight.
Catch Me If You Can’t
“Don't try to follow us—you won't be able to catch up,” Paul reportedly told the remaining paparazzi as he drove off.
Four-Minute Trip To Tragedy
It was a four-minute journey from the hotel to the underpass that would prove so deadly.
Speeding At The Tunnel
As Paul entered the tunnel beneath the Pont D’Alma bridge he was traveling around 65 mph (105 km/h), or around twice the speed limit of 31 mph (50 km/h).
Clipped By A Mystery Car
Diana’s car may then have been hit by a taxi cab—a white Fiat Uno—but controversy swirls about the suspected driver. What is known for sure is that Diana’s car swerved back and forth in the tunnel before hitting a pillar.
Urbán Tamás, CC BY-SA 3.0 , Wikimedia Commons
Narrow Column, Big Impact
The pillar’s narrow width meant the car couldn’t properly crumple and absorb the power of the impact. The vehicle then slammed into a stone wall.
Drops Of Blood On Diana’s Face
An off-duty French doctor happened to be driving by. He stopped and called for an ambulance. He later said Diana was breathing, had a few drops of blood on her forehead, but had no obvious facial injuries.
Russ Quinlan, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Two Passengers Pronounced Deceased
Henri Paul, in the driver’s seat, and Dodi Fayed, in the left back seat, would be pronounced deceased at the scene.
Photographers Show Up
Diana reportedly mumbled, “Leave me alone!” when the photographers who’d been in pursuit showed up. In her confused state, she also ripped an intravenous drip out of her arm.
Diana Is Removed From The Car
After being sedated, she was moved from the car wreck, but went into her first cardiac arrest before she could be put into the ambulance.
Gently Taken To Hospital
After working on Diana for 40 minutes at the crash scene, the ambulance crew headed off to the Pitié-Salpêtrière hospital. They had to stop the ambulance at one point to try to stabilize her.
Another Cardiac Arrest
Unconscious when she got to the hospital, Diana suffered a second cardiac arrest at 2:10 am.
She’d Been Facing Dodi
Because Diana’s injuries were more severe on her right side, it’s believed she was facing Dodi Fayed when the crash happened.
Heart-Wrenching Impact
The force of the impact pushed Diana’s heart to the right, tearing a pulmonary vein and damaging the sac surrounding her heart. In the end, her injuries proved too severe for doctors to overcome.
Provincial Archives of Alberta, Wikimedia Commons
A Lost Battle
Diana was pronounced deceased at the hospital at 4 am. She was only 36 years old.
A World Grieves, And Blame Is Cast
A shocked world learned of her passing from a hospital anesthetist, who announced the news at six in the morning. The world’s media exploded with the news, and not just because of the grief—the finger-pointing could now begin.
Driver To Blame
French authorities conducted an extensive investigation, and concluded that driver Henri Paul was to blame, as tests had shown a blood alcohol level well above the lawful limit, with medications also present in his body.
Survivor Has Few Memories
Trevor Rees-Jones, Dodi Fayed's bodyguard who’d been in the front passenger seat, survived. Unfortunately, his head trauma meant he remembered little about the crash.
Photographers Off The Hook
Controversially, French officials concluded that the swarm of photographers chasing Diana’s car did not contribute to the crash.
Wearing No Seat Belts
Officials also concluded that if Fayed and Diana had been wearing seat belts, they would’ve survived. With the French authorities having delivered their verdict, it was time for English investigators to draw their own conclusions.
Time For A New Look
The Royal Coroner, with the help of London’s Metropolitan Police, conducted his own investigation.
Taxicab Not Crucial
A collision expert concluded that Paul had lost control of the car well before the underpass, making the clipping of another car in the tunnel irrelevant.
Eliel Frances Etruiste, Pexels
Driver’s Blame Reinforced
In 2008, the Royal Coroner concluded—as had the French—that driver Paul was to blame, with his drinking that night a major factor.
Photographers Not In The Clear
But the English report also pointed the finger at the pursuing photographers for the “unlawful killing” of Diana. The Royal Coroner agreed that not wearing seat belts had been a factor in the deaths.
Can’t Say If It Was Murder
Coroner Lord Justice Scott Baker made no judgment one way or the other about conspiracy theories that Diana had been murdered. He said there was insufficient evidence to decide.
The World Wept
Back to the tragic night, as the world first learned of Diana’s passing, there was an immense outpouring of grief.
Peter Turnley/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images
Teary Eyes Glued To The TV
Some sources estimate that Diana’s funeral was viewed by 2.5 billion people around the world.
Mourners Traveled From Around The World
Major international figures attended the funeral, including royalty, government leaders, and celebrities.
“Goodbye England’s Rose”
Elton John sang a new version of “Candle In The Wind” to mark her memory.
In The Procession
In one of the more poignant scenes from that day, Prince William and Prince Harry walked in the procession behind the coffin.
Jeff J. Mitchell/AFP via Getty Images
A Rosary From Mother Teresa
Diana was buried on an island at the Spencer family estate. In her hands had been placed a rosary given to her by Mother Teresa, who had passed on just days after Diana.
Kingkongphoto, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Charles Remarries
Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer had married in 1981, separated in 1992, and divorced just over a year before her demise. After many years of testing the waters, Charles was able to marry the woman he’d wanted to marry all along, Camilla Parker Bowles, in 2005. He was crowned King Charles III in 2022 at the age of 73.
The Children Grow Up
Prince Harry was 12 when his mother passed on, and he’s said he fell into a deep depression after her passing. He would eventually part ways with the royal family and publish a tell-all book called Spare. Prince William, aged 15 when his mother passed on, is now first in line for the throne after his father became King.
Legacy Of A Princess
Diana in life was a polarizing figure, praised for her humanitarian work, but people took sides on who was to blame for the breakup between her and Charles. The outpouring of grief and the public criticism of royal stiffness pushed the royal family to open up, a lasting legacy of this larger-than-life personality whose time was cut far too short.
