Diana's husband. Lady Diana: the story of life, love and disappointments of the princess of human hearts. ...and family matters

On the night of August 31, 1997, Diana, her lover Dodi Al-Fayed and their driver Henri Paul died in a car accident in a Mercedes Benz S280 in one of the Paris tunnels. By official version, the driver exceeded the speed limit in an attempt to escape from the paparazzi pursuing the car. Later information appeared that he was drunk. However, there are many facts that are not very well known general public, and these facts cast doubt on the official version of events.

Henri Paul
Henri Paul was the deputy chief of security at the Ritz Hotel in Paris and it was he who was driving the Mercedes on the day of the accident. The official version is that Henri Paul was in a state of strong alcohol intoxication, is not confirmed either by video camera recordings or by eyewitnesses who observed it shortly before the incident. Paul was apparently under the influence of alcohol, but it is unlikely that this could have caused him to lose control of the car. There are also theories according to which this man worked for some French and/or British state security service and tried to take the car away from his pursuers, who were not harmless journalists, but hired killers.

What happened to the survivor of the accident?
Many people forget that there were four people in the car, not three. The fourth was Al-Fayed's bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones - the only one who survived as a result. He is a former military man who worked for Al-Fayed in the mid-90s. During the accident, Rees-Jones suffered a serious craniomaxillofacial injury: doctors had to reconstruct his face. Following the tragedy, Mohammed Al-Fayed, Dodi's father, accused Rhys-Jones of failing to properly protect Dodi and Diana that night. This accusation prompted Rees-Jones to write a book outlining his version of events. However, his memories were not taken into account in the official investigation because they were considered unreliable due to the head injury he had suffered.

Testimony of James Huth
James Huth was one of the first to arrive at the scene of the accident. His apartment was nearby and, hearing a wild grinding and noise, he hurried to help: as a man with a medical education who took the Hippocratic oath, he could not do otherwise. Today James Huth is no longer associated with medicine - he is a film director. So, the first thing he saw at the scene of the accident was the driver - Henri Paul - by that moment already dead, with his head in the airbag. Then he saw one passenger and bodyguard, who was in a state of panic, “with his jaw hanging,” according to Huth. By this time, two more people had approached and tried to open the car doors, but Huth explained to them that it was better not to move the passengers themselves. Dodi Al-Fayed was thrown to the front of the cabin and at least one of his legs was broken. Diana was in the back of the salon in the corner and was the last to be noticed. Gradually, a crowd surrounded the car, everyone started taking pictures, then the ambulance doctors arrived. According to James Huth, he also noticed a parked car slightly behind in the tunnel, but could not give an exact description of its model or color. Perhaps it was a white Fiat Uno, which will be discussed a little later.

She predicted a car accident
For several years, Diana lived with the idea that "Charles and the royal family were going to kill her." Although her guesses, voiced in a letter to butler Paul Burrell shortly after her divorce from Charles, are not direct evidence of the royal family’s involvement in what happened, the very fact of such a letter is still quite remarkable. The letter says something like this: "My husband is planning an 'accident' with my car, brake failure and serious head injury so that his path to marrying Tiggy will be clear." The authenticity of this letter has been questioned; they said Burrell had forged it. Diana's acquaintances claimed that she never feared for her life. But still, if this letter was actually written by her, then it leads to very sad thoughts.

Another car? New route?
The Mercedes in which Diana and Dodi were that night was replaced shortly before the trip. For what reason is unknown. Before that, they spent the whole day driving another car. And in this, according to some suspicions, the seat belt in the back seat, where Diana was, was faulty. The bodyguard sitting in front was wearing a seat belt, but Dodi and Diana were not. Her closest friends later said that this was very strange: Diana was scrupulous about issues of personal safety and always buckled up in the car. In addition, it was later discovered that the car was in terrible condition and had been hastily repaired after an accident several months earlier. The Ritz hotel staff warned Henri Paul that this car could not travel at speeds above 60 km/h. Well, the most interesting thing: the driver changed his usual route, and for some reason almost all the surveillance cameras along this route later turned out to be broken.

Phone call
In addition to suspicions about her ex-husband, Diana had other reasons to fear for her life. When she was still a political figure, she always expressed a strong position on the ban on the use of landmines, arguing that the military rarely clears areas after the end of conflicts, and then ordinary people and, worst of all, children can run into a mine, die or remain disabled. At that time, Great Britain wanted to get the ban on this type of weapon lifted. In February 1997, Diana received a call from a high-ranking military officer and advised her “not to interfere in something she has no idea about, because, how can I put it, sometimes accidents happen to people.”

Non-ambulance "Ambulance"
One would assume that when people of Diana's caliber get into an accident, doctors immediately fly to the rescue, and then in the blink of an eye they take the person to the hospital in time to save him. But in this case, everything happened differently. The accident happened at night, around 12:26, ​​the first call to the ambulance came within a minute. Four minutes later, police and firefighters arrived on the scene, but Diana was not pulled out of the car until 1:00. Soon she started heart attack and 20 minutes later, already in the ambulance, the doctors were able to get her heart beating again. She was taken to the hospital only at 2:00, and she could not be saved.

Was she pregnant?
Mohammed Al-Fayed claimed that one of the reasons the royal family wanted Diana dead was because she was pregnant. The child's father was Dodi Al-Fayed, and Diana was still a public figure, closely associated with royal family, and for them the scandal associated with the birth of her child from a Muslim was unacceptable. After Diana's death, doctors said that they did not find any signs of pregnancy, even at an early stage. Mohammed Al-Fayed, however, insisted on his own, stating that such a quick embalming of Diana’s body was carried out precisely so that the pregnancy test would not show anything. And it was for this reason that the embalming was carried out quickly and in violation of the usual procedure.

"Bright flash"
Ten years after Diana's death, the main witness in this case, who was driving in the same tunnel in front of the ill-fated Mercedes, said that he saw something unusual that night. Namely, a motorcycle caught up with the Mercedes, and immediately after that an extremely bright flash appeared - perhaps intentionally, in order to blind the driver. This information formed the basis of the conspiracy theory that the accident was staged by the British intelligence services. Former British intelligence officer Richard Tomlinson told Mohammed Al-Fayed that they wanted to kill him in the same way (using a bright flash). former president Yugoslavia Slobodan Milosevic. According to the official version, however, in the event of the accident that claimed Diana’s life, there was no “bright flash” in the tunnel.

White Fiat
An examination of the Mercedes showed that the car collided with a white Fiat Uno in the tunnel. This Fiat could not be found, although all efforts were allegedly thrown into searching for it. Mohammed Al-Fayed insisted that it was the car of intelligence agents who staged the accident. He also said that he conducted his own investigation and found the car: it belonged to a certain French journalist James Andanson. But the official investigation stated that Andanson's car could not have been involved in that accident. The problem is that it is no longer possible to find out whether this is actually so: Andanson was found dead in 2000, and his death was regarded as suicide. But when he was found, there were two bullet holes in his head. Was he the same paparazzi chasing Diana? What role did he play in the incident? Nobody knows for sure.

Re-opening the tunnel
We all imagine how this usually happens. When something serious happens somewhere car accident, especially with fatal, this place is fenced off or partially blocked for some period of time - from several hours to several days. In the event of such a high-profile accident as this, one would expect that the tunnel would be closed for at least a few days in order to properly investigate everything there and collect all possible evidence. But everything happened differently: the Mercedes was quickly towed away, the road was cleared of debris, and the tunnel was open to cars before sunrise. This looks like a very quick cleanup. Many forensic experts argued in this regard that in such a short period of time it was simply impossible to collect the necessary evidence at the scene of the accident.

Rumors linking SAS to this case
In 2013, while investigating a case involving Danny Nightingale, an SAS soldier ( elite unit air force UK), an interesting letter was found. It said that a former colleague of Nightingale's, going by the name "Soldier N", had bragged about his involvement in the murder of Princess Diana. More precisely, he told his parents and his wife that his department was behind this incident, with the approval of senior management. The police tried to investigate the case, but came to the conclusion that there was insufficient evidence and perjury. However, last year Soldier N's ​​wife told the media that SAS management had offered her money to remain silent over Princess Diana's death and that her life had been threatened. After that, her trace disappeared - perhaps the woman is now on the run.

"Enemies" by Mohammed Al-Fayed
Mohammed Al-Fayed never suggested that Diana's death was the work of some of his enemies. No, he always said that his business competitors had nothing to do with it, but British intelligence and the royal family were involved. However, it cannot be denied that Dodi Al-Fayed had interesting family... His father is a billionaire today, and in the 90s he was a very rich man. He was the owner of the Ritz Hotel in Paris, as well as the London department store Harrod's and football club Fullham, up to 2013. There was a lot of talk that the cause of the accident could have been Al's revenge.
Fayed, and the target was not Diana, but Dodi Al-Fayed. But, of course, there is no evidence of this. By the way, Dodi’s maternal uncle, Adnan Khashoggi (died in early June 2017), was a famous arms dealer and was “worth” $4 billion. Surely he also had many enemies.

Mohammed Al-Fayed investigation and film
The romance between Diana and Dodi Al-Fayed began several months before their tragic death. Dodi was the son of an Egyptian businessman, well educated, financially successful, and had experience in the entertainment industry. Mohammed Al-Fayed conducted his own investigation and came to the conclusion that a drunk driver could not have caused the death of his son, but other forces contributed to it. Mohammed Al-Fayed spent a lot of money on his independent investigation, but by 2008 he admitted that he still did not have accurate evidence and could not show anything to anyone. He also financed a documentary called Unlawful Killing in the late 2000s, but since no insurance company could protect the filmmakers from libel claims, the film was never officially released. Luckily, this interesting, thoughtful, if incredibly biased film can be viewed on YouTube.

Some people think Diana planned it all herself.
Finally, a strange theory, far-fetched, but you can’t erase the words from the song. According to this theory, Diana and Dodi decided to fake their deaths in order to start new life away from the all-seeing eye of the British crown and the ubiquitous media. And even if it sounds ridiculous, people always put forward such theories in such cases: after all, it is much more pleasant to think that a beautiful young woman did not die, but lives happily somewhere surrounded by people who love her.

She was born into the famous, well-born family of Johnny Spencer and Frances Ruth Burke Roche. Diana's family was very glorious on both sides. Father is Viscount Althorp, a branch of the same Spencer-Churchill family as the Duke of Marlborough and Winston Churchill. Her paternal ancestors were of royal blood through the illegitimate sons of King Charles II and the illegitimate daughter of his brother and successor, King James II. The Earls Spencer have long lived in the very center of London, in Spencer House. “This ancient and noble blood happily combined pride and honor, mercy and dignity, a sense of duty and the need to follow one’s own path. Always and everywhere. To have in the chest a small heart and the spirit of a king, intertwining in it tightly, inextricably: femininity and lion’s courage, wisdom and composure..." - this is what the biographer wrote about them.

But despite all the innate nobility of the Viscount and Viscountess Althorp, their marriage cracked, and they were unable to save the family - even the birth of the desired heir to the earldom, Diana’s younger brother, Charles Spencer, did not save the situation. By the time Charles turned five (Diana was then just over six years old), their mother could no longer live with her father, and the Spencers performed a shameful and rare “procedure” at that time - they divorced. Her mother moved to London and began a whirlwind romance with American businessman Peter Shand-Kyd, who left his family and three children for her sake. In 1969 they got married.


1963 Two-year-old Diana relaxes in a chair in her home.


1964 Three-year-old Diana walks around her house with a stroller.


1965


Diana spent her childhood in Sandringham, where she received her primary education at home. Her teacher was governess Gertrude Allen, who also taught Diana's mother. Lady Diana, already an adult, recalled with bitterness that her mother did not really care about the care of her children. The princess said: “The parents were busy settling scores. I often saw my mother crying, and my dad didn’t even try to explain anything to us. We didn't dare ask questions. Nannies replaced one another. Everything seemed so unsteady..."

Later, relatives would say that parting with her mother was a huge stress for Diana. But the little girl withstood this situation with truly royal calm and childish fortitude, moreover, it was she who most helped her little brother recover from this blow.

1967 Diana plays with her younger brother Charles near their house.


Viscount Spencer tried as much as possible to mitigate the consequences of the loss and possible ways entertained depressed, confused, and shocked children: he organized children's parties and balls, invited dancing and singing teachers, and personally selected the best nannies and servants. But this still did not completely save the kids from mental trauma.

1970 A little athlete on holiday in Itchenor, West Sussex.


1970 Diana with her sisters, father and brother.


After the parents divorce, the children remain to live with their father. Soon a stepmother appeared in the house, who disliked the children. Diana began to do worse at school and ultimately did not graduate. The only activity she loved was dancing. Diana's education continued in Sealfield, at a private school near King's Line, then at preparatory school Riddlesworth Hall. At the age of twelve she was accepted into the exclusive girls' school at West Hill, in Sevenoaks, Kent.


She became "Lady Diana" (a courtesy title for daughters of high peers) in 1975, after the death of her grandfather, when her father inherited the earldom and became the 8th Earl Spencer. During this period, the family moved to the ancient ancestral castle of Althorp House in Notthrogtonshire.

After graduating from youth school in West Heth, Diana lived in Switzerland. Her father sent her to learn housekeeping, cooking, sewing, and French and other skills of a well-bred girl. Dee, apparently, did not like the learning process very much, she was exhausted from boredom, besides, she did not like French and wanted to become independent as quickly as possible.

Diana in Scotland.


In the winter of 1977, shortly before leaving to study in Switzerland, sixteen-year-old Lady Diana meets Prince Charles for the first time when he comes to Althorp on a hunting trip. At that time, the impeccably brought up, intelligent Charles seemed to the girl only “very funny.”

Since Diana sought independence, Charles Spencer Sr. provided her with this opportunity. When she came of age, her father gave the future princess an apartment in London. Diana did not show aristocratic stiffness and willingly and confidently began her independent, adult life. She worked part-time as a teacher at kindergarten and babysat the children at home. Interestingly, the hourly rate of the future princess was only one pound.

Diana as a nanny, a year before she marries Prince Charles.


At this time, the heir to the English throne was courting older sister Diana, Sarah Spencer. Diana simply idolized Lady Sarah Spencer - charming, witty, proud, although a little harsh in her manners and behavior. Therefore, she was glad to see how the relationship of the eldest of the Spurser sisters with such a eligible bachelor. Charles at that time was passionate about his studies, reserved, and cold, but his high status aroused an exaggerated interest in girls. Among the contenders for the prince's heart was even the granddaughter of the legendary Prime Minister Winston Churchill, Lady Charlotte. And yet, he clearly singled out the Spencer house for himself.

The cheerful Diana, who knew why the future king of Great Britain was visiting their house, smiled joyfully at her guest during meetings and muttered something embarrassed in French - she really loved her sister and wished her happiness. Having showered Sarah with attention, Charles was also very kind to Diana; he liked the girl, but nothing special came of it. In November 1979, Diana was invited to the royal hunt. She was to spend the weekend at Earl Spencer's estate with her family and Prince Charles. Athletic, graceful, Diana rode her horse like an Amazon, and during the fox hunt, despite her simple outfit and modest behavior, she was irresistible.

It was then that the Prince of Wales first realized that Diana was an incredibly “charming, lively and witty girl who was interesting to be with.” Sarah Spencer later said that she played “the role of Cupid” at this meeting. Charles spoke for a long time with Dee for the first time and could not help but admit that she was simply lovely. However, at that moment that was all over.

In the summer, in July 1980, Diana learned that Prince Charles had suffered a great misfortune: his uncle, Lord Mountbatten, whom the prince considered one of his closest people, his best adviser and confidant, had died. As Diana later recalled, “I saw the prince sitting alone in a haystack, thoughtful; she turned off the path, sat down next to him and simply said that she saw him in the church at the funeral service. He seemed so lost, with an incredibly sad look... This is unfair,” I thought then, “He is so lonely, someone should be there at this moment!” That evening, Charles openly and publicly showered Lady Diana Francis with the attentions befitting a prince's chosen one. Sarah Spencer was completely forgotten.

At the time Charles “found” Diana, the prince was 33 years old. He was the most eligible bachelor in Great Britain and was considered an incredible womanizer, a conqueror of girls, although this title should rather be attributed to his title. In particular, since 1972, Charles had an affair with Camilla Parker-Bowles, the wife of army officer Andrew Parker-Bowles, by the way, a good “friend” of some members of the royal family. However, Camilla was in no way suitable for the role of the future queen, and Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip racked their brains a lot about how to “slip” a better candidate for their son. But then Diana appeared and, in general, saved the situation. They say that Prince Philip himself proposed that Charles marry Diana. She was well-born, young, healthy, beautiful and well-mannered. What else is needed for a good royal marriage?

In the fall of 1980, rumors first circulated about her affair with the Prince of Wales. It all started when a reporter specializing in reporting privacy royal family, photographed Prince Charles walking along the shallows of the River Dee in Balmoral in the company of a young, shy girl. The attention of the world press instantly turned to this unknown person, whom everyone would soon begin to call nothing more than “timid Dee.” Diana suddenly felt that she was plunging into a new life that was completely unfamiliar to her before. From now on, as soon as she left the apartment, numerous cameras began to click around her. And even the little red car was always followed by paparazzi wherever she went.


Prince Charles formally proposed to Lady Diana on February 6, 1981, after returning from a three-month naval cruise on the ship Invincible, which he was supposed to oversee as the future king. The couple met for a romantic candlelit dinner at Buckingham Palace. After dinner, Charles finally asked the girl the most important question, and Diana gave the most important answer.

Future princess under an umbrella, 1981.

Soon all rumors and speculation were put to an end. On February 24, the engagement of the Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer was officially announced. The wedding was scheduled for July 29 and was to take place at St. Paul's Cathedral. The whole of Great Britain was excited by the news: it lifted the spirit of the nation during a period of rather gloomy economic recession. Apparently, the timing for the wedding was very opportune.

Romantic moments from the life of Prince Charles and Princess Diana.



Meanwhile, across the UK, preparations for the “wedding of the century” were in full swing.
It was Diana's idea to sew a romantic wedding dress in the Victorian style, chastely closed, with lots of frills and flounces. She entrusts such a responsible task to little-known designers David and Elizabeth Emmanuel and does not lose. The dress becomes legendary.


On July 29, 1981, young Diana Spencer, in a chic wedding dress with an almost eight-meter white silk train, walked to the altar of St. Cathedral. Paul to become one of the members of the British royal family. Seven hundred and fifty million viewers around the world were glued to their television screens as one of the most beautiful women Europe with one of the richest grooms in Europe. As the Archbishop of Canterbury put it in his speech, “It is in such magical moments that fairy tales are born.” This day, as journalists rightly noted, began a new page in the history of the Windsor family and the whole of Great Britain.

The wedding was fabulous. And not only because it was the most expensive event of its kind (costs were estimated at 2,859 million pounds sterling). It’s just that the groom is a real prince, and the bride is fabulously beautiful and charming.


Now they will take oaths of allegiance to each other. Moreover, Diana, who had barely turned 20, without flinching, contrary to tradition, crossed out the promise to obey her husband from the text of her oath. Therefore, later journalists will call their marriage “Marriage of equals”









After the wedding, the girlfriends received a souvenir from Diana. For each, a rose from the bride's luxurious bouquet was prepared in plastic.

Honeymoon in Scotland at Balmoral on the River Dee.






The first official trip of Prince Charles and his young wife around the country began with their titular possessions - Wales. In just three days, the prince and princess held eighteen meetings! On the first day, their route included Caernarfon Castle, where Prince Charles, twelve years ago, was solemnly given the title Prince of Wales. On the third day of her trip to Wales, Diana received the title of "Freedom of the City of Cardiff". In gratitude for the honor done to her, she spoke her first public speech, part of which was in the Welsh dialect.

Diana said that she was proud to be the princess of such a wonderful country. Diana later admitted what fear and embarrassment she experienced before this visit and her first public speaking, but it was this trip that became Diana’s real triumph and served as a kind of springboard into the future.


Princess Diana dozed off at an event at the Albert and Victoria Museum in 1981. The next day, her pregnancy was officially announced.

On July 21, 1982, at half past five in the morning, Prince William of Wales was born at St. Mary's Hospital in Padington.

Diana and Charles with their son Prince William. The child was baptized on August 4 and given the name Arthur Philip Louis.



In February 1984, Buckingham Palace officially announced that the prince and princess were expecting their second child. The boy, who was born on September 15, 1984, was named Henry Charles Albert David. He will henceforth be known as Prince Harry.


Understanding the inevitability of intrusive press attention that the young princes would experience in the future, Charles and Diana decided to protect them from this as much as possible. The parents succeeded in this.

When it came to her sons' primary education, Diana opposed William and Harry being brought up in a closed world royal house and they began to attend preschool classes and regular school. On vacation, Diana allowed her boys to wear jeans, sweatpants and T-shirts. They ate hamburgers and popcorn, went to the cinema and to the attractions, where the princes stood in a general queue among their peers. She later introduced William and Harry to her charity work and often took the children with her when she went to meet hospital patients or the homeless.



Diana was actively involved in charitable and peacekeeping activities. During her public appearances, Diana, whenever possible, stopped to talk to people and listen to them. She could talk completely freely with representatives of different social strata, parties, and religious movements. With an unerring instinct, she always noticed those who most needed her attention.


Diana used this gift, as well as her growing importance as a global figure, in her charitable work. It was this aspect of her life that gradually became her true calling. Diana personally participated in the transfer of donations - to the AIDS Foundation, the Royal Mardsen Foundation, the Leprosy Mission, the Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, Centropoint, and the English National Ballet. Her latest mission was to rid the world of landmines. Diana traveled to many countries, from Angola to Bosnia, to see firsthand the monstrous consequences of the use of this terrible weapon.


In the early 90s, a blank wall of misunderstanding grew between the most famous spouses in the world. In 1992, the tension in their relationship reached its climax, Diana began to suffer from depression and bouts of bulimia (painful hunger). Soon, Prime Minister John Major announced the decision of the Prince and Princess of Wales to separate and lead separate lives. There was no talk of divorce at that time, but the following year the first of those sensational interviews that shocked the British took place - then Prince Charles admitted to host Jonathan Dimbleby that he had been unfaithful to Diana.

In December 1995, Diana appeared on the BBC's Panorama, a popular show watched by several million viewers. She said that Camilla Parker-Bowles appeared in the prince’s life even before their marriage, and continued to be “invisibly present” (or even quite visibly!) throughout it. “There were always three of us in that marriage,” Diana said. - It's too much". The marriage of Charles and Diana ended in divorce on August 28, 1996, at the initiative of Queen Elizabeth II.

Despite this, interest in Diana did not decrease at all; on the contrary, the public showed more and more attention to the proud Lady Di. Reporters continued to seek insight into the princess's personal life, especially after her romantic relationship with Dodi Al-Fayed, the forty-one-year-old son of Arab millionaire Mohammed Al-Fayed, the owner of fashionable hotels, became public in the summer of 1997. In July, they spent the holidays in Saint-Tropez with Diana's sons, Princes William and Harry. The boys got along well with the friendly owner of the house.


Later, Diana and Dodi met in London, and then went on a cruise in the Mediterranean Sea on board the luxurious yacht Jonical.

Towards the end of August the Jonical approached Portofino in Italy and then sailed for Sardinia. On August 30, Saturday, the couple in love went to Paris. The next day Diana was to fly to London to meet her sons on their last day. summer holidays.

On Saturday evening, Diana and Dodi decided to have dinner at the restaurant of the Ritz Hotel, which Dodi owned. In order not to attract the attention of other visitors, they retired to a separate office, where, as was later reported, they exchanged gifts: Diana gave Dodi cufflinks, and he gave her a diamond ring. At one o'clock in the morning they prepared to go to Dodi's apartment on the Champs-Elysees. Wanting to avoid the paparazzi crowding the front entrance, they left the hotel through the service exit. There they got into a Mercedes S-280, accompanied by bodyguard Trevor-Reese Jones and driver Henri Paul.

Last photo.
The night before the fatal accident, Princess Diana and Dodi al-Fayed were filmed on camera at the Ritz Hotel in Paris on August 31, 1997.


The accident occurred in Paris on August 31, 1997 in a tunnel located near the Pont Alma. The black Mercedes-Benz S280 crashed into a column dividing oncoming lanes, then hit the tunnel wall, flew several meters and stopped.




The injuries suffered by Princess Diana, Dodi al-Fayed and the bodyguard were fatal. True, Diana managed to be taken alive to the Pite Salpêtrière hospital, but all attempts to save her life were in vain. She was only 36 years old.
While doctors fought for the life of the favorite of millions of Englishmen, criminologists worked to clarify the circumstances of the accident.

The following versions of the reasons for her death gradually emerged:
. the death of the Princess of Wales as a result of a road traffic accident is nothing more than an ordinary car accident, a tragic accident;

Henri Paul, the driver of the Mercedes, is to blame for everything - an examination showed that he was heavily intoxicated while driving;

The car accident was provoked by annoying paparazzi who were literally on the heels of Diana’s car;

The British royal family was involved in the death of the princess, who never forgave Diana for her divorce from Prince Charles;

The car lost control due to a malfunction of the brake system;

. The Mercedes at high speed collided with another car - a white Fiat, after which Diana's driver was unable to control the car;

The English secret services had a hand in the death of the princess, who intended to disrupt the marriage of the mother of the future British king to a Muslim.

Which version is the most plausible and closest to the truth? French experts were supposed to answer this question.

A commission created at the Institute of Criminal Research of the French Gendarmerie worked out all versions of what happened. As a result, several paparazzi were brought to justice. True, no one took it upon themselves to accuse them of provoking the death of Princess Diana. The charges related mainly to violations of journalistic ethics and failure to provide timely assistance to victims. Indeed, photographers first of all sought to capture the dying Diana and only then tried to do anything to save her. The assumption that the Mercedes brake system was faulty was also not confirmed.

Experts, who carefully examined what was left of the car for several months, came to the conclusion that at the time of the disaster the car’s brakes were in working order. The investigation team also refuted claims that a drunk driver was to blame. Certainly, drunken state Paul Henri played a role in what happened. However, not only (and not so much) this led to tragedy. During the investigation, it turned out that before crashing into the 13th column of the tunnel, Diana’s car collided with a white Fiat Uno. According to the testimony of one of the witnesses, the latter was driven by a brown-haired man in his forties, who fled the scene of the crime. After this collision, the Mercedes lost control, and then what happened was what was already described above.

The French police literally shook up all the owners of white Unos, but they never found the car they needed. In 2004, the results of the investigation by the commission of the Institute of Criminal Research of the French Gendarmerie were transferred to “more competent authorities”, which, apparently, were supposed to decide whether enough facts had been collected and research had been conducted to with good reason close this case. At the same time, the search for the mythical “Fiat” continues. Law enforcement France still hopes that the driver of the mysterious car will show up and provide details of the collision, which became the prologue to the tragic accident. In the Parisian prefecture they even opened a special entrance for him. But so far no one has responded to the police call.

If the collision of the Mercedes with the Fiat really took place, and the mysterious driver exists, then he is unlikely to voluntarily take full responsibility for what happened, as well as the full brunt of the anger of those who still remember Diana and sincerely mourn her death. her. It is unknown when the investigation into the circumstances of the death of the “People’s Princess” will be completed. But whenever this happens, in England, and in many other countries, the life and death of Lady Di will be discussed for a long time. Moreover, regardless of what the final conclusion of the mentioned “competent authorities” will be.

Probability of murder
The father of Diana's lover, billionaire Mohammed al-Fayed, is sure that the British intelligence services were involved in the death of Diana and his son. It was he who insisted on a state investigation into the car accident, which lasted from 2002 to 2008. According to al-Fayed Sr., the driver Henri Paul was sober during the fatal trip. “There are recordings from video cameras of the Ritz Hotel, where Henri Paul’s gait is normal,” he says, “although, in theory, he should have just been crawling. Doctors found a wild amount of an antidepressant in his body. Most likely, this man was poisoned. In addition "In addition, I have documents that he worked for the British intelligence services. Later they found his secret bank accounts, to which 200 thousand dollars were transferred. The origin of this money is unclear."

And Mohammed, contrary to official reports about the results of the study, claims that Diana died while pregnant:
“At first the authorities refused to do the test, and when they did it under pressure, many years passed. During this time, traces can simply be lost. But on the eve of the tragedy, Dodi and Diana visited the villa in Paris that I bought for them. They chose a room there for their child, overlooking the garden.”

Paul Burrell, Diana's former butler, also agrees with the version of a conspiracy against Diana and Dodi with the participation of the intelligence services and the royal court. He has a letter from Lady Di in which she wrote 10 months before her death: “My life is in danger. The ex-husband plans to organize an accident. My car's brakes will fail and there will be a car accident."

“Her death was brilliantly orchestrated,” says Burrell, “in trademark English style. Our intelligence always “removed” people not with the help of poison or a sniper, but in such a way that it looked like an accident.”

A similar opinion is shared by intelligence officers themselves, for example, the notorious former officer of the British counterintelligence service MI6, Richard Tomlison. He was arrested twice for disclosing state secrets in his books about British intelligence, left Britain and now lives in France. Tomlison openly stated that Diana was killed by MI6 agents in a “mirror” “accidental car accident” plan that was prepared for Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic 15 years ago.

The only survivor of the car accident in Paris is Dodie and Diana's bodyguard Trevor Rhys-Jones. He, unlike the driver and passengers, survived because he was wearing a seat belt. The crushed bones in his body are held together with 150 titanium plates, and he has undergone ten surgeries.

Here is his opinion about the situation before the disaster:
“Henri Paul was not drunk that evening. He did not smell of alcohol, he communicated and walked normally. I didn't drink anything at the table. I don’t know where alcohol ended up in his blood after his death. Unfortunately, I cannot explain why I was buckled up in the car, but Diana and Dodi were not. I am brain damaged and suffer from partial memory loss. My memories end at the moment when we left the Ritz Hotel.”

Parting
She flew to Paris to pick up Princess Diana's body ex-husband, Prince Charles. Butler Paul Burrell brought clothes and asked that the rosary given to her by Mother Teresa be placed in the princess's hands.
In London, the oak coffin containing the princess's body stood in the Royal Chapel of St. James's Palace for four nights. People from all over the world gathered at the walls of the palace. They lit candles and laid flowers.


The farewell ceremony for Princess Diana took place at Westminster Abbey.


Princess Diana was buried on September 6 at the Spencer family estate of Althorp in Northamptonshire, on a secluded island in the middle of a lake.

Diana was one of the most popular women of her time in the world. In Great Britain, she has always been considered the most popular member of the royal family; she was called the “Queen of Hearts” or the “Queen of Hearts.”
High, high in the heavens, the stars sing her name: “Diana.”

The wedding took place on July 29, 1981 at St. Paul's Cathedral in London. Prince Charles of Wales and lady Diana Spencer. This celebration, which cost the treasury almost 3 million pounds, was dubbed the “wedding of the century” in the press. Diana, in her wedding dress with a long train and tiara, looked like a princess from a fairy tale marrying the heir to the throne. The question of whether this marriage was concluded for love or whether Diana was at that time the most suitable candidate for the role of the wife of the future king remains open, and the history of the relationship between Prince Charles and Lady Di ended sadly. Having been married for 15 years, the couple officially divorced - a year before Diana’s tragic death in a car accident. AiF.ru recalls how the short-lived relationship between Prince Charles and Lady Diana began and developed, who, without becoming the Queen of Britain, forever remained the “queen of people’s hearts.”

The Prince of Wales met his future bride in 1977, when she was only 16 years old. At the time, Charles was in a relationship with Diana's 22-year-old sister. Sarah. There is a version that this romance came to an end after the girl, having met two reporters in a restaurant, carelessly shared with them the details of her personal life, including her addiction to alcohol, weight problems and numerous affairs, as well as the fact that She has already started collecting clippings from newspapers and magazines that talk about her “royal romance” to show her grandchildren. The article was published, and Charles, as you might guess, found his lover’s behavior unacceptable and stupid, immediately ending the relationship and turning his attention to the younger Spencer. Despite the fact that many considered the wedding of Diana and Charles to be the reason for the cooling of relations between the sisters - allegedly Sarah never forgave her sister for not marrying the prince - Lady Di's biographer insists that Sarah was one of the few , whom Diana trusted completely, and besides, the sisters often appeared together at special events.

Wedding of Prince Charles and Diana. 1981 Photo: flickr.com / Laura Loveday

By the time she met the heir to the British crown, Diana Spencer, the daughter of a viscount, who came from the same family as Winston Churchill, and was a paternal carrier of royal blood through the illegitimate children of kings Charles II And James II, has already received the title “lady”. It was granted to her as the daughter of a high peer when her father became 8th Earl Spencer in 1975. Diana's family moved from London to the family castle of Althorp House in Notthrogtonshire, where the royal family came to hunt. Diana received a good education, first at home, then in private schools in England and Switzerland. All this, coupled with her aristocratic upbringing, musical abilities, the girl’s external attractiveness and, as everyone initially thought, a meek character, made her an ideal candidate for the role of the prince’s bride.

A serious relationship between Charles and Diana began in 1980: the young people spent a weekend on a cruise aboard the yacht Britannia, and then Charles invited Diana to the royal summer residence, Balmoral Castle, where he introduced his chosen one to the family. Charles had already turned 30 by that time, it was fitting for him to choose a life partner, so even his mother, the Queen Elizabeth II gave permission for the wedding, although she considered Diana not ready for life in the palace.

On February 3, 1981, after six months of official relations, Charles proposed to Diana, to which she accepted. However, the engagement was kept secret for some time, until February 24, when the future wedding was publicly announced. Diana appeared in public wearing a ring made of 14 diamonds and a huge sapphire, which cost the groom £30,000. He gave the same jewelry, which he inherited from his mother, to his bride Kate Middleton for the engagement of the son of Charles and Diana - Prince William.

Preparations for the wedding took 5 months. It was decided to hold the celebration in the Cathedral of St. Paul, and not in Westminster Abbey, where, as a rule, representatives of the British royal family were married, but where it was not possible to accommodate all the invitees, and they eventually numbered more than 3,500 people. Kings, queens, princes and princesses from all over the world, as well as representatives of the English aristocracy and other high-ranking guests, arrived in London for the ceremony. The procession through the streets of London was watched by a crowd of citizens who welcomed the procession, which consisted of the carriages of Queen Elizabeth and her husband Prince Philip, members of the royal family, Prince Charles with his brother Andrew. The bride and father were the last to travel to the wedding venue, in a special glass carriage. About 750 million people watched the ceremony broadcast on TV, and they were all waiting for one thing - the bride’s exit from the carriage, when they could finally see her dress in all its glory. And the wait was worth it: Diana’s outfit is still considered the most chic wedding dress in history. A huge silk fluffy skirt, decorated with lace and pearls, puffed sleeves and a 25-meter train - fragile Diana was almost lost in this abundance of expensive ivory-colored materials, but at the same time she looked like a fairy tale heroine come to life. The bride wore a tiara that belonged to her family on her head.

Prince Charles and Princess Diana. 1984 Photo: flickr.com / Alberto Botella

The vows given by the bride and groom in front of the altar were heard (thanks to the speakers) far beyond the cathedral - however, there were some overlays that were later called prophetic. So, Lady Diana could not correctly pronounce the long name of her future husband - Charles Philip Arthur George Windsor - and he, in turn, instead of “I promise to share with you everything that belongs to me,” said “I promise to share with you everything that belongs to you.” " It is also interesting that for the first time the word “obey” was removed from the marriage vows of the spouses.

The family happiness of Diana, who became the Princess of Wales, and Charles was short-lived, but in their marriage they had two sons: in 1982, the first-born William was born, and two years later - the youngest, red-haired Henry, who is more often called Harry. According to Diana herself, these years, the first after the birth of their children, were the happiest in the life of their family - Charles and his wife spent almost all their time in the company of each other and their sons, whom they took with them even on official trips. “Family is the most important thing,” Lady Di, who was still with teenage years She adored children and even worked at one time as a teacher in one of the London kindergartens. During this same period, the character of the princess also emerged, who not only chose the names of William and Harry herself, but also hired her own nanny, refusing the royal services, and later, despite a busy schedule of meetings and official visits, tried to pick up her sons from school on her own.

In the mid-80s, Charles resumed his affair with his longtime mistress Camilla Parker Bowles- recordings of telephone conversations were leaked to the press confirming adultery. Diana, in turn, either out of resentment, or in revenge, or out of loneliness, became close to the riding instructor James Hewitt. Journalists' attention to the details of the royals' married life forced them to give explanatory interviews - it was impossible to avoid questions. None of them, of course, went into details, but Diana still allowed herself a comment that spread around the world: “There are too many people in my marriage.”

Princess Diana with her sons Harry and William. 1989 Photo: www.globallookpress.com

The princess meant not only Charles’ mistress, who after her death would still become the prince’s legal wife, but also the whole royal family, who took Active participation in the life of their young family. Which in itself is quite logical, given Charles' status as a potential future king of Great Britain. Elizabeth II was outraged by the media attention that Diana brought upon them with her behavior - the whole world was closely watching her, because the princess led an active public life, devoting a lot of time to charity, visiting orphanages, nursing homes, rehabilitation centers. She walked on her own minefield, supporting the campaign to ban the use of landmines, donated family money to fight AIDS, attracting numerous famous friends, artists and musicians as sponsors. Her subjects and residents of other countries adored her, and she declared that she wanted to be, first of all, the “queen of people’s hearts,” and not the queen of Britain. Of course, Charles and his affair were out of favor with the people, he was made the main culprit of the unhappy marriage - but his mother and the royal family were, of course, on the side of the heir and could not allow Diana to further spoil his reputation.

To everyone's relief, Diana and Charles officially divorced in August 1996, and Diana ceased to be Her Royal Highness. However, as the former wife of the crown prince and the mother of pretenders to the throne, she was still obliged to follow protocol. Diana did not stop her charitable activities, and the attention of the press to her person did not wane. It is known that after breaking up with Charles, who no longer tried to hide his relationship with Camilla Parker-Bowles, Lady Di first started an unsuccessful affair with a surgeon of Pakistani origin Hasnat Khan, for whose sake she almost converted to Islam, and later with an Arab multimillionaire Dodi Al-Fayed. It was in his car on the way from a Parisian restaurant that Diana crashed on the evening of August 31, 1997. For Charles, as for the little princes, her death was a blow, despite previous disagreements. Even Queen Elizabeth, seeing how the nation mourned the disgraced princess, filling the square in front of Buckingham Palace with flowers, made an official televised address, expressing her grief at the death of the mother of her grandchildren. As for Charles, he married for the second time only 8 years after Diana’s death - the wedding with Camilla Parker-Bowles was not solemn; they registered their long-standing relationship with the municipal department of Windsor. And, despite the blessing from the royal family, Elizabeth II was not present at the wedding.

A bright, extraordinary, freedom-loving personality and wonderful mother, Princess Diana will live in the hearts of millions of people. Her fate was very difficult; having married “because it was necessary,” young Diana dreamed that she would have wonderful family and loving husband.

However, her husband Prince Charles continued to meet with his mistress Camilla, whose existence Lady Di, unfortunately, knew. This fact haunted her and normal life. The woman was constantly in a state of anxiety and suspicion towards her husband.

Over time, she began to look for female happiness on the side. Diana changed many lovers. According to rumors, Hasnat Khat was her only true love, but her lover broke off the relationship in 1997. Then Diana began dating Dodi Al Fayed.

He was the son of an Egyptian billionaire who owned department stores and hotels. Dodi himself was a film producer.

After breaking up with Hasnat Khan, it was very difficult for Diana, she needed consolation. The woman had many invitations from various wealthy men. She responded to one of these. Why not. Dodi's father, Mohammed, invited her and his sons Wilm and Harry to his apartment on Cote d'Azur. At first, Diana went there with her children; they rode on the Jonikal yacht. Mohammed introduced her to his son, Dodi.

This is where the love story began. Within a few months, the princess and the producer began to relax together on a yacht and even took a cruise in the Mediterranean Sea.

Unlike Khan, Al Fayed was very serious about the princess. They say that he left his girlfriend, model Kelly Fisher, for her sake. There is another opinion that it was simply beneficial for Dodi to have a relationship with Diana, just like her. But he didn’t leave Kelly Fisher. There are also rumors that the princess was pregnant at that time by Hasnat Khan, and she simply needed a wealthy father for the child. One of the priests reported that Lady Di asked him whether people of different faiths could get married.

One way or another, on the day the lovers died, they spent the night at the Ritz Hotel in Paris together. The man bought a ring, perhaps he wanted to propose to Diana. Trying to hide from the paparazzi, the couple ran out of the back door of the hotel and drove away in a car. However, they began to catch up. Hiding from journalists, the driver increased speed and lost control. As a result of the tragedy, both Diana and her new chosen one The dodies died.

Perhaps the tragedy was staged, and the brakes in Diana’s car were deliberately turned off. But Al Fayed’s assistant said that both the route and the lovers’ car were changed at the last moment, so no one could have time to break their brakes.

Five years after the tragedy that took place in the Parisian Alma tunnel, doctors, servants of Themis, and intelligence agents begin to talk. And they claim that Diana, Princess of Wales, died along with her unborn child.

While talking on the phone, Lady Di could shout into the receiver: “Guys, change the tape - this one, in my opinion, is already over!”

In early 1997, Princess Diana accepted the invitation of Egyptian billionaire Mohammed Al-Fayed and, together with her sons, went to relax on his yacht and then to his estate on the Cote d'Azur. Soon the son of the millionaire Dodi appeared there. Photo reporters, as always, followed the princess’s every move.

You will be surprised at what I will do in the near future,” Diana told reporters and on July 20, she accepted Dodi’s invitation to go with him on a boat trip without being accompanied by her father. She was already in love with Dodi, and he reciprocated her feelings.

At that time, the princess developed a warm relationship with Franco Gelli, the vicar of the Anglican Church, located near Kensington Palace, where she lived with her sons. Diana often came to the service, talked for a long time with Franco, and once asked him how Muslims treat their wives. After some time, the princess admitted that she had met an extraordinary person who surrounded her with love and care, which she had never had before. In addition, he gets along well with William and Harry, which was especially important for Diana. “Diana was so happy, so in love,” says Franco Gelli. “When she talked about her lover, a warm smile appeared on her face.”

Once, saying goodbye to the vicar, Diana asked whether two people of different religions could get married. And then she asked if he could marry them if she wanted to get married Then the vicar took her words as a joke.

A few days later, already on board the yacht, Lady Di called her confessor.

Diana said she had wonderful news,” Gelly recalls, “and asked me to come to Kensington Palace immediately upon her return to England.

Alas, the vicar never had a chance to find out what the princess wanted to tell him so important. A week later, Diana was in a car accident and died in a Paris clinic.

Lady Di knew that British intelligence agents were watching her, and her phone was constantly being tapped. Sometimes, while talking on the phone with a friend, she would shout into the receiver: “Hey, guys, change the cassette, otherwise it seems you’ve already run out of this one!”

However, the princess did not even suspect that, in addition to British intelligence, American intelligence was also interested in her. Only after Diana’s death did it become known that there were recordings of her telephone conversations in archives overseas. She was being monitored by the CIA and the NSA (National Secret Agency). Bugs were placed everywhere, including on her computer and bed. Diana's every step, her every word was recorded. After the August tragedy, Dodi's father Mohammed Al-Fayed sought to have these documents declassified. But he was refused, citing the fact that it could threaten the security of the United States. Somewhat later, the reputable British newspaper The Guardian joined the NRA with a request to allow journalists into the “Princess Diana case.” But she was also refused. Was there really explosive material stored in the archives?

Scientists say that not a single study will show whether Diana was expecting a child

According to British reporter, writer and intelligence specialist Gordon Thomas, the intelligence services have a recording of a conversation between Diana and Dodi, made on their last night, as well as a conversation between Dodi and his father, during which he admitted that Diana was expecting a child.

Thomas received confirmation of the existence of these recordings from one of the NSA agencies in June 2002 and published information about this in the British Sunday Express. According to him, the records contain irrefutable evidence that Princess Diana was pregnant in July 1997.

Mohammed Al-Fayed spoke about this immediately after the death of his son and Lady Di. But no one took his words seriously. Only a few tried to get to the bottom of the truth. One of them was American reporter James Keith. He followed an article published on September 8, 1997 in Time magazine, which quoted a French emergency doctor who spoke with a journalist a few hours after Diana's death. Before he began to rescue the princess, one of his colleagues told him that Diana came to her senses for a moment and the moment he touched her stomach, she whispered: “I’m pregnant.”

After the publication of this text, the doctor refused to talk to any journalists, saying that he would only talk to Diana’s family. James Keith obtained evidence confirming that conversation in the Paris hospital. “In 1998, I was able to contact a person who was friends with Dodi Al-Fayed’s personal physician,” Keith wrote. “The doctor admitted that he examined Princess Diana and discovered that she was expecting a child.” The reporter was able to collect other data regarding the tragic death of Diana on August 31, 1997. But he did not have time to publish them - on September 7, 1999, he died during surgery on the knee joint.

“I feel like I’m not going to get out of here,” he told his friend Ken Thomas before the operation. And I was not mistaken.

And a few hours after the journalist’s death, all information relating to the death of Princess Diana disappeared from his computer.

The investigation into Lady Di's death will soon be resumed. However, scientists claim that the autopsy will not yield anything, since Diana’s body was hastily embalmed, and therefore it is impossible to conduct reliable research. No test will show whether the princess was actually pregnant.

Despite this, neither Dodi’s father nor the journalists stop seeking the truth. J. Steinberg, a correspondent for the Executive Intelligence Review, doubts, however, that the results of the research carried out immediately after the tragedy in Paris will ever see the light of day. And yet he managed to get to some documents.

“In April 2000, Mohammed Al-Fayed’s lawyers,” writes Jeffrey Steinberg, “fell memo two French pathologists who worked on behalf of Judge Stefan and the English who collaborated with him. This note stated that the British authorities were putting pressure on them to withhold certain autopsy results.”

In turn, Scott McLead and Thomas Sancton from Time Magazine claim that some of the documents have disappeared, including those that could confirm Diana’s pregnancy, writes the Polish weekly Gala. Evidence can only be found in the archives of the CIA and the NIA. However, neither the American nor British intelligence services respond to any requests. The royal family is also silent. And only Diana's mother asks that her daughter be left alone at last