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Death of Diana, Princess of Wales

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Death of Diana, Princess of Wales
File:Alma tunnel Paris.jpg
East entrance to the Pont de l'Alma tunnel
Date31 August 1997; 27 years ago (1997-08-31)
LocationPont de l'Alma, Paris, France[lower-alpha 1]
Coordinates48°51′51.7″N 2°18′06.8″E / 48.864361°N 2.301889°E / 48.864361; 2.301889[1]
Fatal error: The format of the coordinate could not be determined. Parsing failed.


TypeCar accident
Death caused by dangerous driving
Deaths
Non-fatal injuriesTrevor Rees-Jones
InquiriesFrench criminal trial (1999)
Operation Paget (2008)
Accused
  • Jacques Langevin
  • Christian Martinez
  • Fabrice Chassery[2]
ChargesInvasion of privacy[lower-alpha 2]
VerdictFrench criminal trial:
Not guilty[2]
Operation Paget:
Unlawful killing

During the early hours of 31 August 1997, Diana, Princess of Wales, died from injuries sustained earlier that night in a car crash in the Pont de l'Alma tunnel in Paris, France. Diana's partner, Dodi Fayed, and the driver of the Mercedes-Benz W140, Henri Paul, were also died upon impact. Diana's bodyguard, Trevor Rees-Jones, was seriously injured, but was the only survivor of the crash.

Some media claimed that the erratic behaviour of the paparazzi chasing the car, as reported by the BBC,[3] caused the crash. In 1999, a French investigation found that Paul lost control of the vehicle at high speed while intoxicated by alcohol and under the effects of prescription drugs, and concluded that he was solely responsible for the crash. He was the deputy head of security at the Hôtel Ritz Paris and had earlier goaded paparazzi waiting for Diana and Fayed outside the hotel.[4] Anti-depressants and traces of an anti-psychotic in his blood might have worsened Paul's inebriation.[5]

In 2008, a jury at the British inquest, Operation Paget, returned a verdict of unlawful killing through grossly negligent driving by Paul and the following paparazzi vehicles.[6] Some media reports claimed that Rees-Jones survived because he was wearing a seat belt, but other investigations revealed that none of the occupants of the car were wearing them.[7]

Diana was 36 years old when she died.[8] Her death sparked an outpouring of public grief in the United Kingdom and worldwide,[9] and her televised funeral was watched by an estimated 2.5 billion people.[10] The royal family were criticised in the press for their reaction to Diana's death. Public interest in Diana has remained high and she continues to retain regular press coverage in the decades since her death.

Circumstances[]

Events preceding the crash[]

File:Diana, Princess of Wales 1997 (2).jpg

Diana, Princess of Wales, in June 1997

File:Mercedes W140 front 20070609.jpg

Mercedes-Benz S 280 sedan (W140[11] S-Class), similar to the one involved in the crash[12][13][14][15][16]

On Saturday, 30 August 1997, Princess Diana left the Olbia Airport, Sardinia, on a private jet and arrived at Le Bourget Airport[17] in Paris with Egyptian film producer Dodi Fayed, son of businessman Mohamed Al-Fayed.[18][19] They had stopped there en route to London, having spent the preceding nine days together on board Mohamed's yacht Jonikal on the French and Italian Riviera.[20] They had intended to stay there for the night. Mohamed was owner of the Hôtel Ritz Paris and resided in an apartment on Rue Arsène Houssaye, a short distance from the hotel, just off the Avenue des Champs Elysées.[21]

Henri Paul, deputy head of security at the Ritz, had been instructed to drive the hired black 1994[12][13][14][15] armoured[16] Mercedes-Benz S 280 sedan (W140[11] S-Class) in order to elude the paparazzi;[22] a decoy vehicle left the Ritz first from the main entrance on Place Vendôme, attracting a throng of photographers. Diana and Fayed then departed from the hotel's rear entrance,[23] Rue Cambon, at around 00:20 on 31 August CEST (22:20 on 30 August UTC), heading for the apartment in Rue Arsène Houssaye. They did this to avoid the nearly 30 photographers waiting in front of the hotel.[23] Diana and Fayed were the rear passengers; Trevor Rees-Jones, a member of the Fayed family's personal protection team, was in the (right) front passenger seat.[24] None of the occupants were wearing seat belts.[lower-alpha 3] After leaving the Rue Cambon and crossing the Place de la Concorde, they drove along Cours la Reine and Cours Albert 1er – the embankment road along the right bank of the River Seine – into the Place de l'Alma underpass.[25]

The crash[]

At 00:23, Paul lost control of the car at the entrance to the Pont de l'Alma underpass. The car reportedly struck a passing white Fiat, swerved to the left of the two-lane carriageway and collided head-on with the 13th pillar that supported the roof.[26][27] It was travelling at an estimated speed of 105 km/h (65 mph)[28] – more than twice the 50 km/h (31 mph) speed limit of the tunnel. It then spun, hit the stone wall of the tunnel backwards and finally came to a stop. The impact caused substantial damage, particularly to the front half of the vehicle, as there was no guard rail to prevent this.[29] Witnesses arriving shortly after the crash reported smoke.[30] Witnesses also reported that photographers on motorcycles "swarmed the Mercedes sedan before it entered the tunnel".[31]

Aftermath[]

File:Alma flamme de la Liberté + tunnel.jpg

Pont de l'Alma Tunnel west entrance, 2007, showing pillars and lack of guard rails

The photographers had been driving slower and were some distance behind the Mercedes. When they reached the scene, some rushed to help, trying to open the doors and help the victims, while some of them took pictures.[32] Police arrived around ten minutes after the crash at 00:30,[32] and an ambulance was on site five minutes later, according to witnesses.[33] France Info radio reported that one photographer was beaten by witnesses who were horrified by the scene.[31] Five of the photographers were arrested directly.[30] Later, two others were detained and around 20 rolls of film were taken directly from the photographers.[31] Police also impounded their vehicles afterwards.[31] Firefighters also arrived at the scene to help remove the victims.[34]

Rees-Jones sustained multiple serious facial injuries and a head contusion, but he was still conscious.[35] The front airbags had functioned normally.[36] Diana was sitting in the right rear passenger seat and was critically injured, but still conscious.[32][37] The crash mostly affected the righthand side of her body, indicating that she was sitting sideways in her seat at the time of impact.[38] Her ribs and arm were fractured and her right collar bone was dislocated, and she suffered from swelling and bruising to the brain.[38] She was reported to murmur repeatedly, "Oh my God", and after the photographers and other helpers were pushed away by police, "Leave me alone."[37] In June 2007, the Channel 4 documentary Diana: The Witnesses in the Tunnel claimed that the first person to touch Diana was off-duty physician Frederic Mailliez,[39] who chanced upon the scene. Mailliez reported that Diana had no visible injuries but was in shock.[40] She was reported to have been extremely disturbed and removed an intravenous drip while shouting incoherently.[41] After being sedated and removed from the car at 01:00, she went into cardiac arrest, but her heart started beating again following external cardiopulmonary resuscitation.[42] Diana was moved to the ambulance at 01:18, left the scene at 01:41, and arrived at the Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital at 02:06.[43]

Fayed was in the left rear passenger seat and was pronounced dead at the scene shortly afterwards.[44] Paul was also pronounced dead at the scene on removal from the wreckage.[32] Both were taken directly to the Institut Médico-Légal (IML), the Paris mortuary.[45] Paul was later found to have a blood alcohol level of 1.75 grams per litre of blood, about 3.5 times the legal limit in France.[35]

Diana's injuries were extensive, and resuscitation attempts were unsuccessful, including internal cardiac massage. Her heart had been displaced to the right side of the chest,[46] which tore the upper left pulmonary vein and the pericardium.[41] Diana died at the hospital at 03:00.[47][48] Anaesthetist Bruno Riou announced her death at 06:00 at a news conference held at the hospital.[30][49]

Later that morning, French prime minister Lionel Jospin and Interior Minister Jean-Pierre Chevènement visited the hospital.[50] At around 17:00, Diana's former husband Charles and her two older sisters Lady Sarah McCorquodale and Lady Jane Fellowes arrived in Paris.[51] The group visited the hospital along with French president Jacques Chirac and thanked the doctors for trying to save her life.[52] Charles accompanied Diana's body to the UK later the same day.[53] They departed from Vélizy – Villacoublay Air Base and landed at RAF Northolt, and a bearer party from the Queen's Colour Squadron transferred her coffin to the hearse. The coffin was draped with the royal standard with an ermine border. Her body was finally taken to the Hammersmith and Fulham mortuary in London for a post-mortem examination later that day.[54]

Initial media reports stated that Diana's car had collided with the pillar at 190 km/h (120 mph), and that the speedometer's needle had jammed at that position.[35] It was later announced that the car's speed upon collision was 95–110 km/h (59–68 mph), about twice as fast as the speed limit of 50 km/h (31 mph). In 1999, a French investigation concluded that the Mercedes had come into contact with a white Fiat Uno in the tunnel.[55] The driver of the Fiat was never conclusively traced, although many believed that the driver was Le Van Thanh. Thanh was questioned by French detectives in 1997, who ruled him out as a suspect but friends and family members have noted inconsistences in his story. Thanh has since refused interviews or inquiries from investigators.[56] The specific vehicle was not identified.[57][55]

British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook remarked that, if the crash had been caused in part by being hounded by paparazzi, it would be "doubly tragic".[23] Diana's younger brother, the Earl Spencer, also blamed tabloid media for her death.[58] An 18-month French judicial investigation concluded in 1999 that the crash was caused by Paul, who lost control at high speed while intoxicated.[59] As reported by the BBC, "No charges were brought against the paparazzi who had been pursuing the princess' car."[60]

See also[]

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  • Concert for Diana, a 2007 rock concert to commemorate Diana
  • Diana: Last Days of a Princess, a 2007 television docudrama
  • List of people who died in traffic collisions
  • The Little White Car, a 2004 novel based around the mystery Fiat Uno
  • The Murder of Princess Diana, a 2007 book disputing the official version of events
  • The Murder of Princess Diana, a 2007 Lifetime Movies film, a fictionalised adaptation of the book of the same name
  • Princess Diana's Revenge, a 2006 novel that engages with conspiracy theories relating to Diana's death
  • The Queen, a 2006 film about the Royal Family's reaction to Diana's death
  • Unlawful Killing, a 2011 documentary film

References[]

Notes[]

  1. ↑ The crash occurred in the Pont de l'Alma and Diana died 3 1/2 hours later at Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital
  2. ↑ Nine paparazzi originally charged with manslaughter, but charges were dropped.
  3. ↑ Although there are conflicting reports (such as BBC and CNN), the investigation Operation Paget report notes "Operation Paget's view is that none of the seat belts were being worn at the time of the impact, including that of Trevor Rees-Jones." (Page 421) [1].

Citations[]

  1. ↑ "Plan of Alma Tunnel" (PDF). Coroner's Inquests into the Deaths of Diana, Princess of Wales and Mr Dodi Al Fayed. Computer Aided Modelling Bureau, Metropolitan Police Service. November 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 May 2008. Retrieved 22 December 2007.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named :1
  3. ↑ "The Princess and The Press". BBC. Archived from the original on 10 January 2020. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  4. ↑ Director: David Bartlett, Executive Producer: David Upshal. "The Coronation of Elizabeth II/The Death of Diana". Days That Shook the World.
  5. ↑ Nundy, Julian; Graves, David. "Diana crash caused by chauffeur, says report". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 13 November 2002.
  6. ↑ Rayner, Gordon (7 April 2008). "Diana jury blames paparazzi and Henri Paul for her 'unlawful killing'". Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 25 April 2018. Retrieved 12 October 2013.
  7. ↑ Sephton, Connor (28 August 2017). "Trevor Rees-Jones: What happened to the sole survivor of Diana's crash". Sky News. Archived from the original on 19 November 2020. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
  8. ↑ Johnston, Carla B. (1998). Global News Access: The Impact of New Communications Technologies. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 1. ISBN 978-0-275-95774-2. Archived from the original on 19 February 2020. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
  9. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named WorldMourns
  10. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named TelevisionAudience
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Brown, Warren (3 September 1997). "Seat Belts Might Have Saved Diana". Washington Post. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Luchian, Elena (1 June 2017). "The Mercedes Lady Diana died in had been writen-off 3 years before the crash". MercedesBlog. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Mulholland, Rory (31 May 2017). "Car Princess Diana died in was 'death trap' that had been written off and rebuilt, according to new report". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Kentish, Benjamin (31 May 2017). "Car Princess Diana was travelling in when killed was a 'hugely dangerous' rebuilt wreck, say reports". The Independent. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Picard, Caroline (1 June 2017). "Original Owner Says Car From Diana's Fatal Crash Was a "Dangerous" Wreck". Good Housekeeping. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 "1997: Diana driver was 'drunk and speeding'". BBC News. 1 September 1997. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  17. ↑ "Timeline: How Diana died". BBC News. 14 December 2006. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  18. ↑ Merrin, William (1999). "Crash, bang, wallop! What a picture! The death of Diana and the media". Mortality. 4 (1): 41–62. doi:10.1080/713685965.
  19. ↑ "What Were You Doing When ...?". BBC. Archived from the original on 23 November 2020. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
  20. ↑ Cohen 2005, pp. 47,51.
  21. ↑ Cohen 2005, p. 277.
  22. ↑ "Timeline: How Diana died". BBC News. 14 December 2006. Archived from the original on 11 January 2009. Retrieved 13 October 2008.
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 23.2 "Car Crash Kills Princess Diana". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 31 August 1997. Archived from the original on 31 August 2017. Retrieved 30 August 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
  24. ↑ Cohen 2005, p. 59.
  25. ↑ "Google Maps". Google Maps. Archived from the original on 16 July 2020. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
  26. ↑ "Not finding white Fiat Uno in tunnel on night of Diana's death a 'frustration,' crash investigators say". FOX6. 31 August 2022. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
  27. ↑ "Report 'dispels Diana theories'". BBC. 24 January 2004. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
  28. ↑ John Stevens, Baron Stevens of Kirkwhelpington p. 41.
  29. ↑ Cohen 2005, p. 97.
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 30.2 "Princess Diana Dies in Car Crash". Quad-City Times. 31 August 1997. Archived from the original on 31 August 2017. Retrieved 30 August 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
  31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 31.2 31.3 "Police Seize Film". The Central New Jersey Home News. 1 September 1997. Archived from the original on 31 August 2017. Retrieved 30 August 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
  32. ↑ 32.0 32.1 32.2 32.3 Cohen 2005, p. 71.
  33. ↑ Kornblut, Anne E. (1 September 1997). "Sound Drew People; Sight Was Grisly". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Archived from the original on 31 August 2017. Retrieved 30 August 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
  34. ↑ "Fireman who treated Princess Diana after the crash reveals her last words". The Independent. 31 August 2017. Archived from the original on 31 August 2017. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
  35. ↑ 35.0 35.1 35.2 Kole, William J. (1 September 1997). "Car's Speedometer Stuck at 121 MPH". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Archived from the original on 31 August 2017. Retrieved 30 August 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
  36. ↑ "Diana crash airbags puzzle". BBC News. 5 February 1998. Archived from the original on 31 August 2017. Retrieved 30 August 2017.
  37. ↑ 37.0 37.1 "Special Report: Princess Diana, 1961–1997". Time. Archived from the original on 30 April 2009. Retrieved 1 May 2010.
  38. ↑ 38.0 38.1 Orr, James (26 November 2007). "Diana's body showed no signs of pregnancy, says pathologist". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 September 2022.
  39. ↑ "Diana: The Witnesses in the Tunnel". Channel4. Archived from the original on 3 July 2009. Retrieved 30 April 2011.
  40. ↑ Cohen 2005, p. 126.
  41. ↑ 41.0 41.1 Strange, Hannah (19 November 2007). "Agitated Diana 'ripped out drip' after crash". The Times. Retrieved 4 September 2022.
  42. ↑ "Firefighter Reveals Princess Diana's Last Words 20 Years After Death". Rolling Stone. 31 August 2017. Archived from the original on 1 September 2017. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
  43. ↑ John Stevens, Baron Stevens of Kirkwhelpington pp. 525–527.
  44. ↑ "Princess Diana 'watched lover Dodi dying'". The Daily Telegraph. 29 November 2007. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022. Retrieved 30 August 2017.
  45. ↑ Cohen 2005, p. 177.
  46. ↑ Donaldson James, Susan (28 August 2009). "Princess Diana's Death Offers Lessons for Health Care Debate, 12 Years Later". ABC News. Retrieved 4 September 2022.
  47. ↑ Cohen 2005, p. 133.
  48. ↑ "Series of Real-Time Reports involving the tragic death of Diana, Princess of Wales". Emergency. 1997. Archived from the original on 7 May 2008. Retrieved 13 October 2008.
  49. ↑ "Fatal End to Fairy Tale". Palladium-Item. 31 August 1997. Archived from the original on 31 August 2017. Retrieved 30 August 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
  50. ↑ "Secret papers recall Diana's final hours". The Daily Telegraph. 16 March 2005. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022. Retrieved 30 August 2017.
  51. ↑ Cohen 2005, p. 143.
  52. ↑ "Diana: World Mourns as Princess's Body Returns Home". The Journal News. 1 September 1997. Archived from the original on 31 August 2022. Retrieved 31 August 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
  53. ↑ Johnson, Maureen (1 September 1997). "The World Mourns a Princess". Hartford Courant. Archived from the original on 31 August 2022. Retrieved 31 August 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
  54. ↑ Gregory, Martyn (24 August 2017). "Beach BBQs with Dodi, rows with bodyguards and that 'engagement ring'... The truth about the last week of Princess Diana's life". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 27 August 2017. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
  55. ↑ 55.0 55.1 Martyn Gregory Diana: The Last Days Archived 16 July 2020 at the Wayback Machine, Random House, 2010, p.70
  56. ↑ Rayner, Gordon (7 April 2008). "Inquest shed light on mystery of white Fiat Uno". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
  57. ↑ Reporter, Gordon Rayner (7 April 2008). "Inquest shed light on mystery of white Fiat Uno". Archived from the original on 11 January 2022.
  58. ↑ "Right to Privacy Under Scrutiny". The Springfield News-Leader. 1 September 1997. Archived from the original on 31 August 2017. Retrieved 30 August 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
  59. ↑ Haldenby, Andrew (4 September 1999). "Diana crash caused by chauffeur, says report". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 22 May 2008. Retrieved 13 October 2008.
  60. ↑ "1997: Princess Diana dies in Paris crash". ON THIS DAY BBC. 31 August 1997. Retrieved 1 September 2022.

Bibliography[]

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  • Mccleod, Scott; Sancton, Thomas (1998). Death of a Princess. UK: Weidenfeld & Nicolson. ISBN 978-0-297-84231-6.
  • Junor, Penny (2005). The Firm: The Troubled Life of the House of Windsor. London: HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-00-710215-0.
  • Rees-Jones, Trevor; Moira Johnston (2000). The Bodyguard's Story: Diana, the Crash, and the Sole Survivor. London: Little, Brown. ISBN 978-0-316-85508-2.
  • Simmons, Simone; Ingrid Seward (2005). Diana: The Last Word. London: Orion. ISBN 978-0-7528-6875-2.
  • Duncan Fallowell, How To Disappear, ch.5, reportage account of Princess Diana's funeral (London, 2011)

External links[]

Template:Diana, Princess of Wales Lua error: bad argument #2 to 'title.new' (unrecognized namespace name 'Portal').

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