Diana, Princess of Wales. One of the most controversial celebrities in history and yet one of the most loved by the public.She married Prince Charles, Prince of Wales on July 29, 1981. They unfortunately separated then divorced due to adultery on both sides (Charles with Camillia) and Diana’s mental health was struggling.The two weren’t really in love and the affair between Carles and Camillia were keeping the marriage apart. Princess Diana was so pressured from being in the spotlight after marriage that she suffered from bulimia and her mental health was failing in general. She died in a car crash a year after the divorce, caused by her drunk driver, Henri Paul, in Paris. Her boyfriend at the time, Dodi Al Fayed also passed away. There are many controversies about her death. I’m here to prove them wrong.
There are many theories on how Princess Diana died. Some of them include: Paparazzi caused the car accident, Henri Paul intentionally started the crash for a job and wasn’t really drunk, the Royal Family ordered Diana’s death and had someone cut the brakes of the car so he could remarry, the SAS flashed bright lights to distract Henri Paul,and Princess Diana’s medical care was sabotaged because she was taken to a hospital two hours away. But most people believe that her death was at the fault of the Royal Family or British authorities. This is because Dodi’s father Mohamed Al Fayed believes that his son and Dian’s death was a murder plot, involving Prince Phillip, so Dodi and Diana couldn’t announce their engagement. Even though many people believe in these theories and have ‘evidence’ to back it up. While some aspects of the theories are true, we need to separate fact and fiction.
Operation Paget
Operation Paget is the inquiry about the conspiracy of Princess Diana’s death/car accident by the British Metropolitan Police in 2004. This was started by Mohamed Al-Fayed, Dodi’s father. There’s a booklet proving all theories wrong, except for the paparazzi theory. The final verdict was that the crash was at the fault of Henri Paul, the drunk driver and the reckless pursuit of the paparazzi.
Henri Paul-Head of Security of the Ritz Hotel
Theorists, like yourself, believe Paul was never drunk and he didn’t appear drunk earlier that night. Him being drunk is believed to be a lie to the media to cover up the killing. However, Henri’s toxicology report showed that he was drunk, so drunk that he was three times over the drinking limit. While there were mistakes made with testing, it has been proven time and time again that he had some amount of alcohol in his system.
Another theory is that Paul was working at a security service for France and/or the United Kingdom. However, there is no real evidence that this is true.
Paparazzi
The paparazzi chasing Diana’s car has been blamed for the crash on many occasions. This makes sense because the paparazzi had such a huge and negative impact on Diana’s life. But Operation Paget (operation started by Mohamed Al Fayed) proved that the paparazzi were just doing their job: competing for the best picture. The car was going at an insane speed and was trying to escape the paparazzi as celebrities tend to do. The fact that the chase ended in a crash makes the paparazzi look at fault. But they were just doing the job they were paid to do.
The Mishcon Note
The Mischon Note is about how Diana was nervous that someone was going to cut her brakes and kill her so Charles can remarry. The letter does actually exist, but it was written 2 years before the crash. So it makes it hard to believe. Plus at the time, her car was having many car troubles and her former bodyguard (who she apparently had an affair with, ‘her greatest love’) and she believed the conspiracies surrounding the accident. In the note, there isn’t a clear suggestion that the Royal Family had a plot to kill her.
British Special Air Services (SAS) & the Flashing Lights
There are multiple reports of flashing lights by people in/near the tunnel to distract Paul but all of them were seen at different places and times. Plus, those ‘flashing lights’ could’ve been flashing lights from paparazzi, and headlights from all of the cars in the tunnel. The theory that the SAS used a terrorist attack tactic to distract Paul.
The Hospital
Princess Diana being sent to a hospital 2 hours away from the accident is suspicious and not the best idea, I can admit that. But not everything is done how it is in the United States. In France, ambulances don’t take people to the closest hospital, they take them to the closest hospital that will provide the best care for that patient. That was the case for Diana. Plus, her injuries were so bad, if she was taken to a closer hospital, it was very unlikely that she would’ve survived.
Charlize Powell – Morgan Park Academy – DMSF Class of 2027
Photo by Provincial Archives of Alberta on Unsplash