[124][125] The photographers, who were part of the "paparazzi," were acquitted in 2003. A permanent memorial, the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain, was opened by the Queen in Hyde Park in London on 6 July 2004. [96] Private Eye's sales dropped by one third after it ran a cover titled "Media to Blame", which attempted to criticise the instant switch in the media and the public's opinion of Diana after her death from critical to complimentary. Continuing on from last week’s article, The Tunnel and the Ambulance, I’d like to explore another related matter – that of the missing camera footage from the accident. Her death and funeral rate as traumatic stressors", "The "Diana effect". Hitchens claimed the public were behaving irrationally and that many appeared to not even know why they were mourning. Shut up. [20] Critically injured, Diana was reported to murmur repeatedly, "Oh my God," and after the photographers and other helpers were pushed away by police, "Leave me alone. Most of the reported £1 million ($1.5 million) he made from the book deal went toward legal fees for lawsuits led by Fayed’s dad. [32][33] Anesthesiologist Bruno Riou announced her death at 06:00 at a news conference held at the hospital. Henri Paul took the fast road at the harbour of the river Seine, raced then into the tunnel under the Place de Alma. [115], Lord Justice Baker began his summing up to the jury on 31 March 2008. The speed limit is 80 kilometres, he drove a full 180. The specific vehicle was not identified. [30] Paul was also pronounced dead on removal from the wreckage. RD.COM Arts & Entertainment Royal Family. Find out about the secrets about Princess Diana no one knew until after her death. Lord Justice Baker delivered a lengthy opening statement giving general instructions to the jury and introducing the evidence. [133], Diana was ranked third in the 2002 Great Britons poll sponsored by the BBC and voted for by the British public, after Sir Winston Churchill (1st) (a distant cousin), and Isambard Kingdom Brunel (2nd), just above Charles Darwin (4th), William Shakespeare (5th), and Isaac Newton (6th). [18] Later, two others were detained and around twenty rolls of film were taken directly from the photographers. asked The Sun. [15] The car was travelling at an estimated speed of 105 km/h (65 mph)[16] – over twice the tunnel's 50 km/h (31 mph) speed limit. [118] After summing up, the jury retired to consider five verdicts, namely unlawful killing by the negligence of either or both the following vehicles or Paul; accidental death or an open verdict. 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. Meanwhile, Fayed’s father insisted Rees was lying about memory loss to avoid blame. "[119][120] Princes William and Harry released a statement in which they said that they "agree with their verdicts and are both hugely grateful. [72] The Queen, who returned to London from Balmoral, agreed to a television broadcast to the nation. [19] Firemen also arrived at the scene to help remove the victims. [28] Diana was moved to the SAMU ambulance at 01:18, left the scene at 01:41 and arrived at the Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital at 02:06.[29]. Attendees included US First Lady Hillary Clinton and French First Lady Bernadette Chirac, as well as celebrities including Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti and friends of Diana, George Michael and Elton John. An eyewitness who was driving through the tunnel ahead of Diana’s Mercedes claimed to have seen a big bright flash at the site of the crash. The crash … It would take a little while longer for them, and the rest of the world, to realize the depths of the loss contained in that crash, the sound of a car hitting concrete, with Princess Diana inside. ", "Fascination With Princess Diana As Great in Death as it Was in Life", "Queen 'Deeply Shocked, Distressed By Terrible News, "Charles Tells Boys Their Mother is Dead", "Length of the Funeral Procession is Tripled", "Royal family hurt by criticism over Diana", "Queen Issues Feisty Denial Of Disputes Over Funeral", "Prince William talks about 'taboo' of mental illness and death of Diana in new interview", "Strong Bond With Mother May Help Young Princes Cope With Her Death", "Australian Leaders Condemn Intrusion Into Private Life", "Princess Diana and the Causes Close to Her Heart", "Mourners in Paris Flock to the Scenes of Diana's Last Hours", "Princess's Death Overshadows Music Awards", "Effect of death of Diana, princess of Wales on suicide and deliberate self-harm", "Gallup Vault: Diana's Death Was Personal for Many", "Death of Diana, Princess of Wales. [102][104] The police investigation reported its findings in Operation Paget in December 2006. On Saturday, 30 August 1997, Diana left Sardinia on a private jet and arrived in Paris with Egyptian film producer Dodi Fayed, the son of businessman Mohamed Al-Fayed. In 2010, Theodore Dalrymple suggested "sentimentality, both spontaneous and generated by the exaggerated attention of the media, that was necessary to turn the death of the princess into an event of such magnitude thus served a political purpose, one that was inherently dishonest in a way that parallels the dishonesty that lies behind much sentimentality itself". [57] The funeral is estimated to have been watched by 31.5 million viewers in Britain. [84] In Bosnia, a land-mine survivor, Jasminko Bjelic, who had met Diana only three weeks earlier, said, "She was our friend. [92][93] Her death was also associated with "30% reduction in calls to the police and a 28% drop in public order offences", yet despite its effect on increasing depression and traumatic stress, no significant increase was observed in the number of psychiatric emergencies in Edinburgh. [126] Since February 1998, Fayed's father, Mohamed Al-Fayed, has claimed that the crash was a result of a conspiracy,[127] and later contended that the crash was orchestrated by MI6 on the instructions of the Royal Family. [70] On Sunday morning after Diana's death, the Queen and Princes Charles, William and Harry all wore black to church services at Balmoral Castle. Diana: Fiat driver 'shot in the head' THE paparazzi photographer at the centre of investigations into Princess Diana’s death died with two bullet holes in his head, it is claimed. His face was crushed beyond recognition, the bones turned to powder. [41][40], It was remarked by Robin Cook, the British Foreign Secretary, that if the accident had been caused in part by being hounded by paparazzi, it would be "doubly tragic. The bridge is close to the Pont de l'Alma tunnel where Diana, Princess of Wales and three others were involved in a fatal car crash on 31 August 1997. Rees himself had little recollection of the fateful night’s events, the head trauma having caused amnesia. [124], Three photographers who took pictures of the aftermath of the crash on 31 August 1997 had their photographs confiscated and were tried for invasion of privacy for taking pictures through the open door of the crashed car. Diana was 36 years old when she died. [53][54] Outside the Abbey and in Hyde Park crowds watched and listened to proceedings on large outdoor screens and speakers as guests filed in, including representatives of the many charities of which Diana was patron. [81], In London, thousands of people carried bouquets and stood outside Buckingham Palace after the news of her death. It then spun and hit the stone wall of the tunnel backwards, finally coming to a stop. [106][107], The inquests into the deaths of Diana and Fayed opened on 8 January 2007, with Dame Elizabeth Butler-Sloss acting as Deputy Coroner of the Queen's Household for the Diana inquest and Assistant Deputy Coroner for Surrey in relation to the Fayed inquest. [123], Nine photographers, who had been following Diana and Dodi in 1997, were charged with manslaughter in France. According to the Guardian, this witness testified at Diana’s inquest. [135], Later in 2004, US television network CBS showed pictures of the crash scene in one of its programmes which were "part of a 4,000-page French government report." File photo dated 31 August 1997 shows wreckage of Princess Diana's car in the Alma Tunnel of Paris. [78] Prince William was 15 and Harry was 12 when Diana died. The car struck the right-hand wall and then swerved to the left of the two-lane carriageway before it collided head-on with the thirteenth pillar that supported the roof. [71] Both radio and television aired the British national anthem, "God Save the Queen," in response to Diana's death, as is precedent for the death of a member of the Royal Family. Only one passenger came out alive: Trevor Rees-Jones, Fayed’s bodyguard. [90] Another research described Diana's death and funeral as traumatic stressors with psychological impacts that could "be equated with traditional stressors identified in the trauma research literature". We are no longer supporting IE (Internet Explorer) as we strive to provide site experiences for browsers that support new web standards and security practices. [40] The driver of the Fiat was never conclusively traced, although many believed the driver was Le Van Thanh. In the early hours of 31 August 1997, Diana, Princess of Wales, died from the injuries she sustained in a car crash in the Pont de l'Alma tunnel in Paris. [113] The BBC reported that Mohamed Al-Fayed, having earlier reiterated his claim that his son and Diana were murdered by the Royal Family, immediately criticised the opening statement as biased. "[19], With the four occupants still in the wrecked car, the photographers, who had been driving slower and were some distance behind the Mercedes, reached the scene. One of his few recollections of that night was a woman’s voice (presumably Diana’s) moaning “Dodi,” though he couldn’t say for sure if it was a real or false memory. There was no "Diana effect" on numbers of psychiatric emergencies", "Diana 1961–1997: The legacy – Death to affect British economy", "Television: It's a state of total Dianarchy", "The attempts to censor Private Eye after Diana's death remind us of how a nation went mad with grief", "Lord Stevens report: Claims and conclusions", "Doubts cast over blood samples in Diana inquiry", "The Diana Investigation: What Lord Stevens Really Said", "Inquests into the deaths of Diana, Princess of Wales and Mr Dodi Al Fayed: FAQs", "Inquests into the deaths of Diana, Princess of Wales and Mr Dodi Al Fayed: Pre-inquest Hearing – 27 July 2007 – List of Likely Issues", "Inquests into the deaths of Diana, Princess of Wales and Mr Dodi Al Fayed: Hearing transcript – 2 October 2007 Morning", "BBC Report of First Day of Inquests, see video report with Nicholas Witchell", "Hearing transcripts: 2 April 2008 Morning session", "Hearing transcripts: 4 April 2008 Morning session", "Hearing transcripts: 7 April 2008 – Verdict of the jury", "Diana crash was a conspiracy – Al Fayed", "British police studying new information on Princess Diana death", "Newly revealed conspiracy claim in Princess Diana death sparks talk", "Photos Of Dying Diana Outrage Britain, Italian Magazine Printed Photos Of Princess At Crash Site In 1997", "Major events influenced BBC's news online", Princess Diana driver was 'drunk and speeding' – BBC, The life and poignant death of Diana's driver, Official Website of the Inquests into the deaths of Diana, Princess of Wales, and Dodi Fayed, Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Playground, Diana: A Tribute to the People's Princess, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Death_of_Diana,_Princess_of_Wales&oldid=1016879614, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Whether driver error on the part of Henri Paul caused or contributed to the cause of the collision, Whether Henri Paul's ability to drive was impaired through drink or drugs, Whether a Fiat Uno or any other vehicle caused or contributed to the collision, Whether the actions of the Paparazzi caused or contributed to the cause of the collision, Whether the road/tunnel layout and construction were inherently dangerous and, if so, whether this contributed to the collision, Whether any bright/flashing lights contributed to or caused the collision and, if so, their source, Whose decision it was that the Princess of Wales and Dodi Al Fayed should leave from the rear entrance to the Ritz and that Henri Paul should drive the vehicle, Henri Paul's movements between 7 and 10 pm on 30 August 1997, The explanation for the money in Henri Paul's possession on 30 August 1997 and in his bank account, Whether Andanson, a photographer who followed the princess in the week before her death, was in Paris on the night of the collision, Whether Diana's life would have been saved if she had reached hospital sooner or if her medical treatment had been different, Whether Diana and Dodi Al Fayed were about to announce their engagement, Whether and, if so in what circumstances, the Princess of Wales feared for her life, The circumstances relating to the purchase of the ring, The circumstances in which Diana's body was embalmed, Whether the British or any other security services had any involvement in the collision, Whether there was anything sinister about (i) the Cherruault burglary or (ii) the disturbance at the Big Pictures agency.