The tragedy occurred on August 31, 1997, when the car in which Princess Diana was traveling, under mysterious circumstances, crashed into the 13th column of the tunnel under the Alma Bridge. Then everything was attributed to the driver being drunk and an unfortunate coincidence of circumstances. Was this really so? A few years later, a list of facts appears that can take a different look at the “accident” on that fateful day.
A surprise for many was the letter from Princess Diana herself, written by her 10 months before her own death, which was published in 2003 by the English newspaper “Daily Mirror”. Even then, in 1996, the princess was worried that her life was in the “most dangerous phase” and someone (the newspaper’s name was hidden) wanted to eliminate Diana by setting up a car accident. Such a turn of events would have paved the way for her ex-husband, Prince Charles, to remarry. According to Diana, for 15 years she was “harassed, terrorized and mentally tortured by the British system.” “I cried all this time as much as no one in the world cried, but my inner strength did not allow me to give up.” The princess felt something was wrong, as many people sense the approach of trouble, but did she really know about the impending assassination attempt? Was there really a conspiracy against Lady Di?
One of the first to suggest such a development of events was billionaire Mohammed Al-Fayed, the father of Dodi Al-Fayed, who died along with Diana. However, the French special services, which investigated the circumstances of the car accident, concluded that the princess’s Mercedes with driver Henri Paul collided in the tunnel with the Fiat of one of the paparazzi while trying to overtake. Wanting to avoid a collision, Paul drove the car to the side and crashed into the ill-fated 13th column. From that very moment, questions began to arise to which there are still no clear answers.
According to Mohamed Al-Fayed, the driver Henri Paul was indeed involved in the accident, but not quite as the official version says. The billionaire claims that the presence of a large amount of alcohol in the driver’s blood is the machinations of doctors who are also involved in this case. In addition, according to Mohammed’s words, Paul was an informant for the British intelligence service M6. It also seems strange that paparazzi James Andanson, the driver of the Fiat Uno that Diana’s Mercedes collided with, died in 2000 under very strange circumstances: his body was found in a burned-out car in the forest. The police considered it a suicide, but Al-Fayed thinks differently.
Another interesting fact is that a few weeks after the photographer’s death, the agency where he worked was attacked. The armed men took the workers hostage and fled only after they had taken out all the photographic materials and equipment. It later became known that the day after the accident, a photographer from the same agency, Lionel Cherrault, was left in the tunnel without equipment and materials. The police tried by all means to cover up this case, which, in principle, they succeeded in doing.
It also seems strange that the cameras monitoring the route from the Ritz Hotel, where Diana and Dodi Al-Fayed lived, to the exit from the tunnel around the clock, were for some reason turned off during the passage of the Mercedes.
Richard Tomlinson, an officer of the British intelligence service M6, shared interesting information regarding this case under oath. For example, that immediately before the death of the princess, two M6 special agents arrived in Paris, and in the Ritz hotel itself, M6 had its own informant. Tomlinson is confident that this informant was none other than the driver Henri Paul. Maybe that’s why the driver had two thousand pounds sterling in cash and one hundred thousand in his bank account at the time of the accident, with a salary of 23 thousand a year.
The official version of the driver’s intoxication is more than shaky, largely relying on indirect and inaccurate evidence. For example, after the accident, the driver's body lay in the sun for a long time in very hot weather instead of being placed in the refrigerator. In the heat, the blood “fermented” quite quickly, after which it was not possible to distinguish the alcohol consumed from the alcohol produced as a result of changes in the body. The second “irrefutable evidence” of the driver’s alcoholism is that he was taking the drug tiapride, which is often prescribed to alcoholics. However, tiapride is also used as a sleeping pill and sedative. It was precisely the calming effect that Henri Paul could have sought after a break with his family!
When the driver was autopsied, no signs of alcoholism were found in his liver, and just before the crash, Paul underwent a full medical examination to renew his pilot's license. However, Mohammed Al-Fayed's sources claim that before the accident, carbon monoxide was found in Henri Paul's blood, which can throw a person out of balance in life. How did it get into the driver’s body and, most importantly, who benefited from it? Surely the French intelligence services know something about this issue, but so far they are in no hurry to share information.
A bright flashing light, described by several witnesses, may have helped the tragedy unfold. Brenda Wills and Françoise Levistre have been talking about this for a long time, talking about a bright strobe light in the tunnel under the Alma bridge. No one took the words of the two women seriously (or wanted to accept them), despite the mention of these facts in authoritative periodicals. On the contrary, the witnesses, especially the Frenchwoman Levistre, were advised to be locked up in a psychiatric hospital.
The mention of the flashing light during the accident struck British intelligence officer Richard Tomlinson because he had access to secret M6 documents relating to the Milosevic affair. One of these documents outlined a plan to assassinate the Yugoslav leader: staging a car accident using bright flashing lights. (You can read about the effects of light under certain conditions in the article “Measuring.”)
Why were there no surveillance cameras in the tunnel, although no problems were noticed at the Ritz Hotel itself? Of course, this can be attributed to an accident or misunderstanding. But what really happened? We may never be able to reconstruct the full picture of the events, although there is hope for an investigation by the French intelligence services. Will they share information with the common people?
Princess Diana. Last day in Paris
A film about the last weeks of the life of one of the most famous women of the twentieth century - Diana, Princess of Wales. Diana's unexpected and tragic death in August 1997 shocked the world no less than the assassination of President Kennedy. From the very beginning, the tragedy that happened on August 31, 1997 was surrounded by many conflicting rumors and the most incredible assumptions.
Who killed Princess Diana?
Ten years ago, the worst car accident of the last century occurred. The legendary Lady Di, an English princess, a female symbol, died in a Paris tunnel (See the photo gallery “The Life Story of Princess Diana”). On August 27 and 28, the REN TV channel will show the documentary film “A Purely English Murder.” The authors conducted their own investigation and tried to find out whether this tragedy was an accident.
On August 31, 1997, at 0:27 a.m., the car containing Princess Diana, her friend Dodi al-Fayed, driver Henri Paul and Diana's bodyguard Trevor Rhys-Jones crashes into the 13th pillar of the bridge over the Alma tunnel. Dodi and driver Henri Paul die on the spot. Princess Diana will die at about 4 a.m. in hospital.
Version 1 Paparazzi killers?
The first version expressed by the investigation: several reporters who were riding scooters were to blame for the accident. They were chasing Diana's black Mercedes, and one of them may have interfered with the princess's car. The Mercedes driver, trying to avoid a collision, crashed into a concrete bridge support.
But, according to eyewitnesses, they entered the tunnel a few seconds after Diana’s Mercedes, which means they could not have caused the accident.
Lawyer Virginie Bardet:
— In fact, there is no evidence of the photographers’ guilt. The judge said: "There is no evidence of manslaughter in the actions of the photographers which led to the deaths of Diana, Dodi al-Fayed, Henri Paul and the incapacitation of Trevor Rhys-Jones."
Version 2 Mysterious “Fiat Uno”
The investigation puts forward a new version: the cause of the accident was a car, which by that time was already in the tunnel. In the immediate vicinity of the crashed Mercedes, detective police discovered fragments of a Fiat Uno.
Jacques Mules, head of the detective police team: “The fragments of the rear light and paint particles that we discovered allowed us to calculate all the characteristics of the Fiat Uno within 48 hours.”
When interviewing eyewitnesses, police allegedly found out that a white Fiat Uno zigzagged out of the tunnel a few seconds after the accident. Moreover, the driver looked not at the road, but in the rearview mirror, as if he saw something, for example, a crashed car.
The detective police determined the exact characteristics of the car, its color and year of manufacture. But even with information about the car and a description of the driver’s appearance, the investigation was unable to find either the car or the driver.
Francis Gillery, author of his own independent investigation: “All cars of this brand in the country were checked, but none of them showed signs of a similar collision. The white Fiat Uno disappeared into the ground! And the eyewitnesses of the accident who saw him began to get confused in the testimony, from which it was not clear whether the white Fiat was at the scene of the tragedy at the ill-fated moment.”
It is interesting that the version about the white Fiat that allegedly caused the accident, as well as the information about the left turn signal found at the scene of the tragedy, was not made public immediately, but only two weeks after the incident.
Version 3British intelligence services
Only today are details becoming known that for some reason it was customary not to mention. As soon as a black Mercedes entered the tunnel, a bright flash of light suddenly cut through the twilight. It is so strong that everyone who observed it was blinded for a few seconds. And a moment later, the silence of the night is shattered by the squeal of brakes and the sound of a terrible impact. François Laviste was just leaving the tunnel at that time and was only a few meters from the scene of the tragedy. At first, the investigation accepted his testimony, and then recognized the only witness as unreliable.
The version spread at the suggestion of former MI6 employee Richard Thomplison. The former agent said that the circumstances of the death of Princess Diana remind him of the plan to assassinate Slobodan Milosevic, developed by the British intelligence services. The Yugoslav president was going to be blinded in the tunnel by a powerful flash.
The police are reluctant to include mention of the flash of light in the protocols. Eyewitnesses are nervous and insist on the veracity of their testimony. And a few months later, British and French newspapers published a sensational statement by former British intelligence agent Richard Tomplison that the latest laser weapons, which are in service with the intelligence services, may have been used in the Alma tunnel.
Fiat Uno is back on stage
But how could fragments of a car that would never be found appear at the scene of the incident? The media version is that the fragments of the Fiat were planted by those who prepared this accident in advance and wanted to disguise it as a regular accident. The press insists that these are British intelligence services.
The intelligence services knew that the white Fiat would definitely be next to Princess Diana's car that night. It was in the white Fiat that one of the most famous and successful paparazzi in Paris, James Andanson, drove. He couldn’t miss such an opportunity to make money from photographs of a celebrity couple that everyone was interested in...
The media suggested that the services simply could not prove the involvement of the photographer and his car in the accident, although they really hoped. Andanson was indeed in the tunnel that night. True, according to some of his colleagues who were at the Ritz Hotel on the evening of August 30, 1997, this was a rare case when the photographer arrived at work without a car. And perhaps that is why the version developed by someone about Andanson’s guilt in the accident lost its central link even before Dodi and Diana left the hotel. On the other hand, Andanson could indeed have been involved in the accident. He repeatedly came to the attention of the al-Fayed family's security service, and for them, of course, it was no secret that Andersen was not only a successful photographer. Al-Fayed's security service allegedly managed to obtain evidence that the photographer was an agent of the British intelligence service. But Dodi’s father, for some reason, now does not consider it necessary to present them to the investigation. James Andanson was not a random figure in this tragedy.
Andanson was seen in the tunnel, and he was indeed one of the first there. They also saw a car at the scene of the tragedy that was very similar to his car, albeit with different license plates, possibly fake.
But then questions begin to which there is no answer. Why did the photographer, who spent several hours at the Ritz Hotel for the sake of a sensational photo, suddenly not waiting for Diana with Dodi al-Fayed, for no apparent reason left his post and went straight to the tunnel. After the accident, Andanson, without even waiting for the outcome, when a crowd just began to gather in the tunnel, suddenly disappears. Literally in the middle of the night - at 4 o'clock in the morning - he flies from Paris on the next flight to Corsica.
Some time later, in the French Pyrenees, his body will be found in a burnt car. While the police are establishing the identity of the deceased, unknown persons steal all the papers, photographs and computer disks related to the death of Princess Diana from the office of his Parisian photo agency.
If this is not a fatal coincidence, then Andanson was eliminated either as an unwanted witness or as the perpetrator of the murder.
In September 1999, another reporter, who was next to a mangled black Mercedes that ill-fated night, died in a Paris hospital. Reporter James Keith was preparing for minor knee surgery but told friends: "I have a feeling I won't be coming back." After being discharged from the hospital, the reporter was going to publish documents about the causes of the accident on the Alma Bridge, but within a few hours after his death, the Internet web page with details of the investigations and all materials were destroyed.
Who turned off the cameras?
The police officers working at the scene decide to include the recordings of road surveillance cameras in the case. It is from them that one can determine exactly how the accident occurred and how many cars were in the tunnel at the time of the collision. The road service workers who were called do not understand why there is such a rush, and only wonder why the films cannot be viewed tomorrow morning. But when they open the boxes in which the video cameras are mounted, they are even more surprised. The video surveillance system, which works properly in all other points of Paris, by a strange coincidence, it was in the Alma tunnel that failed. One can only guess who or what caused this.
Version 4 Drunk driver
On July 5, 1999, almost two years later, newspapers from all over the world published a sensational statement from the investigation: the main blame for what happened in the Alma tunnel lies with the Mercedes driver Henri Paul. He was the chief of security at the Ritz Hotel and also died in this disaster. Investigators accuse him of driving drunk.
Michael Cowel, al-Fayed's official spokesman: “It was officially announced that he was driving the car at a speed of 180 km/h. Very fast. Now in the file it is written in small print: “The accident occurred at a speed of 60 (!) kilometers per hour.” Not 180 km/h, but 60!”
The statement that the driver was drunk sounded like a bolt from the blue. To prove or disprove this, you just need to take the deceased’s blood for analysis. However, it is this simple operation that will turn into a real detective story.
Jacques Mules, who was the first representative of the investigative authorities to arrive at the scene of the tragedy, said that a blood test showed the true state of affairs, which means that Henri Paul was indeed very drunk.
Jacques Mules, head of the detective police brigade: “Before leaving the Ritz, Princess Diana and Dodi al-Fayed were nervous. But the main thing that indicates an accident is the presence of alcohol - 1.78 ppm in the blood of the driver, Mr. Henri Paul. In addition, he was taking antidepressants, which also affected his driving behavior.”
Michael Cowel, al-Fayed's official spokesman: “The filming proves that Henri Paul behaved adequately in the hotel that evening, he talks to Dodi at such a distance, he talks to Diana. If even the slightest signs of intoxication had been revealed, Dodi, and he was very picky in this regard, would not have gone anywhere. He would have fired him altogether.”
To have that much alcohol in his blood, Henri Paul had to drink about 10 glasses of wine. Such intoxication could not have been overlooked by the photographers located near the hotel, but none of them indicated this in their testimony.
The examination data, indicating a state of severe intoxication, was ready within 24 hours after the autopsy. But this was officially announced only two years later. For 24 months, the investigation worked on the obviously weaker version of the guilt of the paparazzi or the presence of the Fiat Uno. And two years later, it’s unlikely that anyone who saw the hotel’s security chief, Henri Paul, that evening would be able to say with certainty whether he was completely sober.
A day after the accident, toxicology experts Gilbert Pépin and Dominique Lecomte had just completed a blood test on Henri Paul. The test tubes are placed first in a box and then in a refrigerator. The results are recorded in the protocol. According to what is written, the driver can be considered not just a little drunk, but simply drunk... But the numbers written in the column below are even more surprising: the level of carbon monoxide is 20.7%. If this is actually the case, the driver simply would not be able to stand on his feet, let alone drive the car. Only a person who committed suicide by inhaling gases from a car exhaust pipe could have such an amount of carbon monoxide in his blood that was found in Paul’s blood...
Michael Cowel, al-Fayed's official spokesman: "It is more than likely that the blood samples were switched, either accidentally or deliberately. They were somehow confused. There were many mistakes with tags in the morgue, which has now been proven...”
The French intelligence services also have something to hide in this story. Due to the fact that the remaining corpses still cannot be found, it is no longer so important whether the test tubes were changed by accident or whether it was a specially prepared action. Something else is important. Someone really needed the investigation to last as long as possible. So that there is as much confusion as possible. Test tubes with Henri Paul's blood could well have been replaced with the blood of another person who committed suicide.
For a long time, the investigative authorities insisted that there could be no mistake. This is indeed the blood of Henri Paul. However, the film crew of the REN TV channel, as a result of their own investigation, managed to prove that the blood, in which traces of alcohol and carbon monoxide were found, did not belong to Princess Diana’s driver.
Jacques Mules, the head of the detective police brigade, admitted to our film crew that he took test tubes with Henri Paul’s blood with his own hands and actually mixed up the numbers, giving away a test tube with the blood of a completely different person under the name of Princess Diana’s driver.
Jacques Mules, head of the detective police brigade. “This is my mistake. The fact is that I worked for two days in a row and did not sleep at night. Due to fatigue, I mixed up the test tube numbers. I immediately informed the judge about this, but he said that it was not significant.”
It does not matter if the error was corrected immediately. And if not? What if, due to simple oversight or - even worse - deliberately, the results of the analysis remained falsified? There is still no answer to this question
Who is Henri Paul?
Henri Paul, head of security at the Ritz Hotel, is the only official culprit of the tragedy. In the investigative reports, he appears to be a complete neurasthenic and drunkard. Taxology experts point to the presence in Henri Paul’s blood, along with alcohol, of a significant amount of antidepressants. The doctor confirms that she prescribed Paul medications to treat depression. And to reduce cravings for alcohol, since, according to the doctor, the patient abused alcohol.
We decided to check whether the head of security at an elite hotel was actually an alcoholic and drug addict.
Cafe-restaurant "Le Grand Colbert". Henri Paul went here for dinner for many years.
Restaurant owner Joel Fleury: “I bought the restaurant in 1992. Henri Paul was already a regular here... He came here every week. No, he was not an alcoholic. It turned out that we practice in the same flight club - he flies light airplanes, I fly light helicopters.”
On the eve of the tragedy, Henri Paul undergoes a strict medical examination in order to renew his flying license. The doctor examines him and takes blood tests a day before the disaster.
Doctors found no traces of hidden alcoholism or traces of any medications in Henri.
After the death of Henri Paul, very large sums of money were discovered in his account, which, in theory, he could not earn. In total he had 1.2 million francs.
Boris Gromov, intelligence services historian: “Henri Paul, according to some British intelligence officers, was a full-time MI6 agent. His name was often mentioned in the files of this service. It is clear that there is nothing accidental here, and its role is clear. Because high-ranking government officials from various countries often stay at the Ritz Hotel... And serving there as the head of the security service is extremely beneficial for any intelligence service..."
40 minutes before the tragedy, Princess Diana still does not know that the driver of their car will not be Dodie’s personal bodyguard Ken Wingfield, but the head of the hotel’s security service, Henri Paul.
According to the version that the investigation initially had, his car turned out to be faulty. And so the couple set off in Henri Paul’s car. However, eight years later, Wingfield said his car was in good working order. It’s just that Henri Paul, as the head of the hotel’s security service, ordered Wingfield to stay and independently drove Diana and Dodi in his car along a different route. Why was Wingfield silent for so many years? What was he afraid of?
Diana's security guard Trevor Rhys-Jones, leaving the Ritz Hotel, sat down in his usual place - on the seat next to the driver, which is called the "dead man's seat." Due to the fact that during an accident it is most vulnerable. But Rhys-Jones survived. And Diana and Dodi al-Fayed, who were in the back seat, died. Today, the only survivor can say nothing about what happened in the tunnel. He has lost his memory and does not remember anything that would shed light on the events of that night. We can only hope that Rees-Jones will recover over time. But whether he will have time to say everything he remembers is unknown...
Dodi al-Fayed's bodyguard has been on the operating table for a long time. And despite the more severe wound, the doctors no longer doubted: the patient would live. At the same time, for some reason, they are trying to save Princess Diana in an ambulance.
The car is standing. It is impossible to perform procedures while moving.
In fact, according to experts, the princess died because someone decided that there was no need to go to the hospital. What is this, a mistake? Doctors' nerves? After all, they are people too.
Or maybe someone needed Diana to die?
When it was all over, the decision was made to send the princess's body on a special flight to London.
The plane from Paris to London flies no more than an hour. It would seem that there is no reason to linger in Paris, however, when the body of Princess Diana was taken to a British clinic, an incredible thing became clear. It turns out that before Diana’s corpse had time to cool down, it was hastily embalmed in violation of all the rules. And they prepare for burial. All this happens in Paris. While the special plane, without turning off the engine, waits for its sad cargo.
Michael Cowel, al-Fayed's official spokesman: "In violation of French law, this was carried out on behalf of the British Embassy, which, in turn, admits that it received instructions from a certain person."
The name of the person who ordered the embalming could not be established. The drugs used during embalming do not subsequently allow repeated examinations of the corpse. If British doctors wanted to re-find out what state, say, the princess’s state of health was in a few seconds before the disaster, they would not be able to do this.
That is why there are versions that perhaps some kind of gas was sprayed into the car, which made Henri Paul lose his orientation. Today it is impossible to confirm or refute this version.
Meanwhile, al-Fayed Sr. is convinced that Diana’s body was embalmed in order to hide the sensational fact. In his opinion, the English princess was pregnant with his son.
Virginie Bardet, photographers' lawyer: “We will never know whether Diana was pregnant. All documents are classified, only the cause of death has been made public: internal bleeding.”
EPILOGUE
The evidence collected is enough for numerous novels, but not enough for the Crown Prosecution Service. Non-functioning road surveillance cameras at the scene of the tragedy, witnesses of the accident dying one after another, the never found white Fiat Uno, carbon dioxide from the driver’s blood from nowhere, fabulous sums in the driver’s accounts, the criminal slowness of the French doctors and the too obvious haste of those who embalmed the body pathologists... The version of the contract killing has not been refuted by anyone. But it hasn't been proven either.
Jacques Mules, head of the detective police brigade: “There was a banal accident. Everything has been checked and rechecked a thousand times. And the search for a conspiracy, the details pulled from the finger... Espionage passions are ordinary fruits of fantasy. In the eyes of Great Britain and even the entire West, Princess Diana was a symbol of a beautiful dream. A dream cannot die in such an ordinary way.”
BY THE WAY
On August 31, the day of Lady Di’s death, Channel One will show the new film “Princess Diana. Last day in Paris" (21.25). And immediately after it ends at 23.10 - the Oscar-winning film “The Queen” with Helen Miren in the title role. About the reaction to the tragedy of the royal family.
“We weren’t going to stir up the royal family’s dirty laundry.” But after the assassination of John Kennedy, the death of Princess Diana is perhaps the loudest story. Using the example of the investigation into the death of Princess Diana, we wanted to understand how such cases are investigated in the West. Is the government interfering? Do politics influence such investigations?
We managed to learn a lot. And I would strongly recommend that the authorities pay attention to the role of American intelligence agencies in this story. After all, it is known that Diana was the object of surveillance and control on their part, especially in recent months. If they opened up their materials on Diana, I’m sure we would learn a lot of interesting things. Or maybe they would even find out the name of the killer.
Diana's story is unusual. If she had shown a little hypocrisy, or, to put it simply, simple worldly wisdom, everything would have been perfect for her! But she preferred the right to love who she wants to the throne.
The story of Prince Charles, in my opinion, is still awaiting its assessment. After all, look, in spite of everything - the will of his mother, state interests, public opinion - he has loved his Camilla for many years now.
Everything else is small compared to this...
Diana, Princess of Wales, née Lady Diana Frances Spencer was born on July 1, 1961 in Sandringham, Norfolk.
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. The 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 outside their home.
Viscount Spencer, as far as possible, tried to mitigate the consequences of the loss and in every possible way entertained the 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 Riddlesworth Hall preparatory school. 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, as well as 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 any aristocratic stiffness and willingly and confidently began her independent adult life. She worked part-time as a kindergarten teacher and babysat 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 Diana's older sister, 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 between the eldest of the Spurser sisters and such an enviable groom was developing. 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 covering the private life of the royal family photographed Prince Charles walking along the shallows of the River Dee at 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 in Europe married 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, she made 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 felt before this visit and her first public appearance, but it was this trip that became Diana’s real triumph and served as a springboard of sorts 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 the primary education of her sons, Diana opposed William and Harry being raised in the closed world of the 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 line 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 due to fly to London to meet her sons on the last day of their 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. Of course, Paul Henri's drunken state 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 justifiably close the case. At the same time, the search for the mythical “Fiat” continues. French law enforcement agencies are still hoping that the driver of the mysterious car will show up and provide details of the collision that 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
Her ex-husband, Prince Charles, flew to Paris to pick up Princess Diana's body. 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.” 
People called Princess Diana the queen of human hearts for her endless kindness, constant participation in charity events and the sincerity that she gave to people. She gave birth to two wonderful sons, one of whom will definitely become the king of Great Britain. Now Lady Di could babysit her grandchildren, drink tea in the evenings and give advice to her daughters-in-law, but a terrible accident cut short the life of the young princess.
Grade
Profession: HRH Princess of Wales
Date of Birth: July 1, 1961 – August 31, 1997
Height and weight: 178 cm and 58 kg
Place of Birth: Sandringham, Norfolk, UK
Best works: Prince William Arthur Philip Louis and Prince Henry Charles Albert David
Awards: Royal Family Order of Queen Elizabeth II, Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown, Order of Virtue Special Class
Diana Frances Spencer was born at Sandrigham Castle into a family of noble origin. Her father, John Spencer, was Viscount Althorp, a member of an old aristocratic family of the same Spencer-Churchill family as the Duke of Marlborough and Winston Churchill. Diana's 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.
Mother, Frances Ruth, was also not easy. Diana's grandmother, Lady Fermoy, was a lady-in-waiting to the Queen Mother, Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon. In addition to Diana, there were three more children in the family. All four Spencer children received a lot of attention and grew up surrounded by numerous governesses, servants and educators.
When the future princess was only eight years old, her parents divorced. The divorce process was very complex and lengthy, as a result, all four children remained to live with their father. Mother moved to London, where she quickly found a man and got married. The divorce had a strong impact on Diana, and besides, her father brought a woman into the house who became the children’s stepmother, with all the “quirks” that are described in fairy tales. The stepmother hated Spencer's children, annoyed them in every possible way and wanted to get rid of them by sending them to a boarding school.
For a long time she was home-schooled, and Gertrude Allen, the former governess of Diana’s mother, helped her gnaw on the granite of science. At the age of 12, Dee was accepted into the exclusive girls' school at West Hill, in Sevenoaks, Kent. Here the future princess showed all her wayward character, often skipped lessons, was rude to teachers and did not study well. As a result, the girl was expelled. At the same time, Diana’s musical abilities revealed herself, and she also became interested in dancing.
In 1977, Dee entered school in Switzerland, but unable to bear the separation from her home and loved ones, the girl quickly returned to her native England. In the same year, an acquaintance took place in Althorp, but the young people did not pay any attention to each other.
In 1978, she finally completed her studies and moved to London, where she first stayed in her mother’s apartment. For her 18th birthday, the girl was given her own apartment in Earls Court, where she lived with three friends. At the same time, Diana got a job as an assistant at the Young England kindergarten in Pimlico.
In 1980, the future. At that time, the heir to the throne was 32 years old and his parents were very worried about the fate of their son, who did not want to settle down. In addition, Queen Elizabeth was especially concerned about Charles's relationship with, a married lady, marriage with whom at that time was considered impossible. Diana, who was distinguished by her modesty, decency and noble origin, liked her, approved her candidacy and literally forced her son to take the poor girl as his wife.
First, Charles invited Diana to the royal yacht, then to Balmoral Castle to meet the royal family. The marriage proposal itself followed on February 6, 1981 at Windsor Castle. Prince Spencer's wedding was the most expensive ceremony in British history. The celebration took place on July 29, 1981 at St. Paul's Cathedral in London, after which the newlyweds went on a cruise along the Mediterranean Sea.
But the happiness did not last long... Charles did not love his wife, while she tried with all her might to save the marriage, but in vain. The princess's only outlet was her beloved sons - in the private wing of St. Mary's Hospital in London's Paddington district and Harry, who was born on September 15, 1984 in the same hospital. Diana devoted more time to her sons than befits a princess. She refused nannies and governesses, raised them herself, chose schools and clothes for them, planned their excursions, and took them to school herself, as much as her busy schedule allowed.
End of 1980. Life has turned into a real nightmare. Charles did not hide his feelings and ignored his wife’s requests to settle down. It was becoming increasingly difficult for the princess to remain calm in public and to hide her emotions at ceremonies. She began to quarrel with Elizabeth II, who took her son’s side and did not want to listen to her daughter-in-law’s reproaches. The more passions heated up in the royal family, the closer Lady Di became to the people. She switched her attention from her husband’s infidelities to charity, helping those in need not only financially, but also morally.
.jpg)
In 1990, she stopped hiding problems with her husband from the public, for which she became enemy No. 1 for the queen. The divorce was a serious step and promised many problems for the royal family, but Diana could not come to terms with the betrayal and did not consider it necessary to follow the lead of Charles and the queen. Wanting to take revenge on her husband and put everyone in their place, Diana decided to tarnish her impeccable reputation and began having affairs left and right, not hiding them from anyone.
The couple separated only in 1992, but only in 1996, having received official permission from Elizabeth, they divorced. Having gained freedom, Diana managed to retain not only her title of Princess of Wales, but also the rights to raise children. She continued her charitable and peacekeeping activities, took a deep breath and got the opportunity to start all over again, to find a person who would truly love her.
After several short novels, in June 1997, Diana met the son of an Egyptian billionaire, film producer Dodi al-Fayed. Only two months will pass and the paparazzi will be able to capture the lovers together, turning an ordinary photo into a real sensation. Diana thought that her life would finally get better, that she would become Dodi’s beloved wife and join the most powerful Muslim family in the world. But these dreams were not destined to come true.
On August 31, 1997, in Paris, a car in which Dodi al-Fayed was trying to escape from being pursued by the paparazzi flew at high speed into the tunnel in front of the Alma bridge on the Seine embankment and crashed into a support. Dodi died instantly, and Diana, taken from the scene to the Salpetriere hospital, died two hours later.
The only survivor of this accident was bodyguard Trevor Rhys-Jones. He was seriously injured and has no memory of the events. This tragedy shocked not only the people of Great Britain, but the whole world. The princess was buried on September 6 at the Spencer family estate of Althorp in Northamptonshire, on a secluded island.
Interesting facts about Princess Diana
Before becoming romantically involved with Diana, Prince Charles dated her older sister, Sarah Spencer.
For some time, Diana worked as a cleaner.
Diana deleted from her wedding oath the words about unquestioning obedience to her husband.
Diana had sharp mood swings: the servants repeatedly said that the princess could both reward the staff and reprimand them to the fullest extent for the slightest offense, or even for nothing, depending on her mood.
In one of the interviews, the princess said that she made two suicide attempts, one of which was during her first pregnancy.
Diana seriously considered the possibility of converting to Islam and moving to Pakistan, to the heart surgeon Hasnat Khan, whom she met and whom she was going to marry.
More than a million people attended, lining from Kensington Palace to Westminster Abbey. And on television, more than 2.5 billion viewers around the world watched the funeral procedure.
In 1991, Diana became the first member of the royal family to have direct contact with people infected with HIV - then it was considered valor because people did not yet know that HIV cannot be transmitted by shaking hands.
During the divorce, Diana received a record compensation of $37 million.
There are at least 50 different versions of Princess Diana's death. The official blames her driver Henri Paul, who was intoxicated.
More than 100 different songs are dedicated to Diana.
With actors John Travolta and Jack Nicholson, as well as writer John Fowles.
The princess's favorite dish was cream pudding.
Diana often violated royal etiquette and dress code.
Lady Diana was afraid of horses.
In honor of Princess Diana, postage stamps were issued in Azerbaijan, Albania, Armenia, North Korea, Moldova, Romania, the Pitcairn Islands, and Tuvalu.
Many books have been written about Diana in various languages. Almost all of her friends and close collaborators spoke with their memories; There are several documentaries and even feature films.
In 2002, according to a BBC poll, Diana was ranked third on the list of Great Britons, ahead of the Queen and other British monarchs.
In the 2000s, a memorial complex dedicated to Diana was created in London, including a walking route, a memorial fountain and a children's playground.
“William and Harry are the only men in my life who have not let me down,” Lady Diana said about her sons. Having survived her husband's scandalous infidelities, she could not trust him, so she devoted herself entirely to raising her two sons. 
Princess Diana with her sons William and Harry.
Both William and Harry were crazy about their mother as children, and they still remember her with warmth and tenderness today. Her mischievous character gave them no rest, and sometimes it was Princess Diana who was the instigator of the most daring antics. So, she came with pleasure to watch her favorite boys kick the ball around the football field, and her loving mother often secretly put sweets in Harry’s leggings. Lady Di sent funny cards with warm words to her favorite boys, and once unexpectedly invited Cindy Crawford, Christy Turlington and Naomi Campbell, supermodels whose photographs decorated the room of teenage William, to Buckingham Palace (William was almost speechless from surprise and stumbled while getting up up the stairs to your room. 
Princess Diana is a loving mother.
Filming the documentary marked the first time Harry and William decided to talk publicly about their mother. They admitted that frank conversations with the filmmakers became a kind of way of reflection, since Diana’s death still remains a painful and not fully experienced event for both sons. 
Princess Diana with her beloved sons.
Speaking of mom, William and Harry willingly showed off their childhood photos. Most of the photographs were taken by Diana herself; she loved photographing her sons. These family chronicles have never been published before and will be a real gift for TV viewers. 
Princess Diana with Prince Harry on the royal yacht.
Princess Diana with Prince Harry on vacation. Photo from the personal archive of the royal family.
Prince William and Prince Harry dressed as police officers.
Pregnant Princess Diana holds Prince William in her arms.
Prince William and Prince Harry. Photo from the personal archive of the royal family.
Princess Diana with her sons on the plane.
William and Harry are sure that it was their mother who raised them as they are now: open, sociable, natural. The only thing they truly regret is that they lost their mother so early, they did not have time to give her the love, tenderness and attention that she deserved. Harry, who spoke with his mother on the eve of the disaster, still cannot forgive himself that their last conversation was short and he, still just a child, wanted to end it quickly. Harry assures that he remembered all the words Diana said at that moment for the rest of his life. 
Princess Diana with her sons.
Although Princess Diana died in 1997, the world will never forget her. There was everything in her life, from charity to personal secrets and problems that people know nothing about and do not suspect, since everything was carefully hidden by the royal family.
20. Diana never promised to obey Prince Charles
During their lavish wedding to Prince Charles in 1981, Charles and Diana removed the part of the ceremony where Diana had to promise to obey her husband. At that time, this act had already caused a storm of criticism. In 2011, during the wedding ceremony, Kate Middleton repeated Diana's action and omitted the words of the oath of obedience to her husband, Prince William.
19. She wasn't a good student
Princess Diana twice failed O-levels, the equivalent of a high school diploma in the United States, and was considered a non-academic child at her alma mater, West Heath Girls' School. But, nevertheless, the future princess was interested in music and sports.
18. Sister Diana was the first to date Prince Charles
Diana's sister, Lady Sarah McCorquodale, actually dated Prince Charles before Diana met him. Her relationship with the prince did not go far, and Sarah told the press that she did not think about marrying Charles, even if he became the king of England. Despite Charles's former relationship with her sister, Diana remained close to Sarah.
17. She fought backlash against AIDS, despite the Queen's disapproval
In the 80s, there was a rapid growth of the disease AIDS on the planet, and many then believed that this disease was transmitted through touch. Diana tried to refute this opinion, she could often be seen holding the hands of AIDS patients and speaking out in support of research in this area. But the Queen of Great Britain did not approve of Diana’s activities and believed that she could “get into trouble.”
16. She suffered from bulimia and depression
Diana did not hide the fact that her husband thought she was overweight, and this hurt her. Because her relationship with Charles was strained, she chose bulimia as the only way to keep her weight under control, damaging her health and suffering from deep depression.
15. Diana's engagement ring was bought from a catalog
It's common for royal families to have their jewelry made to order, but Diana broke that tradition by choosing her engagement ring from the Garrard catalog. The cost of the ring was $42,000, but the most important thing is that anyone who pays that amount can buy it. After Diana's death, the ring went to William, who gave it to his beloved, Kate Middleton, during their engagement.
14. Diana was godmother to 17 children
Diana had 17 godchildren and goddaughters, and very often she was taken as a godparent without her consent or presence. Godchildren include Lady Edwina Grosvenor, daughter of the Duke of Westminster, George Frost, son of the famous journalist David, and Domenica Lawson, a little girl with Down syndrome.
13. Diana found herself at odds with her mother
By the time Diana died, she had not communicated with her mother for a long time, since she did not approve of her divorce from Prince Charles and new relationships with other men. Diana's butler, Paul Burrell, later stated that shortly before the disaster, Diana's mother telephoned to accuse her daughter of cheating with other men after her divorce from the prince.
12. She called Camilla Parker Bowles a "Rottweiler"
Diana never hesitated to give nicknames to women who appeared in her husband's field of interest. Camilla considered Diana a “pathetic creature.” But in this confrontation, Britain sided with Diana. After the death of the princess, a negative attitude towards Camilla remained in society to this day.
11. Princess Diana appeared more often than others on the cover of People magazine
Throughout her life, and even after her death, Diana appeared 55 times on the cover of the world's popular People magazine. This is an impressive record that has yet to be broken by Diana's son, Prince William. As of October 2014, he has appeared on the cover of the magazine 29 times.
10. Diana did not reveal the gender of her second child
Diana once said that her relationship with Charles was strengthened by her second pregnancy with Prince Henry. Despite this, she did not tell Charles the sex of her unborn child - and not only to him. Most likely, this was an attempt to at least gain control, although not significant, over his life.
9. One of the campaigns in which Princess Diana took part won a Nobel Prize.
Many people are aware of Diana’s active peacekeeping activities and position, her negative attitude towards the use of mines against civilians during military conflicts. But in the princess’s life there was a campaign to ban the use of mines, the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, which won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997. Unfortunately, this became known only a few weeks after Diana's death.
8. Her wedding dress was completely ruined on her wedding day.
Princess Diana's wedding dress was beautiful and incredibly expensive, but, unfortunately, the designers did not think through all the nuances, including the fact that Diana would be taken to church in a small carriage. The fairy-tale effect was completely ruined after Diana arrived at St. Paul's Cathedral in a rumpled dress.
7. While pregnant with Prince William, Princess Diana fell down the stairs
In 1982, Diana made everyone worry, including Queen Elizabeth. The fact is that in the third month of pregnancy, Diana fell down the stairs. Fortunately, both she and the child remained alive and healthy. Many believed that Diana did this deliberately to attract the attention of her family due to mental illness.
6. Among Diana’s relatives there are many famous personalities
Despite her non-royal origins, Diana would have been proud of her family tree. Among her relatives were Prime Minister Winston Churchill, Queen of Scots, Mary, a British duchess who lived in the 18th century, and Georgiana Cavendish, about whose life a film was made in Hollywood. Diana was related to Audrey Hepburn and George Bush.
5. Princess Diana once invited Cindy Crawford to Buckingham Palace
Even those who disliked Diana considered her a real mother. Diana was a good and loving mother. In 1996, she invited supermodel Cindy Crawforth to Buckingham Palace only because her son William was secretly in love with her. Diana and the American star remained friends after this meeting until the end of their days.
4. During the wedding ceremony, Diana said the name of Prince Charles incorrectly
During her wedding ceremony in 1981, Diana misspelled her fiancé's long name and pronounced it Philip Charles Arthur George instead of Charles Philip Arthur George.
3. Diana voluntarily renounced her royal title
After the divorce, Diana did not want to be called "Your Highness." She became the first princess to decide to renounce her title in order to gain absolute freedom from royal control. Although, as she herself admitted, she did it with regret.
2. Diana was not wearing a seat belt at the time of the accident.
Perhaps Diana could have been saved from that terrible car accident if she had worn a seat belt. But not a single Mercedes-Benz passenger used seat belts that fateful day, including the drunk driver. An attempt to break away from the paparazzi cost Diana Spencer her life.
1. Freddie Mercury took Diana to a gay club
Princess Diana was friends with the leader of the rock group Queen, Freddie Mercury, and he, according to comedian Cleo Rokos, once took the princess to a gay bar, while she was wearing a man's outfit. As Rokos recalls, Diana looked like a handsome young man and no one recognized her. Unfortunately, there is no other evidence about this case; even Freddie Mercury himself kept silent about it.
Loading...
