By Elliott West
I’d like to be a queen in people’s hearts, but I don’t see myself being queen of this country”.
Diana, Princess of Wales.
Introduction
It’s a day that will be etched in our minds for a lifetime. On August 31, 1997, a black Mercedes Benz crashed into the wall of the Pont De l’Alma tunnel in Paris. This was a heightened tragedy simply because of the people that were in the car at the time. Inside was the deputy head of the Ritz Hotel, Paris, Henri Paul who was driving, Trevor Rees-Jones, Diana‘s bodyguard, Dodi Fayed and Diana, Princess of Wales. As the news broke of the crash, it was as if we could be losing friends or loved ones. And then the bolt of lightning came, the moment that no one wants to hear and one that makes you feel that your own heart is slowly breaking. All of those in the car at the time died with Diana being rushed to hospital in a life-threatening condition and Trevor Rees-Jones alive but with several injuries.
Despite all the efforts of French hospital staff, Diana was pronounced dead six hours after the crash, succumbing to her injuries at 4:53 am. This was a seismic moment in history and one that although I had not been born yet could be compared to the 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy in Dallas or Elvis Presley’s death in 1977 early on in my life. All were tragedies for different reasons but they share a common denominator, anyone who experienced them will remember where they were and what they were doing at the time. Yet this Paris crash has led to many conspiracy theories since and ones that continue to surface. Sadly the souls of those that died in that vehicle and it must be pointed out that it wasn’t just Diana who died can never truly rest in peace because of the ruthless media intrusion. The story sells a book or increases audience attention when it resurfaces. This a sad fact of life and the world we now live in where 24-hour news is the norm.
Romance and Fatality
Before this car crash, Diana was trying to move on with her life. She was newly divorced from her unhappy marriage to Charles and ready to start a new chapter in life. Yet despite all her efforts, she could never get away from the looming cloud of media intrusion. Wherever she went, there were always paparazzi lingering in the background, ready to sell their photographs to a press agency. During the summer of 1997, Diana met Dodi Fayed, a rich businessman who loved to gamble but someone who always walked in the shadows of his father Mohamed, the owner of the Harrods department store in Knightsbridge, London.
I believe that this wasn’t a romance but simply a means of escapism for Diana. Dodi was prepared to dump his girlfriend, leaving her tears to pursue Diana and who is saying that the strings were being pulled by his father? A man who was on shaky visa ground and was desperate to cultivate his Egyptian empire in Britain. A headache that could be resolved by a royal family connection. Dodi was a playboy and his father was desperate for him to settle down and marry. Diana accepted Dodi’s invitation to spend the summer on holiday in France but this secret so-called romance would soon reach the intrays of journalists with newsrooms desperate to get that prized photograph of the two together.
The prized snap would come when it was least expected. Diana and Dodi were relaxing on Dodi Fayed’s yacht in the South of France and a photographer managed to get several photographs of the two embracing including the one that created a media frenzy, the kiss between the two. I feel that this was a kiss in the heat of the moment. Diana felt alone, away from her sons, friends and family and in that split second, she felt loved and wanted. Yet Diana got sucked into a media typhoon as a result and accepting this invitation was an error of judgment.
As a result of their actions, Diana and Dodi were thrown to the wolves. On the fatal night in question, the Ritz hotel had made every effort to get the pair out of the hotel unnoticed but it went wrong. Heading away from the hotel in the Mercedes, several paparazzi on motorcycles were waiting for them and pursued the car to the Paris underpass. Unknown to the passengers, the driver, Henri-Paul had been drinking and shouldn’t have been driving. Driving at high speed and under the influence of alcohol is a fatal combination and the chauffeur lost control of the vehicle. Had Diana been wearing a seatbelt in the back seat, she would probably have survived with minor injuries. The force of the crash against a concrete wall meant there were no winners only losers. A tragic accident that will forever be mourned.
The Aftermath
This crash sent the world into mourning and an outcry that I hadn’t experienced before in my life. The news was awash with the story for months and caused the Queen to retreat into hiding until she was persuaded by then Prime Minister Tony Blair to face the situation in the public glare. It was as if the royal family had turned their back on Diana and made them very unpopular for a brief period. Meanwhile, Dodi was buried without much notice and causing his father to go into a grief-stricken rant. Mohamed erected a gaudy statue of Diana and Dodi in his Harrods’ store, claiming that his son had been ready to propose to Diana, buying an expensive diamond engagement ring and believing that Prince Philip had ordered the assassination of Diana. To this day, none of these bizarre claims have been proven.
Almost 26 years later and this tragic story hasn’t gone away. Charles may have married Camilla, a woman whom Diana believed Charles was still seeing throughout their marriage, exposing it to the infamous BBC in the infamous BBC Panorama interview with Martin Bashir in 1995. Yet the media intrusion that haunted Diana hasn’t gone away with her children still receiving the full force, especially Harry who has been very vocal and moved to America as a result. Charles, although remarried and now King after the death of his mother Elizabeth, still carries the scars of this marriage that in the end became loveless despite Diana desperate for it to work. As she said there were always three people in this marriage and so it was always fated to fail.
This ‘People’s Princess’ remains warmly regarded by those who support and don’t support the royal family. Her brief life brought so much joy to those less fortunate than her with her tireless work with numerous charities and the love that she gave when reached out to others. She was a bright star that shone bright whilst alive and ultimately changed the way that the royal family functions. The new generation and even Charles and Camilla are prepared to visit new ground and are certainly not as aloof as they were in the past. It is refreshing but sad that it took such a tragedy to happen before change occurred.
