On This Day…

Princess Diana Killed in Car Crash

August 31, 1997

Princess Diana, the Princess of Wales, dies as a result of injuries sustained in a car crash in the Pont de l’Alma road tunnel in Paris, France. Diane’s boyfriend Dodi Fayed and the driver Henri Paul were pronounced dead at the scene. Trevor Rees-Jones, the bodyguard, was the only survivor. An 18-month French judicial investigation found that the crash was caused by the driver Paul, who lost control of the car at high speed while drunk and on antidepressants. The investigation concluded that the paparazzi were not near the Mercedes when it crashed. Fayed’s father, Mohamed Al-Fayed, has claimed that the couple were executed by MI6 agents because Diana was pregnant with Dodi Fayed’s child and were about to announce their engagement.