20 years since Diana's death. The mystery of the death of Princess Diana: Unexpected details two decades later

21 years ago, on the night of August 31, 1997, she died in a car accident in the center of Paris princess diana. She was so popular and beloved among the people that she earned the nickname “Queen of Hearts,” and her tragic death still haunts the British to this day. The circumstances of this car accident were so strange that they raise doubts about the official version of what happened. On the eve of the 20th anniversary of the death of Princess Diana, several scandalous investigations were made public, causing a lot of noise not only in Great Britain, but also abroad.

The results of the official investigations carried out in France in the UK were identical: the accident occurred for several reasons. Princess Diana and her lover Dodi al-Fayed were chased by paparazzi, which is why the driver of the car, Henri Paul, had to speed. In addition, alcohol was found in his blood, and the seat belts were faulty. This version was later refuted: the driver was not drunk, and the results of the examination were deliberately or accidentally mixed up with others. It also seemed strange that 3 years after the accident, the same paparazzi who was accused of stalking Diana was found dead in a burnt car.

On the eve of the 20th anniversary of the death of Princess Diana, on August 6, the film “Diana: The Story in Her Words” was released in the UK, which became the cause loud scandal– it was immediately called an attempt to make “money from blood.” On video recordings made in 1992-1993. Her teacher of speech techniques during classes, the Princess of Wales spoke extremely frankly about what Buckingham Palace preferred to remain silent about. The tapes were kept by teacher Peter Settelen; he promised not to publish them, but in the end he sold them to television people. He filmed Diana in order to later sort out the mistakes in her speech, and did not expect that the conversation would turn out to be so frank.

In the film, Diana said that she was in love with Charles, and on the day of their engagement, when asked by a journalist whether there were feelings between them, she answered without hesitation: “ Yes" And the prince said: “ You can say that" She was very offended by this then. And later she became convinced that her husband had loved another woman all his life - Camilla Parker Bowles. Even the birth of sons did not save this marriage. When Diana turned to the Queen for advice, she only said: “ I don't know what to do. Charles is hopeless" Divorce was inevitable.

She felt like an outcast at the royal court. " I was rejected, and therefore I considered myself unworthy of this family. I could start drinking, but it would be noticeable, and anorexia would be even more noticeable. I decided to choose something that would be less noticeable: harming myself rather than others."- admits Diana. She suffered from bulimia for some time, and then began having affairs. Diana told her teacher that the biggest shock in her life was the death of Barry Manaka, her bodyguard, who, in her opinion, was fired and killed after their affair became known.

Journalist Mikhail Ozerov, who talked with Princess Diana 3 days before her death, claimed that she told him her intention to go to Paris, despite the reaction Buckingham Palace, about the desire to build life the way she wants, and added: “ Don't pay attention to my outburst of emotions. Next time I'll be calmer. Or they will calm me down. It's unlikely that we'll see each other again».

Special services historian Gennady Sokolov conducted his own investigation and came to the conclusion that it was a staged accident, behind which the British secret services stood. Witnesses claimed that on the night of the incident they saw a bright flash in the tunnel, which could have blinded the driver, after which he crashed into a concrete bridge support. If Diana had been wearing a seat belt, she would have had a chance to survive, but the seat belts, according to Sokolov, were blocked. For some reason, the video cameras were not working in this tunnel that night. Immediately after her death, her body was embalmed - according to Sokolov, in order to hide Diana's pregnancy from the Muslim Dodi al-Fayed, whom she was supposedly going to marry. Therefore royal family there were reasons to want her death.

Egyptian billionaire Mohammed al-Fayed also conducted his own investigation, during which it turned out that Princess Diana called this period of her life the most dangerous and was afraid that the royal family would want to get rid of her. Mohammed Al-Fayed is confident that the death of his son Dodi and Princess Diana was a planned murder.

No one has ever proven the version that the royal family and British intelligence services were involved in Diana’s death. Over time in this mysterious story More and more questions are emerging, and still no one can say with certainty whether the death of Princess Diana was a tragic accident or the result of a planned crime.
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Princes William and Harry paid tribute to their mother at the White Garden memorial on Wednesday.

Thursday marks 20 years since the princess died in a car accident. Welsh Diana(1961-1997). As a representative of Buckingham Palace told TASS, members of the British royal family, including its head Queen Elizabeth II, do not plan to take part in any official commemorative events on the occasion of this tragic anniversary.

“No official events related to the anniversary of the princess’s death are planned with the participation of members of the royal family. The royal family will spend this day privately,” Buckingham Palace reported.

Nevertheless, Diana's sons, Princes William and Harry, paid tribute to their mother on Wednesday at the White Garden memorial located near Kensington Palace, which was Diana's official residence until her death. The princes got acquainted with the composition of the garden, consisting of white flowers - tulips, daffodils and hyacinths, as well as palm trees planted along the perimeter of a rectangular pond.

At the same time, fans of the people's princess, this is exactly how Diana remained in the memory of millions of Britons, despite rainy weather in London, photographs of her and flowers began to be brought to the gates of Kensington Palace, as was the case 20 years ago.

Then the people of the United Kingdom spent it in last path How national hero. More than 1 million people took to the streets of London to watch her funeral cortege, while half the country's population - more than 32 million people - watched the funeral broadcast on television.

Symbol of the era

Diana is rightfully considered one of the symbols of the late 20th century. A philanthropist, philanthropist and style icon, she charmed many people with her warmth, while straightforwardness was always her hallmark.

The princess was an active participant in the fight against AIDS, visiting HIV-infected people in hospitals, convincing the public that people with such a diagnosis should not be outcasts.

Diana was not afraid to shake their hands, although at that time there were many myths about this virus, and she also did not shy away from lepers. She opposed the proliferation of anti-personnel mines, which often harm civilians.

The People's Princess managed to visit Russia in June 1995, visiting the Tushino Children's Hospital in Moscow, to which she donated medical equipment as part of her charitable assistance. During her visit to the British Embassy in the Russian capital, she was awarded the International Leonardo Prize, which has been awarded to philanthropists and organizers of activities in the humanitarian field since 1992.

Without a doubt, Diana managed to change the old-fashioned appearance of the British monarchy and become the “queen of people’s hearts,” as she is still called in her homeland.

How did the princess die?

Princess Diana was the wife of Prince Charles, heir to the British throne, from 1981 to 1996, but the couple began to live separately in 1992.

Diana died in a car accident on the night of August 31, 1997 in Paris, in a tunnel under the Pont Alma. The driver of the car, Henri Paul, in which the princess was traveling, tried to break away from the paparazzi, and when entering the tunnel at a speed of 105 km/h, he lost control and collided with a column dividing the flow of traffic.

The victims of the tragedy were the princess herself, her lover Dodi al-Fayed and the driver. Only bodyguard Trevor Rhys-Jones survived the car accident. Dodi's father, Egyptian billionaire Mohammed al-Fayed, claimed that the accident was organized by British intelligence services at the direction of the royal family. In 2008, a British court rejected these accusations.

Was it an accident

British security specialist Alan McGregor earlier in an interview with The Sun newspaper suggested that the death of the Princess of Wales could not have been a tragic accident, but a planned murder, the preparation of which could have taken six months.

Collaborated with intelligence agencies Saudi Arabia McGregor was dissatisfied with the security measures at the Ritz Hotel in Paris, where Diana was staying with Dodi al-Fayed shortly before her death. "I saw so many security breaches in that hotel and a number of other strange things, so it was bound to happen sooner or later," he said.

“You could say that all the elements that led to her death were just a tragic coincidence, but part of me believes that the preparation process [of the murder] could have taken six months,” said a British ex-secretary officer.

McGregor wondered why such an important and high-status person as Princess Diana was entrusted to be driven by a chauffeur who worked at the hotel. “It had to be a specially trained driver or a security agent,” he stressed, also pointing out that the Mercedes in which the couple was supposed to leave was driven from a public hotel parking lot in violation of safety precautions.

“Diana often said that she feared for her life, and no one even asked why,” McGregor recalled.

Diana's last words

Former emergency services employee Xavier Gourmelon, who was one of the first to arrive at the scene of the accident, said in his first interview with the press that Diana was conscious for some time and could speak after the car accident. “We were very close and it took us less than three minutes to get to the accident site,” Gourmelon, 50, recalled.

"She was moving a little bit and I could see that she was alive. I saw that she had a minor bruise on her right shoulder, but other than that there was nothing significant. There was no blood at all," he said in an interview The Sun.

Gourmelon told what happened after Diana was removed from the mangled Mercedes.

"I held her hand and told her to stay calm and not move. She said: 'Oh my God, what happened?' I gave her some oxygen, me and my team were with her after she was taken out of the car "It happened very quickly because we didn't have to cut the deformed body of the car," he said.

After some time, 36-year-old Diana stopped breathing. "We are all trained to provide first aid medical care, I saw that she had a cardiac arrest and stopped breathing. I gave her a heart massage and after a few seconds she started breathing again,” the former rescuer shared his memories.

“To be honest, I thought she would live,” he said. “As far as I know, when Diana was in the ambulance, she was alive, and I hoped that she would live. But later I found out that she died in the hospital."

"I know now that she had serious internal injuries, but the whole episode is still in my head. And the memories of that night will remain with me forever. I had no idea at the time that it was Princess Diana. I found out about it “When they put her in the ambulance, one of the paramedics told me that it was her,” added Gourmelon, who took part as a witness in the investigation into the circumstances of the princess’s death in 2007.

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Do you believe that tragic death Princess Diana happened 19 years ago? 19 years old! But, despite the fact that almost two decades have passed, Princess Diana is still loved by the people. To mark this sad anniversary, let's remember a few facts about "Lady Di".

1. Before she became a princess, she worked in a kindergarten
And even earlier - as a cleaner and babysitter.

2. She always dreamed of becoming a ballerina
But her growth prevented her from doing this.

3. Her sister initially dated Prince Charles
That's why she met him.

4. At 19, she became engaged to a prince.
And when she was 20, they got married.

4. At the age of 19, she became engaged to Prince Princess Diana, facts

5. She was the first person to refuse to recite the obedience to her husband portion of the wedding vow in the history of court weddings.
Kate Middleton later did the same.

6. She strived to give her children a normal childhood.
And she took them everywhere - from Disneyland to AIDS clinics and homeless shelters.

7. She was incredibly generous
And participated in many charitable projects.

8. And also a wonderful sister
According to Diana's brother, Charles, when he went to school, she could not concentrate on her lessons because she was worried about younger brother, and asked the teacher to let her go and see how he was doing. Isn't it cute?

9. She wasn't a very good student
She failed her final exams twice and joked repeatedly about her "bad" education.

10. Lady Di hated tiaras
They gave her a terrible headache!

11. She was always at odds with the kitchen.
Diana’s personal chef said that she couldn’t cook, no matter what she did.

12. She was a wonderful mother
She once invited Cindy Crawford to Kensington Castle only because she found out that her 13-year-old son was crazy about her.

20 years ago, on August 31, 1997, Princess Diana died in a car accident in Paris. However, she still arouses interest in her personality

Journalist for the British portal Belfast Telegraph Chrissy Russell tried to figure out why Lady Di attracts public attention even 20 years after her death.

To mark the 20th anniversary of Princess Diana's death, ITV released documentary D Iana, Our Mother: Her Life and Her Legacy. On July 24, the premiere of the frank film, in which Princes William and Harry shared memories of their mother, was watched by more than 7 million people.

Celebrities such as Piers Morgan and Naomi Campbell expressed their admiration for the film, and the hashtags "Diana" and "Diana Documentary" topped trends on Twitter.

On August 6, Channel 4 broadcast a documentary Diana: First hand story, focusing on the unhappy marriage and divorce of Prince Charles and Lady Di. This picture also attracted millions to their screens.

But why is Princess Diana so popular for so many years after her death? Do Princes William and Harry really have anything more to say about their mother than that they love her and miss her? Are these shiny dresses from the exhibition? Diana: the history of her style can they tell you anything about their owner? Hardly.

Today we live in a confessional society where anyone can find out almost everything about any other person. No personal details or dirty secrets will escape television, the press or social networks today.

Diana Spencer lived in a different era. She died three years before the reality show aired. Big brother and almost 10 years before the advent of Twitter. To some extent, she marked the beginning of a public outpouring of her soul (it is worth recalling Diana’s interview for the BBC program Panorama), but passed away before the world was engulfed in a wave of stellar revelations.

We will never be able to recognize Diana as we do today's celebrities. We won't be able to follow her on social media, she won't share her iPhone video, we won't see her morning tweet about her fight with Camilla Parker-Bowles. It is precisely for the reason that Diana herself will not tell details about her life that people are so interested in this information on television channels and in the media.

On the other hand, Princess Diana still captivates the world thanks to the image that people remember from the 90s. Would we be interested in a 56-year-old grandmother who would go shopping and help Kate and William with the children? Another thing is the active 36-year-old beauty, who manages to sunbathe in a swimsuit on a yacht in France and do charity work.

In addition, the intense interest in Lady Di's person can be explained by her rebellious and romantic nature. She loved her husband and children, and at the same time she was a real revolutionary: she walked through a mine field in Bosnia, shook hands with AIDS patients, spent evenings talking friendly with homeless people on the streets.

Now we are already accustomed to the fact that members of the royal family can be ordinary people(for example, Harry played volleyball with war heroes), but several decades ago, seeing a princess in an amusement park for ordinary people was a pleasant shock.

Unfortunately, Princess Diana's popularity is not due solely to admiration for her personality. Many people are so interested in the fate of Lady Di because of schadenfreude. Even subconsciously.

Diana had a fairytale wedding with the prince, money and power, traveling the world, access to all the fashionable outfits... But all this was lost, Diana suffered from eating disorders, went through a divorce, endured the hunt of the paparazzi and knew that Charles loved another.

One way or another, many of us sometimes feel schadenfreude towards members of the privileged class of society who fail or suffer.

Even personal bodyguard Princess Diana admitted that he once allowed her to fret for an extra minute in a noisy crowd in line at the airport before leading her to safety.

Whatever the reason, people might not be interested in Diana, we will always be captivated by stories about love and loss, relationships and rivalries, beauty, ideals, the speed of life and other aspects inherent in being human. Diana's story is a human one, so there is always something to learn from it.

20 years ago, on the night of August 31, 1997, Princess Diana died in a car accident in the center of Paris. She was so popular and beloved among the people that she earned the nickname “Queen of Hearts,” and her tragic death haunts the British to this day. The circumstances of this car accident were so strange that they raise doubts about the official version of what happened.

On the eve of the 20th anniversary of the death of Princess Diana, several scandalous investigations were made public, causing a lot of noise not only in Great Britain, but also abroad.

The results of the official investigations carried out in France in the UK were identical: the accident occurred for several reasons. Princess Diana and her lover Dodi al-Fayed were chased by paparazzi, which is why the driver of the car, Henri Paul, had to speed. In addition, alcohol was found in his blood, and the seat belts were faulty. This version was later refuted: the driver was not drunk, and the results of the examination were deliberately or accidentally mixed up with others. It also seemed strange that 3 years after the accident, the same paparazzi who was accused of stalking Diana was found dead in a burnt car.

In the film, Diana said that she was in love with Charles, and on the day of their engagement, when asked by a journalist whether there were feelings between them, she answered without hesitation: “ Yes" And the prince said: “ You can say that" She was very offended by this then. And later she became convinced that her husband had loved another woman all his life - Camilla Parker Bowles. Even the birth of sons did not save this marriage. When Diana turned to the Queen for advice, she only said: “ I don't know what to do. Charles is hopeless" Divorce was inevitable.

She felt like an outcast at the royal court. " I was rejected, and therefore I considered myself unworthy of this family. I could start drinking, but it would be noticeable, and anorexia would be even more noticeable. I decided to choose something that would be less noticeable: harming myself rather than others."- admits Diana. She suffered from bulimia for some time, and then began having affairs. Diana told her teacher that the biggest shock in her life was the death of Barry Manaka, her bodyguard, who, in her opinion, was fired and killed after their affair became known.

Journalist Mikhail Ozerov, who spoke with Princess Diana 3 days before her death, claimed that she told him of her intention to go to Paris, despite the reaction of Buckingham Palace, of her desire to build life the way she wanted, and added: “ Don't pay attention to my outburst of emotions. Next time I'll be calmer. Or they will calm me down. It's unlikely that we'll see each other again».

Special services historian Gennady Sokolov conducted his own investigation and came to the conclusion that it was a staged accident, behind which the British secret services stood. Witnesses claimed that on the night of the incident they saw a bright flash in the tunnel, which could have blinded the driver, after which he crashed into a concrete bridge support. If Diana had been wearing a seat belt, she would have had a chance to survive, but the seat belts, according to Sokolov, were blocked. For some reason, the video cameras were not working in this tunnel that night. Immediately after her death, her body was embalmed - according to Sokolov, in order to hide Diana's pregnancy from the Muslim Dodi al-Fayed, whom she was supposedly going to marry. Therefore, the royal family had reasons to want her dead.

Egyptian billionaire Mohammed al-Fayed also conducted his own investigation, during which it turned out that Princess Diana called this period of her life the most dangerous and was afraid that the royal family would want to get rid of her. Mohammed Al-Fayed is confident that the death of his son Dodi and Princess Diana was a planned murder.

No one has ever proven the version that the royal family and British intelligence services were involved in Diana’s death. Over time, more and more questions appear in this mysterious story, and still no one can say with certainty whether the death of Princess Diana was a tragic accident or the result of a planned crime.

Bridge over the tunnel where Princess Diana died