Who killed Princess Diana. Princess Diana: the mysteries of life and death

At half past twelve on the night of August 31, 1997, a black Mercedes 280SEL, racing through Paris at a speed of more than 100 km/h, crashed into the thirteenth pillar of the Alma tunnel. Three and a half hours later, doctors at La Pitie-Salpetriere hospital recorded the death of British citizen Diana Spencer, better known as Princess Diana, or Lady Di. In a recent poll, the majority of British residents named Diana's death as the main event of the 20th century - more important than the victory over fascism in World War II.

On July 5, 1999, investigating judge Hervé Stephan transferred the case to the prosecutor's office, placing the main blame on 41-year-old Ritz Hotel security chief Henri Paul, who was driving the ill-fated car. An analysis carried out in the first hours after the accident revealed a surprising high level the ethyl alcohol content in the blood of the driver who died along with Diana and Dodi al-Fayed is 1.87 ppm. This is equivalent to drinking two large bottles of wine in a row. In addition, it was discovered that Henri Paul had taken several antidepressant pills, which enhance the effects of alcohol.

But in August of this year, on the eve of the fifth anniversary of the tragedy, the driver's parents, Pierre and Giselle Paul, filed a lawsuit demanding that they be given a sample of their son's blood for a control DNA test. They are convinced that the blood - either by mistake or on purpose - was taken from another person and are determined to achieve restoration good name and the reputation of Henri Paul.

The unusually high level of alcohol in the blood of the Mercedes driver is not the only fact in this story, which to this day causes fierce debate and doubt. In 2003, the death of Princess Diana will again become the subject of legal proceedings. This decision was made by the new royal coroner Michael Burgess.

Engagement fee

The conclusion of the previous investigation, which lasted 22 months, states that we're talking about about a banal accident: the driver lost control while trying to avoid a collision with a Fiat Uno car.

The examination showed that the Mercedes was racing at a speed of 121-123 km/h. “In the tunnel, with a slight bend and a slope of about 5-6 percent, the car could deviate for a moment, which, combined with the appearance of the Fiat, led to a loss of control,” one of the participants in the investigation now explains. The driver braked sharply, the car skidded 32 meters, hit the tunnel wall, and the impact caused it to roll over twice.

So, all responsibility was placed on Henri Paul, who was allegedly under the influence of alcohol and antidepressants.

In the past, Henri Paul was an Air Force captain and had a reputation as a chauffeur high class. Polya’s personal doctor, who knew him closely, told the investigator that he was afraid that constant stress did not lead him to alcoholism. It was she who prescribed Paul an antidepressant and two more medications that instilled an aversion to alcohol. The doctor categorically denied the possibility of her patient’s “failure”: a week before the accident, Paul received his flight license, having passed impeccably aviation commission, which subjects applicants to ultra-strict controls.
To this day, the investigator “has no doubt about the accuracy of the alcohol level” in Paul’s blood. But at the same time, he, as well as the experts who analyzed these samples, do not even think about why they contain so much carbon monoxide?

Mohammed al-Fayed, the father of her friend Dodi, who died with Diana, was the first to put forward the idea that the disaster was staged. He said: “We must remember that drinking is part of the French way of life. Many people drive around with alcohol in their blood, but this does not mean they are unable to drive. "Nothing in Henri Paul's behavior before he got behind the wheel indicated that he was so drunk as to be unable to control the car."

“My heart tells me: this was not a simple accident, and I will not rest until I find out exactly what really happened,” Father Dodi repeated more than once. According to his version, the British authorities could not come to terms with the possibility of a marriage between his Muslim son and Diana. This marriage was already becoming a reality: according to Mohammed al-Fayed, he paid 150 thousand pounds for wedding ring with diamonds and emeralds. Dodi intended to give it to Diana at the end of the trip, which turned out to be fatal. "He called me to tell me they were engaged," Dodie's father says, also claiming that Diana told William and Harry, her sons, about her engagement.

However, the Egyptian billionaire, who has still not recovered from grief, cannot be unconditionally trusted. For example, he says that a certain nurse at La Pitie-Salpetriere hospital gave him last words the princess who wanted him to give her (sister) things from Dodi’s apartment. However, the doctors who tried to save Diana claim that she could not utter a word from the very moment she was removed from the mangled car.

MI6 vs Diana

But perhaps it really is not the driver of the Mercedes. The newly launched investigation has already reached its first conclusion: the Fiat Uno, without meaning to, became the cause of the accident.”

A husband and wife driving across the Alma Bridge saw this car jump out of the tunnel in front of them, and the driver was looking not at the road, but in the rearview mirror. “It was a Fiat Uno.” white“It must have been a two-door, old, although quite clean,” Sabina F. testified during interrogation. “He jumped out of the tunnel as if drunk.” The driver probably noticed us only after my husband pressed the horn... He was a European of the Mediterranean type. Deep-set eyes, cropped short brown hair, about thirty-five to forty... In the back seat there was quite large dog like a German Shepherd."

When sorting out the wreckage at the scene of the accident, fragments of the Fiat's left rear turn signal were discovered. The examination made it possible to establish the exact characteristics of the car, color, and year of manufacture. Having information about the car and a fairly accurate description of the driver’s identity, as well as such an important additional feature as the presence of a large dog, the investigation checked 3,500 Fiats. But, surprisingly, it was not possible to find either the car or the driver.

True, the car of paparazzi photographer James Andanson met the established characteristics. It was he who owned the famous photograph of Diana in a leopard-print swimsuit, which at one time made the public suspect that the princess was pregnant. Andanson was interrogated for a long time, but in the end they were left alone, since it was definitely established that he was not in Paris on the evening of the tragedy. However, oddly enough, the investigation did not bother to find out whether he lent the car to one of his colleagues or friends, and now they will not be able to do this at all. In May 2000, Andanson mysterious circumstances burned to the ground in his car (the same Fiat).

Former agent British intelligence MI6 Richard Tomlinson, having seen a television report about the death of Lady Di, immediately stated that the circumstances of the accident strangely reminded him of a plan to assassinate Yugoslav President Milosevic. This plan, prepared within the bowels of the British intelligence services, provided, in particular, for the option of murder in a tunnel in Geneva using strong outbreak to blind the driver.

Now, however, one of the investigators says that there is no evidence to support the thesis of an outbreak that would have preceded the accident. But few of her witnesses were driving in the opposite direction, separated by a parapet and supports, and could hardly have noticed the light directed parallel to their movement. Perhaps the Fiat driver could have answered the question of whether there was a flash, but he was never found. By the way, wasn't his wobbling a consequence of the fact that he, too, was blinded? And one more important point. The seat next to the driver, as you know, is usually called the “dead man’s seat”: during an accident, it is exposed to most at risk. But Trevor Rees-Jones, who was sitting next to the driver, survived the accident. He escaped with only scars on his face. According to one of the new versions, Trevor survived because he managed to group and avoid the blow. And he managed to do this because he allegedly himself was the organizer of the accident.

Thirty-one-year-old Trevor Rees-Jones served in special forces units, as part of an elite parachute regiment. Rees-Jones also has two tours of combat duty in Northern Ireland and service in the Royal military police. Meanwhile, it is known that special forces and especially “paratroopers” are often involved in carrying out operations on instructions from the intelligence services, primarily MI6. The fighters of these units maintain close ties with them even after finishing their service, already in civilian life.

According to some reports, there were people in MI6 who saw in Diana’s behavior “a threat to the throne and, consequently, the stability of the state.” It is no secret that she was under surveillance, her telephone conversations were tapped. To intercept email"bugs" were installed in Diana's computers; her conversations were monitored via satellite tracking systems. mobile phone. Many believe that the recording of her conversation in the car with a childhood friend, during which she spoke harshly about the Queen and the atmosphere in Buckingham Palace, and the leak of this recording to the press is the work of MI6. American investigative reporter James Keith managed to get the CIA and NSA to admit that they, in collaboration with the British intelligence services MI6 and MI5, were monitoring Diana and listening to her conversations, the recording of which totals 1051 sheets. However, both institutions refused to provide the journalist with the recordings themselves. “The documents are classified,” the letter to Keith explained, “because their disclosure could cause extremely serious harm.” national security».

Let us return, however, to the accident itself. Experts found one strange thing: at the time of the accident, the gear selector was in neutral. If the car had a manual transmission, then this could be explained by the fact that the driver wanted to sharply reduce speed before the tunnel and was trying to switch to a lower gear. However, in the Mercedes that was carrying Diana, it was installed automatic transmission.

Suspicion arises: was the culprit of the accident the former parachutist Trevor Rees-Jones, who nudged Paul's arm or moved the gear lever one step from D (forward) to N (neutral)?

Witnesses disappear

Journalists who tried to dig deeper into the circumstances of the disaster strangely left this world. So, on September 7, 1999, reporter James Keith, who was just preparing to publish some conclusions about the causes of the deaths of Diana and Dodi, died during a banal knee operation. “I have a feeling I’m not coming back,” he told his comrade Kenn Thomas at the operating room door. Within hours of his death, an Internet web page containing details of his investigations was destroyed. “For technical reasons,” as the operator of the provider company explained.

Surviving witnesses suffer from strange memory lapses. We can mention a number of doctors who shared information with journalists in hot pursuit, but then retracted their words. Bodyguard Trevor Rhys-Jones, who gave evidence to the investigator after his recovery, eight months later, after leaving the service of al-Fayed, recanted them and stated that he actually did not remember anything. In “Memoirs,” published in March 2000, he claimed that his former patron had pressured him to “remember” facts that would support the conspiracy theory. Photojournalist Laurent Sola, the only one of the paparazzi who managed to photograph Diana in the crashed car, never showed these pictures. Moreover, he soon closed his agency and organized a fishing company in Normandy.

The weirdness doesn't end there. As a group of British pathologists led by prominent specialist Peter Vainezis established, Diana’s body was quickly embalmed after death. And now the re-opening of the body buried in wet lands Althorp estate is unlikely to provide reliable results. “There was no need for the princess to be embalmed so quickly and before post-mortem examinations were carried out,” said Professor Vainezis.

Jeffrey Steinberg, an investigative journalist for the Executive Intelligence Review magazine, makes it clear that in London, upon returning to her homeland, Diana's body was still performed and the corresponding protocol exists. However, he doubts that the findings of these studies will ever be fully known. “In April 2000, Mohammed al-Fayed’s lawyers obtained a memo from two French pathologists who worked for investigator Stephan and collaborated with English coroners. This note purportedly stated that the British authorities had requested that certain aspects of the official autopsy be suppressed." However, now these witnesses have also retracted their words.

* * *
Ridiculous and tragic death Diana continues to generate income for the authors of numerous books “about this”. On the fifth anniversary of the accident, her loved ones remember what led to the dramatic turn in her life former princess Welsh and mother crown princes. “Her life was completely ruined by her husband and his mistress Camilla Parker, who thought only of themselves,” says Mary Clark, Diana’s nanny. “When the marriage broke up, she lost her sense of self-confidence, which ultimately led to her death.” She is echoed by best friend Diana, Lucia Flasha di Lima, wife of the Brazilian ambassador in London: “Charles and Camilla made her life hell.”

However, time heals many wounds. The queen managed to restore the goodwill of her subjects, which, as is known, had been shaken after the death of the “people’s princess.” Prince Charles is already openly accompanied by Camilla Parker-Bowles, and most Britons do not object to their union: even the strict Anglican Church has lifted the ban on the marriage of two divorcees.

But the mystery of the accident that occurred in the Alma tunnel on August 31, 1997 continues to be of keen interest to many, not only the British. And that is why it is unlikely to be revealed in the near future.

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Illustration copyright Getty Images Image caption Princess Welsh Diana was one of the most photographed women in the world

The death of Princess Diana in 1997 and the public response to the tragedy shook the House of Windsor.

Twenty years later, a bloodless coup took place in the palace. All members of the royal family are still in place, but the center of influence has shifted.

At the beginning of August this year, he left his post personal secretary Queen Sir Christopher Heidt, who had been by her side for many years. This means that the eldest son of Elizabeth II will now be able to largely determine in which direction the British monarchy will move.

Internal changes in the palace are of interest only to the inner circle of courtiers, but are of little concern to everyone else.

But still, the recent changes should please Prince Charles. The heir to the throne, having waited so long for his turn, looks much more satisfied and less worried.

He is still passionate about bringing about change, and his passionate commitment to fighting climate change has been embraced by the mainstream.

Once laughed at for the prince's habit of talking to plants and trees, today he is praised for his desire to save the planet.

Every year now his mother will do less and less, and he will do more.

Its horizon is no longer so cloudy.

This horizon was once clouded by clouds of scandals in the Welsh household, chief among them his televised admission of adultery and leaked comments about women's tampons.

Long-term influence

Illustration copyright Getty Images

But it's not that simple. Whatever agreements were reached between him and his first wife during her lifetime did not stand the test of her death.

Diana's ghost haunts Charles.

Recent Poll public opinion, commissioned by the Press Association news agency, found that the number of people who believe the Prince of Wales has contributed to royal family positive, fell from 60% to 36%.

This survey was conducted at a time when it was difficult not to remember Charles's painful past.

Newspapers and television channels in lately People always talk about the influence that Princess Diana had on the most different areas life - from the world of fashion to the British monarchy.

The dense media coverage of this topic for an entire month would likely have baffled anyone under 25 and would have baffled a visiting Martian.

Charles's many fans will say that Diana's shadow, which adversely affects his popularity, will dissipate every year.

But 20 years later, her influence is still great.

Public anger

The Queen was the first to understand Diana's significance, a few days before her funeral in 1997.

Illustration copyright Getty Images Image caption The Queen was criticized for her silence immediately after Diana's death

The empty flagpole of Buckingham Palace and the Queen's protracted stay at her Scottish residence Balmoral did not go unnoticed, and it could not continue this way.

Her Majesty returned to London. "She relented. I was surprised," said one former senior official in her secretariat. documentary film BBC.

In her televised address to the nation, the Queen promised to learn lessons from Diana's life.

The guardian of the ancient institution of power tried not to find herself on the other side of public opinion. The week following the death of the Princess of Wales was the worst of the Queen's reign.

She doesn't want a second week like this.

Fans of the princess believe that the court's behavior all these years was aimed not only at protecting itself, but also at making sure that the memory of Diana would fade away and not dominate the life of the House of Windsor.

None of the representatives of the royal family came to the opening of the garden in her memory in 2000.

For two decades it was understood that this woman, who died at 36, could not be set in stone.

But now her sons have taken over. A monument to Diana will be unveiled soon. The princes, who mourned her alone as children, now as adults, are doing everything to keep her memory alive.

William and Harry in numerous interviews, and how she fought for justice and for her beliefs, which her sons also share.

"Exceptional and irreplaceable"

Those who look for signs of Diana's enduring influence and relevance today find it in how whole her children became and how comfortable they were in public.

But you have to pay for everything. Princes who live in the palace, but as children ate hamburgers with their mother outside it, find it difficult to accept that ordinary, normal life no longer for them.

Illustration copyright PA Image caption Princes William and Harry were just 15 and 12 years old respectively when they lost their mother

Once upon a time, the Queen came to terms with the fact that her privacy can only flow within its vast estates. But her grandchildren periodically rebel against such restrictions.

In addition to wanting to experience life outside the palace, Diana's sons also share her ambivalence about the means mass media. She welcomed the press and tried to tame it. But she didn't succeed.

One fact will remain unchanged for the princes: photographers chased their mother into a Paris tunnel while a tipsy driver rushed her to her premature death.

Diana's influence on the British monarchy remains very strong. Perhaps it will weaken somewhat by the time King Charles, whose wife still has a chance to become Queen Camilla, comes to the throne.

The 30th anniversary of Diana's death may not be the same significant date, like the current one.

But at the moment, she continues to be mourned by both her loved ones and those who never met her. As her brother Earl Spencer put it in his eulogy, she was “a unique, complex, exceptional and irreplaceable Diana.”

A “used” dress is a gift that, at first glance, is more than dubious; Not every woman will like the outfit in which another woman once shone. Much, however, depends on the person “other” - and a relatively recent transaction made at a major London auction is proof of this. One of the auction lots was a dress that Princess Diana herself once sported; The lot went under the hammer for a highly impressive sum of £240,000.

Princess Diana's gorgeous blue dress - which she wore when she danced with John Travolta himself - was by no means the only wonderful dress offered at this auction. A total of 10 princess dresses were offered at the themed auction; Buyers from Europe and Australia, the USA and Asia “fought” for these dresses. The dresses were not only of fashionable value - although the former owner of these dresses clearly did not complain about the taste; The London auction lots were of much greater value because they were of a historical nature - each of them was associated with a relatively small, but extremely important piece of world history.

Princess Diana's dress went to a certain British gentleman who wished to remain anonymous; It is known that this gentleman had never bought women’s dresses in his life - and only now decided to give his wife such an expensive gift. The new owner of the dress was an ardent fan of Lady Di - and the dress, which once belonged to her, became an incredibly pleasant surprise.

Representatives bought at least two more dresses Kensington Palace; There is already a good selection of princess dresses on display at the palace, and two new lots will very organically complement this collection.

The selection of dresses on display was once sold to the auction organizers by Princess Diana herself - literally a month before her tragic death. American entrepreneur Maureen Rorech Dunkel bought these dresses as an investment. After Diana's death, Maureen exhibited dresses at charity events for some time; unfortunately, lately financial condition She was somewhat unsteady, and she eventually decided to get rid of the dresses.

A blue dress from Victor Edelstein became the main pearl of the auction. Other lots also aroused considerable interest among buyers. A green dress from the same Edelstein sold for £24,000; in it Lady Di in front general public did not perform, limiting herself exclusively to private events. The burgundy velvet dress worn by the princess when she visited Korea in 1992 was sold to an unknown buyer for £50,400. The black velvet dress that Diana posed for Mario Testino in a Vanity Fair photo shoot just months before her death went for £108,000; By the way, this dress was the only one of 10 that the princess wore after her divorce from Prince Charles.

All 10 dresses were valued at £719,000 in total.

This auction is not the first official sale of the outfits of the late favorite of the British public. So, in 2010, Princess Diana's black taffeta dress - in which Lady Di first appeared in the company of her then-fiancé Prince Charles - was sold for 192,000 pounds sterling. The price was almost four times higher than the most optimistic preliminary estimates.

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Diana Frances Spencer, Her Highness Princess of Wales, was born on July 1, 1961 in Norfolk into an English aristocratic family. Her father John Spencer, Viscount Althorp, came from ancient family Spencer-Churchils, bearers of royal blood descended from Charles the Second, famous as the “Merry King”. Karl had 14 recognized illegitimate sons who received the title, large number unrecognized children and not a single heir born in an official marriage. However, thanks to this king, the list of aristocratic families in England has significantly expanded.

The dynasty to which Princess Diana belonged can be proud of such eminent sons as Sir and the Duke of Marlborough. The ancestral home of the Spencer family is Spencer House, located in the Westminster quarter of central London. Diana's mother Frances Shand Kydd also comes from an aristocratic family. Diana's maternal grandmother was a lady-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon.

The biography of the future princess was also beyond claims. The future Princess Diana received her primary education at Sandringham, where she spent her childhood. Lady Di's first teacher was Gertrude Allen, a governess who had previously taught the girl's mother. Further education Diana attended Sealfield Private School and later attended Riddlesworth Hall. As a child, the character of the future princess was not difficult, but she was always quite stubborn.

According to the teachers’ recollections, the girl read and drew well, dedicating her drawings to her mother and father. Diana's parents divorced when she was 8 years old, which became strong shock for a child. As a result of the divorce proceedings, Diana remained with her father, and her mother went to Scotland, where she lived with her new husband.

Next place The future Princess of Wales attends the exclusive girls' school West Hill in Kent. Here Diana did not prove herself to be a diligent student, and her hobbies became music and dancing, and, according to rumors, in her youth Lady Di was not given exact sciences, and she even failed her exams several times.

In 1977, Diana and Prince Charles met in Althorp, but at that time the future spouses did not pay serious attention to each other. In the same year, Diana studied in Switzerland for a short time, but returned home due to severe homesickness. After completing her studies, Diana began working as a nanny and teacher in kindergarten in the prestigious London area of Knightsbridge.

Prince Charles and the wedding

In 1980, Diana again entered the social circle of Prince Charles. The single life of the heir to the throne at that time was a serious cause for concern for his parents. Queen Elizabeth was especially concerned about her son’s relationship with a noble married lady, a relationship with whom the prince did not even try to hide. In the current situation, the candidacy of Diana Spencer for the role of the princess was happily approved royal family, Charles and, according to some rumors, even Camilla Parker Bowles.

The prince first invited Diana to the royal yacht, after which an invitation was received to Balmoral Castle to meet the royal family. Charles proposed at Windsor Castle, but the engagement was kept secret for some time. The official announcement took place on February 24, 1981. The symbol of this event was the famous ring of Princess Diana - a precious sapphire surrounded by fourteen diamonds.

Lady Di became the first Englishwoman in 300 years to marry the heir to the throne.

The wedding of Prince Charles and Diana Spencer became the most expensive wedding ceremony in British history. The celebration took place at St. Paul's Cathedral in London on July 29, 1981. The wedding ceremony was preceded by a ceremonial passage through the streets of London of carriages with members of the royal family, a march of Commonwealth regiments and the “Glass Carriage” in which Diana and her father arrived.

Prince Charles was wearing dress uniform Commander of Her Majesty's Fleet. Diana wore a dress with an 8-meter train costing 9,000 pounds, designed by young English designers Elizabeth and David Emanuel. The design of the dress was kept in the strictest confidence from the public and the press, and the dress was delivered to the palace in a sealed envelope. The head of the future princess was decorated with a family heirloom - a tiara.

Diana and Charles's wedding has been called a "fairytale wedding" and "the wedding of the century." According to experts, the audience watching the broadcast of the celebrations in live on the world's main television channels, amounted to more than 750 million people. After a gala dinner at Buckingham Palace, the couple traveled by royal train to the Broadlands estate and then flew to Gibraltar, from where Charles and Princess Diana began their cruise Mediterranean Sea. At the end of the cruise, another reception was given in Scotland, where members of the press were given permission to photograph the newlyweds.

The wedding celebrations cost taxpayers nearly £3 million.

Divorce

The personal life of the crowned family was not so fabulous and soon attracted public attention with several scandals in which, according to the press, various lovers and mistresses constantly appeared. According to rumors, even at the time of Charles’ marriage proposal, Diana knew about his relationship with Camilla Parker-Bowles. Subsequently, it became increasingly difficult for the princess to contain her jealousy and protect the family’s reputation, since Prince Charles not only did not interrupt the extramarital affair, but also openly admitted it. The situation was complicated by the fact that in the person who took her son’s side in this conflict, Princess Diana received an influential opponent.

By 1990, the delicate situation could no longer be hidden and the situation became widely publicized. During this period, Princess Diana also admitted her relationship with riding coach James Hewitt.

In 1995, according to rumors, Diana met her true love. While visiting a friend in the hospital, the princess accidentally met cardiac surgeon Hasnat Khan. The feelings were mutual, but the constant attention of the public, from which the couple even fled to Khan’s homeland, Pakistan, and the active condemnation by Khan’s parents of both his role as the princess’s de facto lover and the freedom-loving views of the woman herself, did not allow the romance to develop and, perhaps, deprived a chance for happiness between two people truly in love.

At the insistence of Queen Elizabeth, Charles and Diana officially divorced in 1996, four years after the effective breakup of their family. Her marriage to Prince Charles produced two sons: Welsh and Welsh.

After the divorce, Diana, according to journalists, begins a relationship with film producer, the son of Egyptian billionaire Dodi al-Fayed. This connection was not officially confirmed by any of the princess’s close friends, and in the book written by Diana’s butler, the fact of their relationship is directly denied.

Death

On August 31, 1997, Princess Diana died in a car accident. During Diana's visit to Paris, a car, in which, in addition to the princess herself, there were Dodi al-Fayed, bodyguard Trevor Rhys Jones and driver Henri Paul, driving in the tunnel under the Alma bridge, collided with a concrete support. The driver and Dodi al-Fayed died instantly at the scene. Princess Diana died two hours later in the Salpêtrière hospital. The princess's bodyguard survived, but received severe head injuries, as a result of which he does not remember anything about the moment of the accident itself.

Princess Diana's wrecked car

The death of Princess Diana was a shock not only for the people of Great Britain, but also for the whole world. In France, mourners turned a Parisian replica of the Statue of Liberty's torch into a spontaneous memorial to Diana. The princess's funeral took place on September 6. Lady Di's grave is on a secluded island on Althorp Manor (the Spencer family estate) in Northamptonshire.

Among the causes of the car accident, many factors are cited, starting with the version according to which the princess’s car tried to break away from the car with the paparazzi pursuing them, and ending with the version regarding. There are still many rumors and theories about the causes of the death of everyone's beloved princess.

A Scotland Yard report published ten years later confirmed the fact that the investigation found that the speed limit for driving on the section of road under the Alma Bridge was twice the speed limit, as well as the fact that the driver had alcohol in the blood exceeding permissible norm three times.

Memory

Princess Diana enjoyed the sincere love of the people of Great Britain, who affectionately called her Lady Di. The princess did a lot of charity work, donating significant funds to various foundations, was an activist in the movement that sought to ban anti-personnel mines, and provided people with material and moral assistance.

Sir dedicated the song “Candle in the Wind” to her memory, and the song “Privacy”, in which he not only expressed grief for the princess, but also talked about the burden of constant attention and gossip, which may be indirectly to blame for Lady Di’s death.

10 years after her death, a film was made dedicated to the last hours of the princess’s life. The songs “Depeche mode” and “Aquarium” are dedicated to her. Postage stamps are issued in her honor in many countries around the world.

According to a BBC poll, Princess Diana is one of the most popular faces in the history of Britain, ahead of other English monarchs in this ranking.

Awards

Royal Family Order of Queen Elizabeth II
Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown
Order of Virtue Special Class

0 18 August 2017, 12:30

Princess Diana died in a car accident on August 31, 1997, in a tunnel in front of the Alma Bridge on the Seine. This event was one of the biggest shocks in the history of modern Britain. The former representative of the royal family was mourned not only by Foggy Albion, but by the whole world. And, of course, the British expected an instant reaction from Elizabeth II (and the entire royal family), but she decided to remain silent. Why did the Queen react this way to the death of Prince Charles's ex-wife? the site decided to remember how Elizabeth II behaved when she learned about the death of Lady Di.

On August 31, Elizabeth II received an alarming call. The voice on the other end of the line announced that Princess Diana had died from multiple injuries sustained in the accident. The Queen learned that at that fateful moment, the ex-wife of her son, Prince Charles, was with her new boyfriend, the son of Egyptian billionaire Dodi al-Fayed. They both died. The last day of summer 1997 was the last in Diana's life.

After the accident, she remained alive for some time: she was taken to one of the oldest hospitals in Paris, the Salpêtrière. She was unconscious, but continued to breathe. The doctors hoped that they could help the princess. Two hours later, doctors reported Diana’s death.

All of Britain could not recover from the shock and believe what had happened. Of course, everyone expected that Elizabeth II would speak to them in the near future, but she never came out to the people.

As it turned out, at that very time the Queen, along with her son Prince Charles and grandchildren, 15-year-old William and 12-year-old Harry, were on vacation at Balmoral Castle in Scotland. The news of Diana's death found them there. The news shocked all members of the royal family. According to the recollections of close friends of the royal family, for some time the queen refused to go down to the guests, citing poor health.

It is alleged that it was Prince Charles who told his sons that their mother was no more. There was deathly silence in the house; no one could find words. Elizabeth II went down to the boys and went with them to the local church. She tried to support her grandchildren, but at the same time behaved with maximum restraint.

Several days passed, and the British rebelled: they could not understand why Elizabeth II stayed for such a long time in Scotland. The people demanded that the queen give an official speech.

Only later did it become known that Elizabeth II was in no hurry to return to London, because she wanted to protect her family from pressure from the public for a while. And she herself was not ready to share her thoughts about everything that happened.

Seeing the Queen's initially aloof reaction, some suggested that she might have been involved in Diana's death. It was suspected that Elizabeth II had personal motives and had long wanted to remove the princess from the royal list. It is difficult to judge what is actually true and what is not. Speculation and speculation among the public created a lot of noise until Elizabeth appeared at Buckingham Palace.

Insiders said that the Queen was very worried before she recorded her official appeal to the British. Her speech was prepared in advance, and she read the text over a teleprompter.

Elizabeth's touching words, despite all their restraint, melted the hearts of negatively minded Englishmen. They listened to their queen's every word.

This is very big loss For the whole country. I come before you as a queen and as a grandmother. Diana was an exceptional person. She never lost her optimism, always laughing and smiling. She inspired those around her with her warmth and kindness,

— Elizabeth II said in a video message.

The Queen also noted that Princes William and Harry are holding up well during this hard time and behave very dignified in the current situation.

But still, many did not like it: the queen’s performance was considered too restrained and devoid of any obvious emotions. Elizabeth II remained unperturbed and did not react to criticism addressed to her.

Only 15 years later, the queen's cousin, Margaret Rhodes, who was very close to Elizabeth, told CNN in an interview that the monarch could not return to London immediately. She understood perfectly well that this would not benefit her grandchildren.

She was harshly criticized for staying at Balmoral with the boys... But she behaved like a real grandmother. What was the point of bringing grandchildren to London if they found themselves in an atmosphere that would only remind them of their mother’s death? I think I would have behaved exactly the same in her place,

Rhodes said.

Margaret’s words somewhat softened the attitude towards that story, but still did not provide answers to the necessary questions. In 2017, a letter from Elizabeth was published, which she wrote five days after Diana’s death. The Queen addressed it to her assistant Henrietta Lady Abel Smith.

Thank you for offering your condolences on the death of Diana... It really is very, very difficult. She became the most big loss for the country... William and Harry behaved so bravely, so courageously, that I am very proud of them... There are so many different emotions fighting inside me, but I understand that we must cope with all this,

— wrote Elizabeth II.

What actually happened at the royal residence in Scotland in those first seven days after Diana's death still remains a mystery. But this is not the main thing: the memory of Diana is still alive. Many Britons continue to call her their princess. The nation's love for Lady Di is so great that even today she is an example to follow.