In memory of Princess Diana, the people’s princess

CAIRO – 31 August 2022: Shortly after midnight on August 31, 1997, Diana, Princess of Wales - known as the "People's Princess", died in a car accident in Paris. She was 36 years old at the time.

Her boyfriend, Dodi Fayed, and the car driver, Henry Paul, also died.

Princess Diana was one of the most famous public figures in the world. Her death was met with an outpouring of grief. The mourners began visiting Kingston Palace immediately. The piles of flowers reached about 30 feet from the palace’s gate.

Diana and Dodi, who had been vacationing on the French Riviera, had arrived in Paris l the day before. They left the Ritz Paris shortly after midnight, and were going to Dodi's apartment on Rue Arsène-Houssaye.  As soon as they left the hotel, paparazzi started swarming their car on motorbikes. After about three minutes, the driver lost control and crashed into a pole at the entrance to the Pont de l’Alma tunnel. The death of Dodi and the driver was announced at the scene of the accident.

Diana was taken to Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital and pronounced dead at 6 am. A fourth passenger, Diana's bodyguard Trevor Rhys-Jones, was seriously injured but survived. Diana's ex-husband Prince Charles, along with her sisters and other members of the royal family, arrived in Paris that morning. Then Diana's body was returned to London.

Much like her life, her death was a complete media frenzy and the subject of numerous conspiracy theories. Initially, the paparazzi who were chasing the car were blamed for the accident, but it was later revealed that the driver was under the influence of alcohol and drugs.

An official investigation concluded that the paparazzi did not cause the collision.

It is reported that on September 6, over 2 billion people watched Diana's funeral in London.