Background Info
Who is Princess Diana and what was her role in Britain?
She was a British royal princess, the first wife of King Charles lll, and the mother of Prince William and Harry. She had royal duties on behalf of the Queen, represented her at functions across the Commonwealth realms, and was most known for her charity work.
What happened?
Her death occurred on Sunday, August 31st, 1997, dying in a car crash. The vehicle in which the Princess was traveling was involved in a high-speed accident in the Place de l'Alma underpass in central Paris as she was being chased by the paparazzi who photographed her dying in the backseat. She didn't die upon impact but had undergone two hours of emergency surgery before being declared dead at 0300 BST. The Princess's boyfriend, Mr Dodi Fayed, and the driver of the vehicle died in the accident as well, and a bodyguard was seriously injured.
What are some conspiracies about Princess Diana’s death?
Some people think the doctors intentionally didn’t give her proper care, or maybe her driver was drunk and intended to crash. Still, the most popular conspiracy is that the Royal family wanted her dead.
Some people believe the doctors didn’t treat her properly which impaired her recovery. People say doctors spent too much time trying to treat her a the scene of the crash instead of taking her to the nearest hospital, which would have saved her life.
Henri Paul, the driver of Diana’s car was accused of being drunk and intentionally crashing the vehicle. Some people say they switched his body out for somebody else so that toxicological results would appear correct. People believe this happened so the media could cover up the killing.
The most popular conspiracy is that the Royal family paid to have her murdered and covered it up. Diana was loved by people around the globe, and her divorce from Prince Charles shed a bad light on the Royal family. People believe the royal family killed her off to protect their personal and public appearance.
Who was Princess Diana married to and what happened?
She was first married to King Charles lll however due to their incompatibility and affairs, they divorced in 1996. Princess Diana later confirmed that she had an affair with Charles in 1986 with James Hewitt, a cavalry officer and tank commander. Soon after her divorce, Diana dated Hasnat Khan (British-Pakistani surgeon and cardiologist) for a year and then Dodi Fayed (Egyptian Producer) until her death.
How did the public vs the royal family react?
The queen failed to release a statement in the first days after the death and the public was angry about this. The monarch stayed out of sight at her Balmoral estate in Scotland, along with other members of the royal family, including Diana's sons, princes William and Harry
The British subjects were particularly upset that Diana’s coffin was at St. James’s Palace in London while the royal family was elsewhere.
Crowds thronged the Mall, threatening to storm the palace if the queen failed to fly the flag at half mast and show some respect for the late princess.
The public was distraught about their beloved princess
When did people consider Princess Diana’s death foul play?
Conspiracies from the public started almost as soon as her death was publicized, but official investigations about her death didn’t start until 2004, 7 years after her death.
Due to all of the conspiracies and publicity of her death, the British Metropolitan Police had no choice but to open up a case called “Operation Paget” to see if foul play was involved.
Operation Paget was a 3-year long case. In 2008, the jury came to the verdict that Diana was unlawfully killed as a result of "gross negligence" of the driver Henri Paul, and the paparazzi.
What were some things she did for people?
She brought AIDS awareness and prevention, banned the use of landmines, battled poverty and homelessness, various cancer trusts, and leprosy awareness, and opened up the stigma surrounding mental illness.
What was the physical aftermath?
The driver, Henri Paul, lost control of the car, smashing into a huge concrete pillar in the Pont de l'Alma tunnel. The front of the vehicle was totaled, and witnesses nearby recalled seeing smoke. Ambulance and emergency services were called, while swarms of paparazzi watched, took pictures, or tried to help. Diana, still alive and semi-conscious, had a dislocated collar bone and a fractured rib and arm. Soon after having medical treatment, Diana had a heart attack. CPR was performed, and Diana was brought back, but the crash had forced Diana’s heart out of place, and parts of it had been torn. Shortly after arriving at the hospital, Princess Diana died at 3 am in a local Paris hospital.
What reasoning do people have to believe the Royal family killed Diana?
Events leading up to Diana’s death have persuaded people that the royal family had something to do with it.
Just one year before her death, Diana divorced Prince Charles. Diana put up with 15 years of affair revelations, angry recriminations, and public embarrassment from Charles, so it was no surprise to the public or the Royal family that they had divorced.
Diana gave personal interviews to the media from the palace, which convinced Queen Elizabeth that she was a liability to the royal family.
The queen took days to make a public statement involving Diana's death, which upset the population.