On the night of August 31, 1997, the world was shocked by the news of Princess Diana’s death. The cause? A car crash in Paris when she was trying to escape a bunch of paparazzi that were following her and her then-boyfriend Dodi Al-Fayed.
Despite the fact that it was clear that the accident and the injuries from it were the actual cause of Diana’s death, a lot is still a mystery. Records have been kept private and there are just some facts that don’t make sense according to some. This, of course, has led to a lot of speculation about the real causes of her passing and many conspiracy theories around Princess Diana’s death have come up to the point that even London Metropolitan Police launched the Paget Operation, an investigation to go deep into the real causes of the accident.
What We Do Know About the Accident?
Diana was in Paris enjoying the last of her summer vacations before returning to England. She was with her then-boyfriend, Dodi Al-Fayed and the couple was staying at the Hotel Ritz in the French capital.
They were having dinner at the restaurant but decided to leave due to the attention they were getting, especially from the paparazzi.
Dodi had a plan to avoid the photographers to follow Diana. They would go on a mock-up car to mislead them. They exited through the back door and they had no security with them except their bodyguard and the driver. They were heading to Al-Fayed’s apartment near the Seine.
However, somehow paparazzi noticed Diana was in another car and started following them. When they reached a tunnel, they went at a very high speed that the driver lost control of the car. Diana survived and was taken to the hospital to die later due to blood loss. The rest is history.
The Conspiracy Theories Around the Accident
Diana Was Not Properly Cared For After the Accident
Some have pointed out that Princess Diana died because she was not properly cared for and was immediately taken to the hospital to treat her injuries, however, the Paget Operation concluded that French paramedics did their job right and according to law.
French healthcare establishes that patients must be treated in the place of the accident and later taken to the nearest hospital with the necessary equipment to treat the injuries. That is the reason why Diana was not taken to the nearest hospital to the accident because it didn’t have the right equipment.
The British Secret Service Was Behind the Accident
Many believe that MI6 was behind the accident for many reasons, being one that the car went on a different route; but the London police investigation proved wrong.
According to the conspiracy theory, secret agents blocked the usual exit forcing the driver to take the tunnel in which the accident happened, where one or more lights (the testimonies fail to agree on the number of cars or motorcycles present at the time) dazzled the driver and made him lose control. However, the investigation concluded that due to the speed at which the car was going, it was unlikely that he had considered taking the exit and was rather following his planned route.
Diana Knew She Was Going to Die Soon
Due to the constant harassment from the press, Diana’s mental health was not in a good state and she started to experience delusions of persecution and instability.
In a letter she wrote to her friend and butler Paul Burrell, she explained how fragile she was feeling. “I wish someone would hold me and encourage me to stay strong and upbeat. This particular phase of my life is the most dangerous – they are planning an “accident” in a car, brake failure, and serious head injuries to clear the way for him to get married,” Diana wrote; however, Burrell claims it was just an anxiety attack and that he knew nothing about the alleged accident.
Diana Was an Obstacle for Charles and Camilla
Maybe the craziest conspiracy but the one that resonates the most with Diana’s followers, who truly believe The Firm needed to get rid of Diana to let Charles marry Camilla. However, to date, there has been no indication that the accident was actually planned, let alone anything linking Queen Elizabeth II or Prince Charles.
Diana Was Pregnant at the Time of Her Death
One of the theories suggests that the Princess of Wales was pregnant at the time of the accident and that they tried to cover up the news by embalming Diana’s body almost immediately. However, the report indicates that this decision was made because the doctors concluded that the injuries caused by the accident left no doubt as to the cause of death, so they proceeded with embalming instead of an autopsy.
