Death Queue

In the early hours of 31 August 1997, Diana, Princess of Wales, died from injuries sustained in a car crash in the Pont de l'Alma tunnel in Paris, France. Dodi Fayed, Diana's partner, and the chauffeur Henri Paul were both found dead inside the car. Diana's bodyguard, Trevor Rees-Jones, was the only survivor of the crash, albeit seriously injured. The investigation into the crash remained controversial for decades, and many challenged the official reports of the circumstances of Diana's death. In 1999, a French investigation concluded that Paul, who was intoxicated and under the influence of prescription drugs, lost control of the vehicle at high speed. The report held him solely responsible for the crash. Paul was the deputy head of security at the Hôtel Ritz Paris and had earlier confronted paparazzi waiting for Diana and Fayed outside the hotel. Antidepressants and traces of an anti-psychotic found in his blood may have compounded his impairment. In 2008, a British inquest, Operation Paget, returned a verdict of unlawful killing, citing the grossly negligent driving; of both Paul and the pursuing paparazzi. While initial media reports suggested Rees-Jones survived because he was wearing a seat belt, later investigations confirmed that none of the car's occupants were wearing seat belts. Diana was 36 years old at the time of her death. Her death prompted an international outpouring of grief, and her televised funeral was watched by an estimated 2.5 billion people worldwide.