Wednesday, December 14, 2016

The Conspiracy Theories: Princess Diana’s Death by Grace Sauls


Image result for pic of princess diana
When it comes to forbidden romance, family corruption, a death sentence letter, and the MI5, a royal disaster is waiting to happen. These were the very essentials that were involved in Princess Diana’s death. Her death was no ordinary car accident, but many more issues were involved in this case. Although many people have tried to wrap their mind around what they’ve been missing this entire time and what exactly happened that night in Paris, they have not been able to solve why she happened to be in a fatal accident with her boyfriend, Dodi Fayed, soon to be fiancé on August 31, 1997. Since her tragic accident several conspiracy theories have surfaced among them:

1.      The paparazzi caused the driver to have a collision.

2.      It was the driver’s fault, Henri Paul, after being intoxicated.

3.      The MI6 plotted her death. It was the driver’s fault, Henri Paul, after being intoxicated.

Let’s examine Princess Diana, the conspiracy theories of her disappearance, and the likelihood that this car accident was no accident.

Character Analysis:

Princess Diana. What comes to your mind when you hear that name? Do you think of just another royal celebrity or do you see a true kind hearted person who changed Britain’s sight forever? Most believe that she was more than a princess, but a true leader at that. She touched many lives by serving and bringing others together. Diana was very involved with Aids victims at the time and wanted to help as many as she could. She spent countless times in foreign countries, spent many hours in homeless shelters and soup kitchens, and changed people’s ways about their thought on AIDs. (Princess Diana Charity Work) As she said: “HIV does not make people dangerous to know. (1) You can shake their hands and give them hug heaven knows they need it”. (1) When Diana went to tell the Queen that she wanted to ‘get involved’ with Aids in the hope that she could help fund research into the then killer disease, the Queen’s response was distinctly unenthusiastic. (1) ‘Can’t you do something nice?’ she asked.” Internally and externally she was an incredible giving and loving person; she helped those when they needed it most. (1) She also wanted to enlighten her children in this way of helping others. The royal family did not approve this way of upbringing for them, especially the queen. Examples like these have helped change how the UK thought of the royal family. She made time to be more connected with the commoners and helped the royal to also see that they needed to be connected as well. Princess Diana touched many lives and has changed the world’s way of thinking.

Conspiracy Descriptions (Main Idea and Details with Survey Results):

In the mysterious death of Princess Diana, three conspiracy theories have been highlighted. The first theory states that the paparazzi were the cause for the crash. According to my survey results, this conspiracy theory was believed by 70% of the people whom I asked.

On August 31, 1997 Princess Diana was in a terrible car crash in the Pont de l’Ama road tunnel in Paris, France at 12:24 AM. (The Operation Paget…) Diana and planned fiancé Dodi Fayed were staying at the Ritz Hotel while they were in Paris. (1) That night their driver, Henri Paul was instructed to drive a black 1994 Mercedes-Benz S280 in order to elude the paparazzi. (1) At first a vehicle drove from the Ritz’s main entrance to distract a sea of photographers. (1) There had been rumors that there was going to be an announcement of the princess’s engagement. (1)  Diana and Dodi left from the hotel’s back entrance at 12:20 AM. At 12:23 AM, towards the beginning of the tunnel, the driver, Henri Paul, lost control and swerved at an estimated speed of 65mph. (1) This caused the car to swerve to the left of the two-lane carriageway and then crashed into the 13th pillar, supporting the roof of the tunnel. (1) As the driver, the bodyguard, Princess Diana, and Dodi laid in the wrecked car, another paparazzi group who had been following the car reached the car as they snapped pictures. (1) The speed limit of Place de l'Alma is 31mph. (1) Diana’s driver, Henri Paul was driving over twice the speed limit. (1) It has been conspired that the driver was exceeding the speed limit in order to flee the photographers. (1) This is one of the most popular conspiracy theories that has made many people come to the conclusion that this is why the accident occurred.  Seven photographers were charged with manslaughter after they took photos of Diana’s body in the crashed car. (Thomas) (Paparazzi Found Partly Responsible…; Schedule A)



Henri Paul is well-known as the person behind Princess Diana’s death. He worked for the Fayed family for eleven years. (Today) Henri passed his annual’s pilot’s physical examination three days before the crash. (1) This certain test included a certification which reads for any alcohol problems, and includes a liver and blood test. (1) This kind of test would have shown if he had any kind of alcohol problems. (1) However, on the night of the accident it was terrified that he was under the influence of alcohol. (Thomas) He was also the Deputy Head of Security at the hotel where Diana and Dodi were staying. (1) On the night of the accident he wasn’t due to be on duty, but returned to the hotel just to drive the couple to their destination point. (1) After the accident, samples of Henri Paul’s blood were drawn. (1) It has been confirmed that the blood drawn from him was not actually his, but blood of a suicide victim. (1) “It is widely accepted that Paul didn't draw a breath after the crash, and the level of carbon monoxide found would have rendered him unable to drive so it wasn't there before the crash” (1). According to Lord Stevens he had met with Paul’s parents in 2006 and assured them that their son had only had two drinks that night and was therefore, was not drunk. (1) However the story changed again. (1) A little over a month later official news came out saying that Paul was three times over the drunk-drive limit. (1) It was then recorded as the official reason for the car accident which lay on Henri Paul’s hands. (1)

The next most likely cause for Princess Diana’s death was that the MI6 or Secret Intelligence Service was behind her death. The MI6 is the British intelligence agency. (The Operation Paget) They forward all of their foreign intelligence to the British government. (1) They are the equivalent of the Secret Service for the royal family. Here are a few sources to enlighten this conspiracy theory: “There is CCTV footage of Paul hovering outside the rear entrance of the hotel on the night of the crash, waving to a photographer. (Thomas) You can then see one of the paps raise his camera in response, which if you take into account the evidence of Richard Tomlinson that Paul was being paid by MI6 and that there was an MI6 plant in the pap pack, is incredibly suspicious.”(1) A former soldier identified only as 'Soldier N' claimed that MI6 had help from the military service in engineering the crash. (1) The former British special forces sniper told both his former wife and in-laws that the SAS (British Special Air Service) commando unit was behind the deaths and also the cover up.(1) Author Alan Power wrote a book, The Princess Diana Conspiracy with the aid of another former SAS soldier.(1) In the book he confirms that Diana was killed by MI6 with military aid.(1)  He claims the existence of the secret assassination squad called "The Increment Team", and corroborates Tomlinson's assertions.”(1)

Though all of these conspiracy theories seem to be real, what if the royal family was behind her death? Princess Diana was always shunned by the royal family, especially by the queen. Mostly the queen did not agree with her point of views of how she raised William and Harry. Diana wanted them to witness a normal life, so she would take them to places like McDonald’s, water parks, or Marks and Spencer on Kensington (”My Mother Diana”). The boys always enjoyed these times. Diana also wanted to show William another sign of life far away from royal palaces. Ken Wharfe, Diana’s Personal Protection Officer (1986-1993) remembers these moments. (1)

“I remember her taking William early in the morning away from the glare of cameras to The Passage Day Center to hand out clothing, to hand out food, and so forth. (1) I remember William handing out tea and a coffee or something, and this one guy came up having spent one night on the street and said, ‘Give me that you little. I'm not interested in you’. (1) And he knew exactly who it was. (1) And this was quite an opening for William. (1) And I remember Diana saying, ‘You know William this is what happens, not everybody likes us.’(1) This was part of Diana's education, she wanted him to see what other people did.” (1)



 The Queen of England did not agree with this kind of upbringing and wanted William and Henry to be raised like “royalty”.  In the Queen’s opinion, she did not want to bring any more disgrace to the family by having her grandson, as the future king of England, to have a Muslim stepfather. Though Princess Diana was divorced to Prince Charles she was still tied with the family since she shared Charles’ children.
Image result for pic of princess diana
            “Dodi's father, Mohamed Al Fayed alleges that Diana was pregnant at the time of the accident. He claims that Diana broke this news to him in a phone call on August 31” (Thomas). Could this explain why the MI6 was behind her death? This would have prevented the royal family from any shame and no blood would be on their hands by having their “Secret Service” on their side. So what do you think? Could it have been that the royal family hired the MI6 to do their dirty work? Was it the chase of the paparazzi? Or could it have been Henri Paul? It has been almost two decades since Diana’s death and still there is no hard evidence of what or who is guilty, but it can only make us wonder.         



Works Cited:

Dampier, Philip Armstrong, director. “My Mother Diana.” YouTube, 25 July 2011, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tJzsTXHMts



Metropolitan Police. The Operation Paget Inquiry Report into the Allegation of Conspiracy to Murder. 2008, http://web.archive.org/web/20100704230302/http://www.met.police.uk/news/docs/OperationPagetReport.pdf



“Princess Diana Charity Work”. Biography Online, 2016, Biography Online Inc., 2016,




Thomas, Helen. “The Princess Diana Death Conspiracy.” Popdust, 2016 Popdust Inc., 12 Aug. 2016, www.popdust.com/conspiracy-theory-thursdaythe-princess-diana-death-conspiracy-1891804632.html.



“Timeline: How Diana Died.” BBC News, BBC, 14 Dec. 2006, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6217366.stm



“Today- Reports Archive.” BBC- Radio 4, 3 Oct. 2014, www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/today/reports/archive/international/henripaul.shtml.



Vatu, Gabriela. “6 Conspiracy Theories About Princess Diana’s Death.” Insider Monkey, Koala Guide LLC., 15 Dec. 2015, www.insidermonkey.com/blog/6-conspiracy-theories-about-princess-dianas-death-402283/2/

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