Wednesday, December 7, 2016

Princess Diana by Jasmine Arroyo


     On August 31, 1997, Diana the Princess of Whales died in a tragic car crash at the age of thirty-six. Others involved in the crash were Dodi Fayed her boyfriend, Henri Paul her driver, and Trevor Rees-Jones her body guard. Trevor was the only survivor. Princess Diana and Dodi
Fayed had been fleeing the Ritz Hotel in attempt to escape the paparazzi when the horrific crash occurred. Over time many theories have been made about how the crash occurred with some of the most popular being:
1.      Did the British intelligence services kill the princess?
2.      Did British Royalty orchestrate the murder?
3.      Was Paul, her driver, drunk and driving too fast?
     Now, we will view the conspiracy theories surrounding Princess Diana’s death, with the most notorious being British royalty assassinating Diana.
Character Analysis
     Diana, Princess of Whales, was known for her unique personality and stunning looks. With her light blue eyes, short blond hair, and caring personality, Diana was a perfect wife and princess. However, “problems between the royal couple surfaced just a few years after the wedding” (“Princess Diana Biography”). They ended up officially divorcing on August 28th 1996. However, Diana a public icon was called the “people’s princess” (1), and continued with her charity work. Diana now also had a freedom she did not have while being married to Prince Charles. She began to become more charismatic and open to the public. 
Diana was unique because she was the first woman to divorce Prince Charles without letting the Queen know first (“Princess Diana Biography”). Diana had announced her divorce to the public and then informed the Queen of her decision.
Diana also helped many charities raise money, Diana was a strong supporter of many charities and worked to help the homeless, people living with HIV and AIDS and children in need” (“Princess Diana Biography”). This was extraordinary during her time because many people believed that “AIDS or HIV could be contracted through casual contact” (Oxford). That would result in themselves being infected. Diana helped to educate people about AIDS and HIV and brought world recognition of the problem and the need to find a solution for the diseases. Diana also worked with Hazardous Area Life-support Organization (HALO) Trust that “visited landmine survivors in hospitals, toured de-mining projects, and attended mine awareness education classes about the dangers of mines immediately surrounding homes and villages in Africa” (“Princess of Wales Diana Biography”).
Diana was known for her exquisite attire. Diana was a “fashion icon and role model for women and young girls” (Neel). Diana was featured in many fashion magazines for her sense of style, Vogue has even mentioned Diana as “a true fashion icon” (4, see attachment 1). 
An internal conflict that Diana faced during her life was bulimia (Morris). Diana had announced this to the public. She said she was sick because of the comments people would make about her, and the emotions she had during her divorce (3). When her marriage started to crumble, Diana said “food became the answer to the emptiness she felt” (Oxford). Diana encouraged many others that suffered from eating disorders to speak up and receive help. The sudden flood of people convinced by Diana to seek help from professionals was called the “Diana Effect” (5).
This internal conflict had started external problems that concerned Diana’s divorce from Prince Charles. There were people who took Diana’s side in the divorce and others took Charles’. Fans of Charles said that Diana was “self-absorbed and only concerned about money and fashion” (Morris).  Almost daily, Diana would have to hear about her divorce and of people pointing fingers and blaming either herself or Charles for the cause of the divorce. So much attention and back lash from the media and society took a toll on Diana.
An additional internal conflict Diana had was trying to find herself. During her early marriage to Charles Diana had to have approval for many things, such as clothing choice, what type of volunteer work she did, and anything concerning the media. This constant need of approval restricted Diana. Because of this, Diana was not able to express herself.
There were also external problems, such as the paparazzi, magazines, and television shows.  People would make comments “on TV and in magazines about her “pudgy” appearance” (5) this caused Diana to become insecure and unsure of herself.
In conclusion, Diana was known for being kind, caring and beautiful throughout her life. Diana had faced many tough times in her life but was able to endure and face every obstacle. Because of Diana’s wonderful personality years after her untimely death, she is still known to be the “people’s princess” (1) and forever will be.
Conspiracy Theories 
There are three popular conspiracy theories concerning the tragic death of Diana, Princess of Wales. The three conspiracy theories being that: the British Secret Service orchestrated Diana’s death, or that the Royal family initiated assassinated Diana, finally the last being that Diana’s driver was intoxicated while speeding and lost control of the car.
            The first conspiracy theory suggests that the British Secret Service, MI6, killed Diana ("Princess Diana Death Conspiracy"). Allegedly, the reason MI6 killed Diana was ‘fear of Diana's possible conversion to Islam because of Dodi being a Muslim, and the implication on the Church and State. If the two Princes, William and Harry, were to follow their mother's lead this was considered a threat to the government (“Diana, Princess of Wales”). Eyewitness “Francois Levistre” gave supporting evidence to MI6 being the culprit claiming that after the crash, which was caused by bright white light, he saw “the motorcycle passenger got off, looked inside the crumpled vehicle and made an “X” hand gesture to the bike's driver before they sped off” (3). This sign X is: the military signal for "mission accomplished" (3). This suggests foul play was used to cause the crash and that an assassin checked to see if the intended targets were killed. There was no captured footage from video surveillance cameras around the crash, which only added to the suspicions of government involvement in the crime.
            In the second theory, the Royal family is accused of the committing the crime. The reasoning behind this conspiracy theory is that Diana was deliberately killed to “prevent her from marrying Dodi Fayed, and bearing his child—a step sibling to a future king” ("Princess Diana Death Conspiracy"). If Diana were to have children with Dodi, her fiancé, the children’s bloodline would give them a decent claim to the throne. This would be considered a public embarrassment to the throne and a threat to the royal bloodline, so the monarch could not allow this to happen. Dodi’s father, Mohamed Al Fayed, claimed that “Diana was pregnant at the time of the accident” and had informed him shortly before the accident occurred (1). After Diana’s death, the Queen failed to appropriately acknowledge Diana’s death. The Queen did not raise the flag in front of Buckingham Palace to half-mast and did not give a statement on the princesses’ death (1) (attachment 2). There was also a letter written by Diana to her butler that showed even Diana was suspicious of the royal family trying to kill her. In the letter, Diana wrote "This particular phase in my life is the most dangerous. My husband is planning 'an accident' in my car, brake failure and serious head injury" the exact details in this letter cannot just be a coincidence ("Princess Diana Death Conspiracy") (See attachment 3). This letter only added to the proof of the royal family killing Diana.
            In the last theory, Henri Paul, the driver during the crash, is believed to be the cause of Diana’s death. Henri is accused of speeding while drunk, which caused him to lose control of the car and crash. According to blood test done, Henri’s alcohol blood content was equivalent to “10 glasses of wine or nine hefty shots of whiskey in his system three times the French blood-alcohol limit” ("Princess Diana's Driver…”). Eyewitnesses also reported seeing and hearing Henri before the crash yelling “you won't catch us", this strange and erratic behavior only adds to suspicion (3) (See attachment 3). After investigators had access to the scene of the crime, they reported that “they found the speedometer frozen at 196 kilometers per hour or 121 mph” proving that Henri was going well over the speed limit (3). This provided substantial evidence to Henri being the cause of the crash.
            Although Diana’s death is still legally considered an accident, most people believe her death was framed to appear as an accident after she was assassinated. The most popular theory is that the royal family killed Diana because of the threat she posed to the crown by bearing children to a new fiancé, Dodi. To add to suspicion of Diana being assassinated, there is no solid evidence of how the car crash occurred although there were many cameras and press near the car and crash site and through investigations ("Princess Diana Death Conspiracy").
            A survey of twenty people concluded that 75% of people believe that the British royal family killed Diana because of the threat Diana’s new engagement posed to the royal family. The actions of the royal family, especially the Queen’s actions, add to suspicions of the royal family being the culprit behind Diana’s death.
            Nineteen years later, Diana, Princess of Wales, horrific death is still considered an accident, and the case remains closed.
On August 31, 1997, Diana the Princess of Whales died in a tragic car crash. After this three popular conspiracy theories developed, which included:
1.      Did the British intelligence services kill the princess?
2.      Did British Royalty orchestrate the murder?
3.      Was Paul, her driver, drunk and driving too fast?
However, Diana’s death was ruled an accident despite the excessive amount of evidence found leading people to believe the royal family killed Diana. Supposedly, there is not enough evidence to charge anyone with the crime of killing Diana.



Works Cited



“Princess Diana Biography”. Bio.com, A&E Networks Television, 20 Aug.            2015, http://www.biography.com/people/princess-diana-9273782. 
“Princess of Wales Diana Biography”. Encyclopedia of World Biography, World   Biographer, 9 Oct. 2005, http://www.notablebiographies.com/de-du/diana-       princess-of-wales.html. 
Daily News. "Princess Diana's Driver Was Drunk When She Died in 1997." NY Daily News. Daily News, 31 Aug. 2015. Web. 20 Nov. 2016.
Morris, Kelly, and Tabitha Farrar. “Bulimia: The Princess Diana Eating Disorder.” RSS     20, Mirror Mirror Eating Disorders, 9 Apr. 2007, http://www.mirror-     mirror.org/princess-diana-eating-disorder.htm. 
Neel, Julia. “Style File - Diana, Princess of Wales.” British Vogue, Vogue, 15 Apr.             2011, http://www.vogue.co.uk/gallery/style-file-diana-princess-of-wales
Net, London. "Diana, Princess of Wales: Did MI6 Kill the Princess?" Did MI6 Kill the Princess? LondonNet, 24 Sept. 2012. Web. 20 Nov. 2016.
Oxford, Tejvan Pettinger. “Princess Diana Biography •.” Biography Online, Princess         Diana Biography, 1   June 2006, http://www.biographyonline.net/people/biography_princess_diana.htm l.
"Princess Diana Death Conspiracy." Conspiracy Theory Thursday. Popdust, 12 Aug. 2016. Web. 20 Nov. 2016.

 

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