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In the driving seat there was Henri Paul, on his side the other bodyguard of Dodi, Trevor Rees-Jones, the only one who, as they say, fastened his seat-belt and got out of the terrible car crash alive. Dodi was sitting behind the driver and Diana was on his right side.
An official at Ritz supposedly stated that the driver was clearly excited and drunk; others, including the only survivor of the crash, said he was completely sober; later blood test confirmed the alcohol level in his blood was three times higher than the allowed limit.
CHAPTER 1
THE LAST DAYS OF DIANA'S LIFE
We have highlighted the way how many newspapers and illustrated news magazines report a specific event using different times, often contrasting with each other. With great care and precision, we have tried to check, calculate and establish the exact time line of each date and the definite time of each single event.
It's Saturday afternoon of August 30, 1997, sitting in the open-air on the deck of the yacht Jonikal, after eating a rich English breakfast under the Italian morning sun, Diana, as usual, phone calls her sons and her Public Relations agents, warning them about her next stop in Paris.
After that, around midday, the couple Dodi-Diana approaches the nearby island of Sardinia, where, waiting for them, a white Mercedes will drive them from the port to the airport of Olbia. It's 1:50 pm and the couple is about to leave the airport of Olbia on board of Dodi's father, Mohamed Al-Fayed, private jet. The powerful plane is a âGulfstream 4â and carries the colours of Harrods, their destination is Paris, airport of Le Bourget.
After the flight attendants, Princess D. is the first to enter the plane, Dodi will get on right after and then their two bodyguards Trevor Rees-Jones and Kez Wingfield, the pilots will be last. All the passengers are now on board of the airplane, after 90 minutes of flight, the jet will land at Le Bourget in Paris. There, to welcome them, they will find Henri Paul, Deputy Chief of Al-Fayed's security, and another body-guard: Philippe Dourneau. Later, Wingfield will drive an armoured Mercedes limousine with darkened windows, while Dourneau (Dodi's habitual driver) will follow on a Range Rover provided with first aid material, to transport the luggage.
THE LAST HOURS OF A PRINCESS
The countdown to the last 12 hours, before the end of the Princess of smile has already begun. While Dodi and Diana were flying towards the airport of Paris, Dodi received a phone call by Hotel Ritz body-guards concerning the presence of some members of the French Authorities, awaiting for them at the airport of Paris, which were willing to offer the couple an official escort.
According to bystanders, Dodi persuaded Diana to reject the protection offered by the national police agents, the SPHP, to rely on Al-Fayed's (his father) Security guards. (SPHP: Service de protection des hautes personnalités) (VIP PS: Important Person Protection Service â Protection, although the President of the French Republic is protected by both the Gendarmerie & the National Police).
French National Gendarmerie (Gendarmerie nationale) is a police force with military status under the control of the French Ministry of Defence during military operations, while during normal police operations it responds to the Ministry of the Interior.
The issue of âCriminal Magazineâ of Saturday, July 5, 2008 says: âDiana's protection, as we have seen, was assigned to Al-Fayed's body guards and not to Paris police VIP SPHP. SPHP offered their escort many times, but Dodi refusedâ (www.1922lasegretissima.com).
1997-2007 Anniversary Edition, (The Great Heroes - N°5) LADY DIANA on page 31 says: âThe protection of Diana is therefore assigned to Al-Fayed's body guards and not to SPHP, the service that Paris police reserves to the most important personalities, which Dodi mistrustsâ.
In the book Lady died by Francis Gillery, L' Ippocampo publishing, on page 302 it is written: "The French authorities, even if they have rigidly denied it, were aware of the arrival of Harrods owner's Gulfstream IV at Bourget on August 30, 1997, with Diana on board". The presence of a car and motorcyclists of the national police at the landing of Princess Diana's airplane is attested by the photos of the few paparazzi present there".
Regarding the presence of Diana in Paris, according to the official protocol and to the orders previously received from the Royal Family and the British government: "During a 'private vacation' the divorced Princess of Wales was not required, and in that circumstance nor even dutiful, to ask permission or to notify of her arrival the French authorities or the British Embassy based in Paris".
It should be noted what some paparazzi who were at the airport that afternoon (two of these are Fabrice Chassery and James Andanson) have referred and photographed: «At about 3:20 pm of that Saturday, August 30, 1997, on the runway of Paris airport there were also some limousines and several motorcycles of the French police (the SPHP). Furthermore there was also the Central Body of the Paris police, the British Embassy, the French authorities and other authorities for the precautionary protection in favour of the diplomatic corps».
After the accident, some members of the French authorities asserted to reporters that: «They never knew that the Princess was in Paris that Saturday». Although, even if some representatives of said authorities have denied it resolutely, the pictures taken on location by paparazzi (seized by the police and therefore never published) and the testimonies of at least three body guards at Ritz (Trevor Rees-Jones, Kez Wingfield e Philippe Dourneau) should be more than clear evidence of their presence at the Paris airport Le Bourget.
This would demonstrate that some of the diplomatic authorities allegedly lied since they were very well aware of the arrival of Ritz owner's Gulfstream 4, carrying Diana. One of the main key parts needed to know about the secret of Lady Diana's death, could be just within the lines above mentioned.
Another important element to discover a subsequent fragment of the truth, still mysterious, may lie in knowing: On behalf of who those influential members were speaking when they declared the sentence, «French authorities have asserted that they never knew that on Saturday, August 30, 1997 Princess Diana was in Paris». According to the media, among those that heard or declared the above stated phrase there were:
1) the British Ambassador in Paris: Sir Michael Jay;
2) the French Interior Minister: Jean-Pierre Chevènement;
3) the Commissioner and Chief of Paris Police: Philippe Massoni.
As we will see below, these are the first three characters that would have had to worry about the reason why the ambulance, which was carrying Diana after the accident, was delayed for too long under the Alma tunnel, instead of urgently leaving for the closest hospital near the place of the crash. It is also important to consider that Philippe Massoni and Jean-Pierre Chevènement were among the five co-responsible of the first Criminal Investigation, the French one (the Enquête criminelle).
COUNTDOWN
FROM THIS MOMENT ON, PRINCESS DIANA'S LAST DAYS BEGIN
1981 February 24: Charles Windsor and Diana Spencer get engaged.
1981 July 29: Charles and Diana get married.
1982: To her surprise, Diana realizes that her marriage is formed by three people. Charles is the perpetual lover of Camilla Parker Bowles. Despite much effort (seductions and suffering) Diana cannot separate them.
1984: In the year of the birth of Prince Harry, George Smith (one of the Palace wait-staff), claims to have surprised his colleague Michael Fawcett having a homosexual intercourse with Prince Charles Windsor. Smith reports the following to Diana: «Fawcett and Charles are lovers». This scandal, by the way, was mentioned by the newspaper "Mail on Sunday", in December 2002.
1992 December 9: Charles and Diana are officially separated.
1994 June 29: Prince Charles, through the TV channels of BBC, admits that he had committed adultery with Camilla Parker Bowles.
1995 September: Diana meets her new lover: it is the Pakistani heart surgeon Hasnat Khan.
1995 November 20: Diana is interviewed on TV. She talks about her uneasy relationship with the Royal House and her troubled marriage with Charles.
1995 December 14: Diana reveals the news that her husband Charles got their sons' nanny pregnant. Later he paid her to have her get an abortion.
1996 August 28: Charles and Diana are officially divorced.
1996 December: Many tabloids announce the beginning of an alleged love story between Lady Diana and Dodi Al-Fayed.
1997 Spring: End of the loving relationship between Hasnat Khan and Diana.
1997 July 11: Diana and both sons, William and Harry, are guests of the billionaire Mohamed Al-Fayed and spend their holidays in Saint-Tropez, in the Castle Saint-Thérèse. This is a vast estate of the Egyptian magnate.
1997 End of July: The two princes William and Harry return to England, at Highgrove, in the custody of their father Charles. Diana leaves for the holidays with her friend Rosa Monckton.
LADY DIANA'S LIFE IS ABOUT TO END
Let's get into the atmosphere of the last existential and tragic summer vacation to examine the final weeks of the couple Diana and Dodi, during their first and last cruise around the northern coasts of the Mediterranean Sea. Guy Croussy, a writer, British crown specialist and author of the book Les Chagrins du Prince Charles, had a press service which he used to inform many journalists about all movements done by the new couple.
Croussy information included precisely the times of arrival and departure in all the ports where they would have arrived with the Jonika yacht, in the Mediterranean, these are: Saint-Tropez, Saint-Jean Cap Ferrat, Sardinia, Portofino, Cinque Terre, Elba island and others. Furthermore, the information stated: Thursday afternoon, August 28 in Paris, stop at Ritz Hotel, visit to Villa Windsor in the Paris suburb of Bois the Boulogne. Saturday morning August 30 in London.
The following Monday, September 1, together with her former husband Charles, Diana would have taken her son William to the reopening of Eton College, the famous English private school situated in Eton, Berkshire. This is an elitist school founded in 1440 by Henry VI (Stuart) King of England and baptised: âKing's College of Our Lady of Eton Beside Windsorâ.
August 1997 from the 5 to the 20: Diana leaves Saint-Tropez for a charity journey in Bosnia, at âLandmine Survivors Networkâ. Together with her there is Lord Deedes (former manager of âThe Daily Telegraphâ).
1997 August 10: âSunday Mirrorâ publishes the famous picture of the âKISSâ between Diana and Dodi. According to public opinion, this first and only photo should reveal the existing romantic relationship between the couple. This scandalous picture is also the first snapshot showing the Princess in the arms of another man after the marriage with Charles.
From this moment, mass media around the world, promote the feeling that the Princess could be pregnant of a Muslim child, of which Dodi could be the father.
1997 Thursday, August 21: After a visit in the Greek islands, Diana leaves for a quick visit to London, to her apartment in Kensington Palace. She returns to Saint-Tropez the same day.
1997 Sunday, August 24: As written by tabloids: âIn Montecarlo (district of the Principality of Monaco), Dodi invites Diana to the prestigious jewellery of Italian Alberto Repossi in Monaco, and offers the Princes a fabulous ring, called Dis-moi oui. Diana is nonchalant of that gift, but it is not her finger size, Repossi promises to fix it. The ring will be ready for pick up at the store in Paris, Place Vendôme, the following week.
Dodi and Diana are now on board of the yacht Jonikal (owned by Dodi's father, Mohamed Al-Fayed), they set sail leaving the port of Monaco on the French Côte d'Azur, heading to Portofino on the Italian Riviera Ligure. As usual, Diana carries four mobile phones.
1997 Monday, August 25: Chased by numerous paparazzi on a motor boat, Diana and Dodi leave Portofino and head towards the south of the Riviera Ligure. They cross the sea in front of Chiavari and Sestri Levante, in direction of Cinque Terre, then they drop anchor at Porto Venere, just before La Spezia.
1997 Tuesday, August 26: Diana and Dodi spend an entire day on the Tuscany Coast. They pass the archipelago along Capraia Island, and moor the yacht Jonikal at Elba Island.
1997 Wednesday, August 27: Diana and Dodi leave Elba and head to the coast of Sardinia.
1997 Thursday, August 28: Dodi and Diana, still aboard of the magnificent yacht Jonikal, are now in Costa Smeralda in Sardinia, near Olbia. According to the established itinerary, the couple should have left that afternoon for Paris.
1997 Friday, August 29: It is the penultimate day of the Mediterranean cruise on Al-Fayed's yacht. Diana has often called her sons. In a telephone call made to her faithful butler Paul Burrell, Diana asks for advice: «How should I respond if Dodi gives me an engagement ring? My desire to get married is like the desire of having a pimple in the face!». The butler suggests: «You must accept it graciously and with kindness and then you could put it on the ring-finger of your right hand». At this point it is believed that Dodi already mentioned to Diana that it is his desire to make a brief stopover in Paris before returning to London.
Diana promised Harry and William, that on Saturday, August 30 she would have returned home. On the phone William even scolded her and told her about his distress, because he did not want his mother in a relationship with Dodi. Apparently the fifteen year old William had been informed that the Al-Fayed family had a dishonest reputation. It seems that Dodi tried to persuade Diana anyway into accepting his next invitation, explaining that his father Mohamed had bought the large yacht, Jonikal, just to let her spend a dream holiday. In his belief, Dodi supposedly asked her this favour.
At this point, even if Diana was unwilling to follow him, she felt obligated to accept the request of her âpartnerâ. But it seems that, in reality, Dodi was expected in Paris for personal reasons. During that summer of 1997, entire groups of journalists and paparazzi were travelling day and night with their vehicles, motor homes, boats and helicopters following the footsteps of Princess Diana.
Their reports and photographs were sent in real time to the Press Agencies and newspapers from all around the world. A simple picture or an insignificant news about Diana was worth a big amount of money. In the week before the arrival of the Princess in Paris, every newspaper, radio and TV in the world had announced and illustrated with photographs every single movement of Diana, daily.
1997 Saturday, August 30, 1:50 pm: Diana and Dodi are still on board of the yacht Jonikal, in Costa Smeralda, Sardinia, around Olbia. Outdoor, under the warm morning sun, they are sitting on the deck below, enjoying a rich breakfast. Around midday, they head towards the port of the nearby Sardinia island on a motorboat.
They get on a white Mercedes that will take them to the airport Olbia-Costa Smeralda. Later they leave the airport and set off towards Paris with a private airplane owned by Mohamed Al-Flayed, a Gulfstream 4. The modern Jet bears the colours of Harrods. Regarding her arrival in Paris, according to the protocol and the orders received from the Royal House and the British Government, Diana is not obliged to notify any of the authorities Italian, French, English or British Embassy in the city.
1997 Saturday, August 30, 3:20 pm: (Starting from this very moment, for Princess of Wales, Lady Diana Spencer the final countdown begins).
The plane with Diana, Dodi, Trevor Rees-Jones and Kez Wingfield on board, lands to the airport Le Bourget of Paris. They are welcomed by Al-Fayed's Ritz Hotel deputy chief of the security: Henry Paul and Dodi's body guard: Philippe Dourneau.
Besides many paparazzi and secret services agents, on the runway there also were a car and some motorcycles of the national French police. The pictures taken by paparazzi that were present at Diana's arrival at Le Bourget, confirm the presence of the French national police, while they were waiting for the Harrods Jet to land. Dodi convinced Diana to refuse the protection offered by the agents of the police of Paris, SPHP. So the couple preferred relying their safety on their own guards, which were part of the Ritz Hotel security.
1997 Saturday August 30, around 3:50 pm: Dodi and Diana, together with two more bodyguards, get on a Mercedes Benz, limousine, armoured, black, series 600, type Sedan, 12-cylinder, 280-S model with darkened windows, license plate: 405 jvj75 (not the Mercedes of the accident).
Philippe Dourneau is driving, besides him there is Trevor Rees-Jones. The other two agents follow them on a green Range Rover, which is also used to carry the luggage and first aid supplies.
Being spied on and stalked by a small yet annoying group of paparazzi, Dodi decides to speed up the ride and not to stop at Ritz, but to proceed directly to Villa Windsor, property of Al-Fayed. Luggage is brought to Dodi's apartment in Rue Arsène-Houssaye, which is right before the Arch of Triumph, next to Avenue des Champs-Elysées. The intention of the couple is to spend the night in this apartment.
1997 Saturday, August 30, 4:10 pm: The two arrive to one of the residence of the incredibly rich Mohamed Al-Fayed, âVilla Windsorâ. This villa is situated in Bois de Boulogne, a green space of nineteenth century inspiration, located in the heart of Paris, in the south-western area of the city. The lush and luxurious mansion consists of 14 sumptuous nineteenth century rooms.
The whole property is surrounded by a spacious green park, covered by many trees. It is a former mansion that belonged to the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, who moved there in exile in 1953 after being banned from the Royals and the British Government. Diana and Dodi come into this romantic and elegant estate of Al-Fayed and make a brief stop of about ten minutes, then, still accompanied by the increasingly numerous and unpredictable paparazzi, they leave.
1997 Saturday, August 30, 4:35 pm: The couple arrive at Ritz Hotel in Paris. The 31 CCTV working cameras, the 43 present inside and outside of the Ritz, recorded everything in sequence.
At 4:38 pm Diana walks in front of the columns of the foyer of the Ritz to reach the lift, she is wearing a beige suit with pants. While Dodi turns around to show her the road, Diana's pink silky face opens in a spontaneous smile. Diana calmly crosses the lobby, while Dodi grabs her arm. From inside Ritz lift cabin, it is possible to admire one of the last radiant smiles of Lady Diana with her cheerful look, satisfied and cheeky.
From this moment on, the âsmile Princessâ will never appear so calm and happy on photo or camera again. The lift will take the couple to the Presidential chamber, located on the first floor of the luxury hotel. Diana's imperial suite bears the number 102 and it is exposed to the charming Place Vendôme (This suite is one of the largest in the Hotel, in 1997 was given to customers for $ 6,000 a night).
Emad El-Din Mohamed Abdel Moneim Al-Fayed, also known as Dodi, son of the multimillionaire Mohamed Al-Fayed, supposedly promised Diana that in Paris she would have enjoyed the happiness of a festive ceremony, accompanying the gift of one of the rarest and most famous ring in the world: âDis Moi Ouiâ. This gift (among many already given by Dodi) would have been for Diana a last, but joyful event at the end of their Mediterranean cruise.
In Contrast to all this, a sense of irritation will soon replace the attractive charm of Lady Diana. The reason for this spontaneous but obligatory sadness, concerns what will happen after 17:40, in particular after the couple will reach the ground floor at Ritz, and approach a group of business friends of Dodi.
1997 Saturday, August 30, 5:06 pm: Dodi comes down the stairs and together with his bodyguard, Trevor Rees-Jones, exits from the main entrance and heads towards the Italian jeweller Alberto Repossi, whose sumptuous jewellery is situated on Place Vendôme, a few meters from the Ritz (the cameras of the jewellery store recorded everything, although later, after the accident, Trevor Rees-Jones will deny to have been in there on that day). A month earlier, in early August, while being in Montecarlo in a subsidiary of Repossi jewellery store, managed by Alberto's brother, by recommendation of Dodi's father, the couple had chosen a preciously rare and very special ring.
The engagement ring chosen was part of a romantically evocative collection, its name was Dis Moi Oui, that means âTell me Yesâ. «We just need to wrap it well...» Mrs. Angela, wife of Alberto, told Dodi «it will take a couple of minutes». After Alberto Repossi grouped up other precious and beautiful jewellery and after recommending to Dodi to show them to Diana, Dodi said that the âengagementâ ring was going to get withdrawn by his subordinate, he took a handful of the jewels and together with Trevor left the store quickly.
1997 Saturday, August 30, around 5:30 pm: Claude Roulet, Director of Hotel Ritz, ordered by Dodi, enters the Repossi jewellery, Mrs. Angela Repossi still had the famous âengagementâ ring on the finger of her left hand, she took it off and finished the packaging. Then, together with the famous ring for Diana, Roulet also receives other precious jewels selected by Alberto Repossi to show Dodi and Diana, and after that he gets back to the Ritz.
1997 Saturday, August 30, around 5:40 pm: From what has been reported by the Ritz staff, we concluded that: âDodi and Diana are sitting on a luxurious sofa in one of the lounges on the ground floor of the Ritz. They are having a drink, but they are not alone. Gradually they are surrounded by people who show a lot of confidence towards Dodi. Diana is surrounded by some gallant and smiling men, they speak little English and more French language, but not all of them are French, there are also some women.
Diana stays close to Dodi. It seems that some people of the group around the couple are trying to express their desire to spend the evening with Dodi and Diana, but in a place quieter than the Ritz, away from prying eyes. Even if apparently the true reason referred to business and trade negotiations between Dodi and these âgentlemenâ, Diana feels their interest might not be only related to work, orders and deliveries of goods. Suddenly Diana becomes reticent, she continuously interrupts the conversation, implying what is not said.
Diana realizes that Dodi had persuaded her and deceived her, mainly in order to be present at that his appointment with other people. Diana also noticed that these alleged âbusinessmenâ were quite persistent with their decisions, they did not give any choice to Dodi and nor even to her, ignoring her royal rank and her notoriety. Despite the rudeness of the group surrounding her, Diana is persuaded, and the meeting place for the so-called business was established for a little later at the Chez Benoît Restaurant, a bistro on the Rue Saint Martin near the Centre Pompidou and the Hotel de Ville.
1997 Saturday, August 30, 7:00 pm: (From now on the countdown for the couple begins, which in the case of Diana's life will stop completely at 2:00 am). Diana and Dodi leave the Ritz from the main entrance, the bodyguards think the objective is to go dining, even though they are not sure about it and they are unaware of the location anyway.