Princess Diana was 20 when she married the now-King of the United Kingdom, Charles III. Throughout her tumultuous relationship with him and after her divorce and death, she remains a significant part of the British royal family’s history and legacy.
Mother to Prince William and Prince Harry, Diana remains an icon, known for her immense popularity and goodwill ventures. While her life and legacy have been encapsulated in several books, series, and movies, her tragic death still remains riddled with controversies and false claims. So, here is how the ‘People’s Princess’ lost her life at the age of 36.
How Did Princess Diana Lose Her Life?
It has been years since the princess lost her life in a tragic car accident, but she remains as relevant as ever even now. Kept alive in people’s memory and the numerous charitable and goodwill work she did, Princess Diana may have met her end in 1997, but she has yet to meet her end in the world.
It was on August 30, 1997, that her car, carrying her, partner Dodi Al Fayed, driver, and bodyguard, crashed brutally in the Pont de I’Alma tunnel in Paris after being chased by dozens of paparazzi. While the driver, Henri Paul, and Al Fayed died instantly, Diana succumbed to her injuries hours later, when the doctors at La Pitie-Salpetriere hospital failed to revive her (via Reuters).
Driving at the speed of 121 mph, it was the inebriated state of Paul that was attributed as the cause of Princess Diana’s accident and death in 1999 (via Telegraph). After an inquest lasting several years, the cause of death was jointly attributed to grossly negligent driving as well as to the paparazzi in 2008 (via BBC).
And while Mohamed Al Fayed, father of Dodi Al Fayed had previously alleged that the deaths of the princess and his son were a conspiracy, he too dropped his campaign after 10 years (via BBC). Pronounced dead at 4 a.m. on August 31, 1997, her last words were apparently My God, what has happened? (via Independent).
Princess Diana’s death, although proved not a conspiracy or an attempted murder, still continues to be looked upon as that, especially since it took place merely a year after her divorce from Prince Charles (see CBC)
Why Did Prince Charles And Princess Diana Divorce?
Princess Diana and Prince Charles‘s story is one for the history books. Not because it was a picture-perfect romance but because of their tumultuous time together, which despite their attempts to conceal it, always ended up out in the open one way or the other.
Meeting for the first time in 1977, it took them 3 years to start dating. In the numerous documentaries, books, series, and movies, their relationship has always been regarded as more forced due to royal obligations rather than being forged by mutual love. Although the first few years apparently looked well, it was in 1986 that the rumors of their marriage being broken started circulating.
Both later accepted to have been unfaithful in the last years of their marriage, having affairs with other people. Later in 1992, Diana revealed the details of her troubled marriage with Prince Charles in the book, Diana: Her True Story—in Her Own Words.
And in December of the same year, they went their separate ways, ultimately agreeing to divorce in 1996 after accepting infidelity and revealing their other relationships. By August 1966, their divorce was finalized (via CNN). While Prince Charles did break royal protocol by showing up at his ex-wife’s funeral dressed in a blue shirt she loved, their time and relationship will forever continue to haunt the legacy of the now-King Charles.
