Princess Diana Died In A Car Accident On Today's History, August 31, 1997

Wreath for the late Princess Diana (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

JAKARTA - Shortly after midnight on August 31, 1997, Princess Diana was involved in a tragic accident in Paris, France. As a result of the accident, she died at the age of 36 years. Princess Diana's spouse, Egyptian-born socialite, Dodi al-Fayed, and their driver Henri Paul, also died in the accident.

Citing History, Princess Diana is one of the most popular public figures in the world. Her death invited an outpouring of great sadness. Mourners began visiting Kensington Palace and handing out bouquets of flowers. The pile of flowers reaches about 9 meters from the palace gate.

Diana and Dodi were going on vacation to the French Riviera, they both arrived in Paris earlier the day before. They left the Ritz Paris Hotel just after midnight and intended to go to Dodi al-Fayed's apartment on Rue Arsène Houssaye.

As soon as they exited the hotel, a mob of paparazzi on motorbikes started aggressively following their car. About three minutes later, the driver lost control and hit a pillar at the entrance to the Pont de l'Alma tunnel.

Dodi and the driver were pronounced dead on the spot. Diana was taken to the Pitié-Salpêtrière hospital and pronounced dead at 6:00 a.m. Diana's ex-husband, Prince Charles, as well as her sister and other members of the Royal Family, arrived in Paris that morning. Diana's body was then taken to London.

Diana's funeral in London, on September 6, 1997, was watched by more than 2 billion people. She left behind her two sons, Prince William, who was 15 at the time, and Prince Harry, who was 12.

Princess Diana was born on July 1, 1961, to Edward John Spencer and Frances. At the time of her birth, Diana's father held the title of Viscount Althorp. Her parents divorced in 1969 when Diana was eight years old and her father won sole custody.

Princess Diana (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Diana spent most of her youth attending a prestigious boarding school. She became acquainted with Prince Charles after moving to London to live and work in 1978. In the capital, she initially worked as a nanny before taking up work as a kindergarten teacher at the Young England School.

Prince Charles and Diana were finally dating and a few years later married in St. Cathedral. Paul in London, to be exact on July 29, 1981. With the marriage, Diana was awarded the title Princess of Wales, because Charles's official royal title is Prince of Wales.

Conspiracy theory

Princess Diana's death was a media sensation. For some, what happened that night was not just a tragic accident. Rather, it was the result of some kind of conspiracy, carried out secretly by British state agents or something else, they claimed.

Many reports, investigations, and experts agree with the official report, that Diana was in a car driven by a drunken man, and another failure made the tragedy possible. But others still believe that something more secret and deliberate happened that night.

Citing the Independent, the first conspiracy theory is that the car driver, Henri Paul, deliberately caused the accident. Henri Paul is head of security at the Ritz Paris Hotel. But conspiracy theorists believe he was paid for by at least one of the organizations: the security services in France or Britain, or even both.

Princess Diana crash site (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

People also cast doubt on claims that Paul was drunk and caused an accident. Their theory is that Paul's body was exchanged for someone else's, so the toxicology results showed Paul was drunk.

Another theory is that there were bright flashes and vehicles as Princess Diana and Dodi's car headed down the tunnel. The flash caused the accident. But the problem is that many people report different flashes, at different times, from different places. There were lots of flashes that night from photographers following cars and lights from other vehicles.

Some people also believe in the conspiracy theory that Princess Diana was pregnant. The theory comes from Dodi al-Fayed's father, Mohamed al-Fayed. According to him, the news that Princess Diana was pregnant with her son was unpleasant for Britain. During a holiday in France a few weeks earlier, several newspapers had speculated that Princess Diana was pregnant and that speculation was supported by mysterious comments Diana made about the "big surprise."

But there was no sign of pregnancy during the post-mortem examination. Further tests on Princess Diana's blood also revealed no signs of pregnancy. There is also no evidence that Princess Diana suspected she was pregnant. Many of Princess Diana's close friends said that her menstrual cycle was normal, Princess Diana used contraception, and even Princess Diana did not mention the possibility of pregnancy to her confidants.

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