Lady di biography. The real Princess Diana: sensational facts from her life. Desired heirs William and Harry

In childhood, the life of the future Lady Diana was more like a fairy tale: Diana spent all the years before her marriage in Sendrigem, the Spencer-Fermoy family castle. Her parents were Viscount and Viscountess Aldtrop, Edward and Francis Spencer.

But only outwardly such a childhood could be envied. When Diana was only six years old, her parents realized that they could no longer live together, this was followed by a painful and so ignoble for the whole family process of divorce. Father and mother were more concerned with their differences than with the education of their children; most often there were nannies nearby. All this together was perceived by Diana, as well as her brothers and sisters, with inexpressible bitterness.

With such experiences, Diana's school years began, but later she showed herself as a keen girl - she was engaged in dancing, sports, and drawing. At the age of 16, Diana first met Prince Charles, who at that time was courting Sarah Spencer, her older sister.

Lady Diana's personal life

With the onset of adulthood, Diana received an apartment in London from her father, in which she settled for an adult independent life. She worked as a kindergarten teacher, a nanny and even an apartment cleaner.

In November 1979, Diana was invited to hunt with representatives of the royal family, where Prince Charles paid special attention to her - it was then that she became his chosen one.

In February 1981, the prince made an offer to Lady Diana, which, as you might guess, was accepted.

On July 29, 1981, the wedding took place, which is rightfully considered the wedding of the century: at a ceremony in St. Paul's Cathedral, Lady Diana became a member of the royal family and the lawful wife of Prince Charles. The marriage was happy at first, in 1982 Princess Diana gave birth, two years later she was born.

By 1990, disagreements began in the relationship between Diana and Charles - the princess was surrounded by popular love, which Charles did not use on such a scale. He, in turn, resumed a relationship with his longtime and secret love, Camilla Parker-Bowles, which in the following years led to erratic romances in Diana's personal life.

Since 1992, the bonds of marriage hardly connected Diana and Charles - they officially began to live separately. In 1995, a divorce followed, after which Diana did not lose the title of Princess of Wales.

After Diana's death, journalists gained access to her personal video diaries, in which Diana complains about the unbearable situation of her deceived wife. Dirty evidence of her husband's infidelities leaked into the press every now and then: transcripts of slippery telephone conversations, photos of paparazzi. However, the prince got away with his treachery.

Throughout her life, Lady Diana struggled with a hereditary disease - bulimia (an eating disorder), and against the backdrop of nervous experiences and stress, it was torture to restrain herself.

Princess Di's Activities

After the divorce, Diana seriously took up charity work, and she really managed to change the world for the better. She directed her efforts to the fight against AIDS, cancer, turned her help to children with heart defects. Her charity work was so versatile that Diana was even able to raise the issue of the use of anti-personnel mines and their dangers. Diana could respond to any request for help and often answered letters from ordinary people who told her about their troubles.

But the selfless desire to help could not change her own fate - on August 31, 1997, together with her new lover, the son of the Egyptian billionaire Dodi al-Fayed, Diana ended up in Paris, where they both had a car accident while driving through the Alma tunnel. According to the official version, Diana's driver was unable to taxi out of a steep turn in the tunnel, escaping from the paparazzi chase.

The princess died already in the hospital. Since after the divorce, Diana ceased to be part of the royal family, she was not supposed to mourn and say goodbye.

True, the reasons were rather subjective. Prince Charles' mother, Queen Elizabeth, really disliked her daughter-in-law for her spontaneity and unwillingness to put up with her position in the palace when Diana filed for divorce.

However, ignoring the death of Diana caused popular anger. A crowd of people wishing to say goodbye to their beloved held out for several days near Buckingham Palace, demanding the flags be lowered to half-mast as a sign of a national tragedy.

, "Queen of Hearts", "Queen of Hearts" from the English Queen of Hearts. She certainly deserved the love of not only the British, but the whole world. Her sad story won many hearts. You can think about Diana, in general, as you like, you can deify her, she can be reduced from a pedestal to another popular, but empty person. But Diana undoubtedly took her place in the history of both her country and this world, and, undoubtedly, among the positive characters. No wonder she is one of the three most famous Englishmen in the world. Queen of hearts. One can argue about many things, but Diana was actually a good mother, and she really did charity work from the bottom of her heart, she knew how to help others. It is a pity that I could not help myself, to deal with my fate. And be colder, as befits a person.

Princess Diana - biography.

Diana was born on July 1, 1961 in Sandringham, Norfolk. Her father John Spencer is Viscount Althorp. Diana also had royal blood in her veins through the illegitimate sons of King Charles II and the illegitimate daughter of his brother and successor, King James II. Lady Diana will become only in 1975 after the death of her grandfather, it is from that time that Diana's father will receive the title of count, and Diana will become a lady.

Princess Diana spent her childhood at Sandringham, where she received her primary education at home. Then she went to school. But at the age of nine, Diana is sent to Riddlesworth Hall, a boarding school. However, for rich children to study in closed schools of this type was quite in the order of things. Diana was not particularly successful in her studies, although she was hardworking. She was also very kind to her classmates. Like everyone else, she dreamed of a vacation that could finally be spent at home. She spent her holidays alternately with her mother, then with her father, who by that time were already divorced. At age 12, Diana is transferred to West Hill Girls' School in Sevenoaks, Kent. Her sisters, Sarah and Jenny, were already studying there. Jenny was quite happy with this school, but Sarah rebelled against strict rules more than once. Sarah, by the way, was a fairly good athlete, she loved tennis. Diana studied ballet, danced step, but unlike her sister and mother, she played tennis at a fairly low level.
Diana did not pass the final exams at West Hill, she failed in all subjects.

In 1976, Diana's father remarried to Raine, who had previously been the wife of the Earl of Dartmouth, he married her just two months after her divorce. The daughters of John Spencer disliked his new wife, who, moreover, was quite power-hungry and tried in every possible way to command in the house. Following their older sister Sarah, they began to sing along under their breath "Rain, Rain, get out."

In 1977, the future Princess went to study in Switzerland. In the same year, she first saw Charles, who came to Althorp to hunt. The Elpin Wiedemanet Institute in Switzerland was a rather expensive private school that prepared girls for entry into society. They also took a two-year secretarial course and learned how to cook. The main emphasis was on learning French. Speaking a language other than French was strictly forbidden. The very rules that reigned in the Institute were also very strict. Diana didn't like it there. She mostly communicated with Sophie Kimbell, also an Englishwoman, and, of course, in English. She ends up flying home to Chelsea, her mother's apartment in London.

In general, Diana never received at least some kind of education. The only thing she could count on if she was not an aristocrat was unemployment benefits.

In London, Diana soon buys her own apartment, thanks to her share of the family's finances and an inheritance from her American great-grandmother Frances Wark. Her friends live in Diana's apartment - first Sophie Kimbell, whom she met while studying at a Swiss institute, then Caroline Pravd, Diana's friend from West Hill School, who at that time studied at the Royal College of Music. Then two more friends of Diana join them - Ann Bolton, who worked as a secretary, since her friends still had to think about money, and Virginia Pitman, who usually cooked for everyone, and Diana washed the dishes.

Diana also went to work. At one time she worked as a cleaner, then as a health visitor, by the way, while still at West Hill School, the girls had responsibilities to take care of one of the elderly, to participate in charity in an orphanage. Diana worked as a nanny. Among her employers, for example, were Patrick and Mary Robinson, who remembered Diana as an "exceptionally intelligent and excellent with children" nanny.

Lady Di and Prince Charles.

Diana had a dream to become, but the moment for the realization of this dream was lost, and now Diana dreamed of becoming a ballet teacher. By the way, she always loved children and knew how to find a common language with them. And she even managed to work for a while at Mrs. Wakani's dance school. But Diana did not pay enough attention to this work, because, according to Mrs. Vakani, "She loved social life very much." Then Diana worked as a kindergarten teacher. And a prince appeared in her life, Prince Charles, and she did everything to conquer him.

Wedding of Princess Diana and Prince Charles.

On July 29, 1981, their wedding took place. In 1982 and 1984 the sons of Diana and Charles and Harry were born. But their marriage did not become successful and happy. Charles still loved Camilla Parker Bowles. And Diana, realizing that her ideal dreams of an ideal family will never come true, starts an affair with her riding instructor James Hewitt. Since 1992, Charles and Diana lived separately, but divorced only in 1996 at the insistence of the Queen, who was no longer able to endure all these scandals. Indeed, for the Queen, Diana became a constant source of scandals, a woman who cannot behave with dignity, having taken such a high position, a woman who did not reconcile herself to the behavior of her husband, with his betrayals, but she should have. The queen did not like Diana, who spoiled the reputation of her son and the royal family. But Diana was loved by the people, loved by ordinary Englishmen. Diana overshadowed Charles in everything.

In raising her sons, Diana, firstly, tried to protect them from excessive media attention, but at the same time to teach them how to behave in public. And she also gave them the opportunity to feel like quite ordinary children: this is how they received education at school, and not at home, on vacation Diana allowed them to wear sweatpants, jeans and T-shirts, they went to the movies, ate hamburgers and popcorn, and how everyone stood in line for the rides. Diana was actively involved in charity work and soon began to take her sons with her, for example, when visiting hospitals. And, of course, William and Harry loved their mother very much.

After her divorce from Charles, Diana dated film producer Dodi al-Fayed, son of Egyptian billionaire Mohamed al-Fayed. It is with him that she will go on her last journey through the Paris tunnel. They left the hotel, got into the car ... An accident occurred in the tunnel in front of the Alma bridge on the Seine embankment. Dodi al-Fayed and the driver died at the scene. Diana is in the hospital in two hours. The only survivor of this accident was Diana's bodyguard, who was severely injured and later stated that he did not remember any details about this accident.

Diana's death was not without conspiracy theories, the search for the guilty. According to the official version, the driver was guilty, in whose blood the amount of alcohol was significantly exceeded and who was driving at too high a speed. Perhaps they were trying to hide from the paparazzi.

The death of Diana was a tragedy not only for the British, but for many people around the world.

Princess Diana was buried at the Spencer family estate of Althorp, on a secluded island in the middle of a lake.

The tragedy occurred on August 31, 1997, when the car in which Princess Diana was traveling, under mysterious circumstances, crashed into the 13th column of the tunnel under the Alma Bridge. Then everything was attributed to the drunken state of the driver and an unfortunate set of circumstances. Was it really so? A few years later, a list of facts appears that can take a different look at the “accident” on that fateful day.

A surprise for many was a letter from Princess Diana herself, written by her 10 months before her own death, which was published in 2003 by the English newspaper Daily Mirror. Even then, in 1996, the princess was worried that her life was in the “most dangerous phase” and someone (the name was hidden by the newspaper) wants to eliminate Diana by rigging a car accident. Such a turn of events would have opened the way for her former husband, Prince Charles, to remarry. According to Diana, for 15 years she was "driven, terrorized and morally tormented by the British system." “I cried all this time as much as no one in the world cried, but my inner strength did not allow me to give up.” The princess felt something was wrong, as many foresee the approach of trouble, but did she really know about the impending assassination attempt? Was there really a conspiracy against Lady Dee?

One of the first such developments was suggested by billionaire Mohammed Al-Fayed, the father of the deceased along with Diana Dodi Al-Fayed. However, the French intelligence services, investigating the circumstances of the car accident, concluded that the princess's Mercedes with driver Henri Paul collided in the tunnel with the Fiat of one of the paparazzi while trying to overtake. Wanting to dodge the collision, Paul sent the car to the side and crashed into the ill-fated 13th column. From that moment on, questions began to arise, to which there are still no clear answers.
According to Mohammed Al-Fayed, the driver Henri Paul is really involved in the accident, but not quite the way the official version says. The billionaire claims that the presence of a large amount of alcohol in the blood of the driver is the machinations of doctors who are also involved in this case. In addition, according to Mohammed, Paul was an informant for the British intelligence service M6. It also looks strange that the paparazzi James Andanson, the driver of the Fiat Uno, whom Diana's Mercedes collided with, died in 2000 under very strange circumstances: his body was found in the forest in a burned-out car. The police considered it a suicide, but Al-Fayed thinks otherwise.

Interesting is the fact that a few weeks after the death of the photographer, the agency where he worked was attacked. The armed men took the workers hostage and fled only after they took out all the photographic materials and equipment. Later it became known that the day after the accident in the tunnel, the photographer of the same agency, Lionel Cherrolt, was left without equipment and materials. The police did their best to cover up this case, which, in principle, they succeeded.

It also looks strange that the cameras that monitor the route around the clock from the Ritz Hotel, where Diana and Dodi Al-Fayed lived, before leaving the tunnel, turned out to be turned off for some reason during the passage of the Mercedes.

Richard Tomlinson, an officer of the British intelligence service M6, under oath shared some interesting information regarding this case. For example, about the fact that immediately before the death of the princess, two M6 special agents arrived in Paris, and M6 had its own informant in the Ritz Hotel itself. Tomlinson is certain that this informant was none other than driver Henri Paul. Maybe that's why the driver's pocket at the time of the accident was two thousand pounds in cash and one hundred thousand in a bank account with a salary of 23 thousand a year.

The official version of the driver's alcohol intoxication is more than shaky, largely based on circumstantial and inaccurate evidence. For example, after the accident, the body of the driver lay in the sun for a long time in very hot weather instead of being placed in a refrigerator. In the heat, the blood "fermented" rather quickly, after which it was not possible to distinguish the drunk alcohol from the alcohol produced as a result of changes in the body. The second "irrefutable evidence" of the driver's alcoholism is that he was taking the drug tiapride, which is often prescribed for alcoholics. However, tiapride is also used as a hypnotic and sedative. It was precisely the calming effect after the break with his family that Henri Paul could achieve!

An autopsy on the driver showed no signs of alcoholism in his liver, and immediately before the crash, Paul underwent a full medical examination to renew his pilot's license. However, the sources of Mohammed Al-Fayed claim that before the accident, carbon monoxide was found in the blood of Henri Paul, which can bring a person out of balance in life. How did it get into the driver's body and, most importantly, who benefited from it? Surely the French secret services know something on this issue, but so far they are in no hurry to share information.

A bright flashing light, described by several witnesses, could also help the tragedy that had unfolded. Brenda Wills and Francoise Levistre have been talking about this for a long time, talking about a bright strobe light in the tunnel under the Alma bridge. No one took the words of the two women seriously (or did not want to take them), despite the mention of these facts in authoritative periodicals. On the contrary, the witnesses, especially the Frenchwoman Levistre, were advised to hide in a psychiatric hospital.

The references to flashing lights during the crash startled British intelligence officer Richard Tomlinson because he had access to secret M6 documents relating to the "Milosevic case." One such document outlined a plan to assassinate the Yugoslav leader: a mock accident resulting from a car crash using bright flashing lights. (On the effects of light under certain conditions, see the article "Measuring".)

Why were there no surveillance cameras in the tunnel, even though no problems were noticed in the Ritz Hotel itself? Of course, this can be attributed to an accident or a misunderstanding. But what really happened anyway? Perhaps we will not be able to restore the full picture of events, although there is hope for an investigation by the French special services. Will they share information with the common people?

Princess Diana. Last day in Paris

A film about the last weeks of the life of one of the most famous women of the twentieth century - Diana, Princess of Wales. The unexpected and tragic death of Diana in August 1997 shocked the world no less than the assassination of President Kennedy. The tragedy that happened on August 31, 1997 from the very beginning was surrounded by many conflicting rumors and the most incredible assumptions.

Who killed Princess Diana?

Ten years ago, the loudest car accident of the last century occurred. The legendary Lady Dee, an English princess, a woman-symbol, died in a Paris tunnel (See the photo gallery “Princess Diana’s Life Story”). On August 27 and 28, the REN TV channel will show the documentary film "Purely English Murder". The authors conducted their own investigation and tried to find out whether this tragedy was an accident.

On August 31, 1997, at 0:27 a.m., a car carrying Princess Diana, her friend Dodi al-Fayed, driver Henri Paul and Diana's bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones crashed into the 13th pillar of the bridge over the Alma Tunnel. Dodi and driver Henri Paul die on the spot. Princess Diana will die around 4 a.m. in the hospital.

Version 1 Killer Paparazzi?

The first version expressed by the investigation: several reporters who traveled on motor scooters were to blame for the accident. They were chasing Diana's black Mercedes, and one of them may have interfered with the princess's car. The driver of the Mercedes, trying to avoid the collision, crashed into the concrete support of the bridge.

But, according to eyewitnesses, they entered the tunnel a few seconds after Diana's Mercedes, which means they could not provoke an accident.

Lawyer Virginie Bardet:

- In fact, there is no evidence of the guilt of the photographers. The judge said: "The actions of the photographers do not show signs of manslaughter, which led to the death of Diana, Dodi al-Fayed, Henri Paul and the disability of Trevor Rees-Jones."

Version 2Mysterious "Fiat Uno"

The investigation puts forward a new version: the cause of the accident is a car, which by that time was already in the tunnel. In the immediate vicinity of the crashed Mercedes, detective police found fragments of a Fiat Uno.

Jacques Mules, head of the detective police brigade: “The fragments of the rear light and paint particles that we found allowed us to calculate all the characteristics of the Fiat Uno within 48 hours.

When interviewing eyewitnesses, the police allegedly found out that a white Fiat Uno, a few seconds after the accident, zigzagged out of the tunnel. Moreover, the driver did not look at the road, but in the rear-view mirror, as if he saw something, for example, a crashed car.

The detective police determined the exact characteristics of the car, its color and year of manufacture. But even with information about the car and a description of the appearance of the driver, the investigation failed to find either the car or the driver.

Francis Gilleri, author of his own independent investigation: “All cars of this brand in the country were checked, but none of them showed signs of a similar collision. White "Fiat Uno" fell through the ground! And the eyewitnesses of the accident, who saw him, began to get confused in the testimony, from which it did not become clear whether the white Fiat was at the scene of the tragedy at the unfortunate moment.

Interestingly, the version about the white Fiat that allegedly caused the accident, as well as the information about the left turn signal found at the scene of the tragedy, was not made public immediately, but only two weeks after the incident.

Version 3British intelligence agencies

Only today, details are becoming known, which for some reason it was customary not to mention. As soon as the black Mercedes drove into the tunnel, suddenly a bright flash of light cut the twilight. It is so powerful that everyone who watched it was blinded for a few seconds. And in a moment the screech of brakes and the sound of a terrible blow blow up the silence of the night. François Laviste at that time was just leaving the tunnel and was only a few meters from the scene of the tragedy. First, the investigation accepted his testimony, and then recognized the only witness as unreliable.

The version was circulated at the suggestion of former MI6 officer Richard Thomplison. The former agent said that the circumstances of the death of Princess Diana remind him of a plan to assassinate Slobodan Milosevic, developed by the British intelligence services. The Yugoslav president was about to be blinded in a tunnel by a powerful flash.

The cops are reluctant to put the flash of light on the record. Eyewitnesses are nervous and insist on the veracity of their testimony. And a few months later, British and French newspapers published a sensational statement by former British intelligence agent Richard Tompleson that the latest laser weapons that are in service with the special services may have been used in the Alma Tunnel.

Again "on stage" "Fiat Uno"

But how could fragments of a car appear at the scene of the incident, which will never be found? The media version is that the Fiat fragments were planted by those who prepared this accident in advance and wanted to disguise it as an ordinary accident. The press insists that these are British intelligence agencies.

The secret services knew that the white Fiat would definitely be next to Princess Diana's car that night. It was on the white Fiat that one of the most famous and successful paparazzi of Paris, James Andanson, moved. He could not miss such an opportunity to make money on the pictures of the star couple of interest to everyone ...

The media suggested that they simply could not prove the involvement of the photographer and his car in the accident, although they really hoped. Andanson was indeed in the tunnel that night. True, according to some of his colleagues who were on the evening of August 30, 1997 at the Ritz Hotel, it was a rare case when a photographer arrived at work without a car. And, perhaps, that is why the version developed by someone about Andanson's guilt in the accident lost its central link even before Dodi and Diana left the hotel. On the other hand, Andanson could indeed have been involved in the accident. He repeatedly came to the attention of the security service of the al-Fayed family, and for them, of course, it was no secret that Andersen was not only a successful photographer. Evidence that the photographer is a British intelligence agent was allegedly obtained by al-Fayed's security service. But Father Dodi, for some reason, now does not consider it necessary to present them to the investigation. James Andanson was not an accidental figure in this tragedy.

Andanson was seen in the tunnel, and there he really was one of the first. We saw at the scene of the tragedy a car very similar to his car, however, with different numbers, possibly fake ones.

And then there are the unanswered questions. Why did the photographer, who for the sake of a sensational picture spent several hours at the Ritz Hotel, suddenly not waiting for Diana and Dodi al-Fayed, for no reason left his post and went straight to the tunnel. After the accident, Andanson, without even waiting for the denouement, when a crowd had just begun to gather in the tunnel, suddenly disappears. Literally in the middle of the night - at 4 o'clock in the morning - he leaves Paris on the next flight to Corsica.

Some time later, in the French Pyrenees, his body will be found in a burned-out car. At a time when the police are identifying the deceased, in the office of his Parisian photo agency, unknown people steal all the papers, pictures and computer disks related to the death of Princess Diana.

If this is not a fatal coincidence, then Andanson was eliminated either as an unwanted witness or as the perpetrator of the murder.

In September 1999, another reporter died in one of the hospitals in Paris, who was on that ill-fated night next to a mangled black Mercedes. Reporter James Keith was preparing for minor knee surgery but told friends, "I have a hunch I'm not coming back." After being discharged from the hospital, the reporter was going to publish documents about the causes of the accident on the Alma Bridge, but a few hours after his death, the Internet web page with the details of the investigations, and all the materials were destroyed.

Who turned off the cameras?

The police officers working at the scene decide to attach the recordings of road surveillance cameras to the case. It is from them that you can accurately determine how the accident occurred and how many cars were in the tunnel at the time of the collision. The called road service workers do not understand why there is such a rush, and only wonder why the films cannot be viewed tomorrow morning. But when they open the boxes in which the video cameras are mounted, they are even more surprised. The video surveillance system, which works properly in all other points of Paris, by a strange coincidence, it was in the Alma tunnel that it failed. Who or what was the reason, one can only guess.

Version 4 Drunk driver

On July 5, 1999, almost two years later, newspapers from all over the world publish a sensational statement from the investigation: the main blame for what happened in the Alma tunnel lies with the driver of the Mercedes, Henri Paul. He was the security chief of the Ritz Hotel and also died in the crash. Investigators accuse him of driving drunk.

Michael Cowell, al-Fayed's official spokesman: "It was officially announced that he was driving at a speed of 180 km/h. Very fast. Now, in the file, it is written in small print: “The accident occurred at a speed of 60 (!) kilometers per hour.” Not 180 km/h, but 60!”

The statement that the driver was drunk came out of the blue. To prove or disprove this, you just need to take the blood of the deceased for analysis. However, it is this simple operation that will turn into a real detective.

Jacques Mules, who was the first of the representatives of the investigating authorities to arrive at the scene of the tragedy, said that a blood test showed the true state of affairs, which means that Henri Paul was really very drunk.

Jacques Mules, head of the detective police brigade: “Before leaving the Ritz, Princess Diana and Dodi al-Fayed were nervous. But the main thing that indicates an accident is the presence of alcohol - 1.78 ppm in the blood of the driver, Mr. Henri Paul. In addition, he took antidepressants, which also affected his driving style.”

Michael Cowell, al-Fayed's official speaker: “The footage proves that Henri Paul behaved adequately in the hotel that evening, he is talking to Dodi from such a distance, talking to Diana. If there were even the slightest sign of intoxication, Dodi, and he was very picky in this regard, would not have gone anywhere. He would have fired him."

To have so much alcohol in the blood, Henri Paul had to drink about 10 glasses of wine. Such intoxication could not help but notice the photographers located at the hotel, but not one of them pointed out this in their testimony.

The examination data, indicating a state of severe intoxication, were ready within 24 hours after the autopsy. But this was officially announced only two years later. For 24 months, the investigation worked out a deliberately weaker version of the guilt of the paparazzi or the presence of Fiat Uno. And two years later, it is unlikely that anyone who saw the hotel security chief Henri Paul that evening will be able to say with certainty whether he was completely sober.

A day after the accident, toxicologists Gilbert Pepin and Dominique Lecomte had just completed a blood test on Henri Paul. The test tubes are placed first in the box and then in the refrigerator. The results are recorded in the protocol. According to what is written, the driver can be considered not just a little drunk, but simply drunk ... But the numbers written in the column below are even more surprising: the level of carbon monoxide is 20.7%. If this is true, the driver simply would not be able to stand on his feet, let alone drive. Only a person who committed suicide by inhaling gases from the exhaust pipe of a car could have the amount of carbon monoxide in his blood that was found in Paul's blood ...

Michael Cowell, al-Fayed's official spokesman: "It's more than likely that either accidentally or deliberately, the blood samples were swapped. Somehow they got confused. In the morgue there were many errors with tags, which has been proven to date ... "

The French secret services also have something to hide in this story. Due to the fact that the rest of the corpses still cannot be found, it is no longer so important whether the test tubes were changed by accident or it was a specially prepared action. Something else is important. Someone really needed the investigation to go on as long as possible. To make it as confusing as possible. Test tubes with the blood of Henri Paul could well be replaced with the blood of another person who committed suicide.

For a long time, the investigating authorities insisted that there could be no mistake. It is indeed the blood of Henri Paul. However, the film crew of the REN TV channel, as a result of their own investigation, managed to prove that the blood, in which traces of alcohol and carbon monoxide were found, does not belong to the driver of Princess Diana.

Jacques Muhles, head of the detective police brigade, admitted to our film crew that he took the test tubes with Henri Paul's blood with his own hands and really mixed up the numbers, giving away a test tube with the blood of a completely different person under the name of the driver of Princess Diana.

Jacques Mules, head of the detective police brigade. “This is my mistake. The fact is that I worked two days in a row, I did not sleep at night. Due to fatigue, I mixed up the numbers of the test tubes. I immediately informed the judge about this, but he said that it was not significant.

It does not matter if the error was immediately corrected. And if not? If, due to a simple oversight, or even worse, deliberately, the results of the analysis remained falsified? There is still no answer to this question.

Who is Henri Paul?

Henri Paul, head of security at the Ritz Hotel, is the only official culprit behind the tragedy. In the reports of the investigation, he appears as a complete neurasthenic and drunkard. Taxi experts point to the presence in the blood of Henri Paul, along with alcohol, also a significant amount of antidepressants. The doctor confirms that she prescribed Paul drugs to treat depression. And to reduce cravings for alcohol, because, according to the doctor, the patient abused alcohol.

We decided to check if the head of security at the luxury hotel was actually an alcoholic and a drug addict.

Cafe-restaurant "Le Grand Colbert". Henri Paul used to come here for dinner for many years.

Restaurant owner Joel Fleuri: “I bought the restaurant in 1992. Henri Paul was already a regular here... He was here every week. No, he was not an alcoholic. It turned out that we are engaged in the same flying club - he flies on light aircraft, I fly on light helicopters.

On the eve of the tragedy, Henri Paul, in order to renew his flying license, undergoes a rigorous medical examination. The doctor examines him and takes blood for tests the day before the disaster.

Doctors did not find any signs of latent alcoholism in Henri, nor traces of any medications.

After the death of Henri Paul, very large sums of money were found in his account, which, in theory, he could not earn. In total, he had 1.2 million francs.

Boris Gromov, intelligence historian: “Henri Paul, according to some British intelligence officers, was a full-time agent of MI6. His name was often mentioned in the dossier of this service. It is clear that there is nothing accidental here, and its role is clear. Because high-ranking statesmen from various countries often stay at the Ritz Hotel ... And serving as the head of the security service there is extremely beneficial for any intelligence ... "

40 minutes before the tragedy, Princess Diana does not yet know that it will not be Dodi's personal bodyguard Ken Wingfield who will be driving their car, but the head of the hotel's security service, Henri Paul.

According to the version that the investigation initially had, his car turned out to be faulty. And so the couple set off in Henri Paul's car. However, eight years later, Wingfield stated that his car was serviceable. Just Henri Paul, as the head of the hotel's security, ordered Wingfield to stay and drove Diana and Dodi on his own in his car and on a different route. Why was Wingfield silent for so many years? What was he afraid of?

Diana's security guard Trevor Rhys-Jones, driving out of the Ritz Hotel, sat down in his usual place - the seat next to the driver, which is called the "dead place". Due to the fact that during an accident it is most vulnerable. But Rhys-Jones survived. And Diana and Dodi al-Fayed, who were in the back seat, died. Today, the only survivor can't say anything about what happened in the tunnel. He has lost his memory and does not remember anything that would shed light on the events of that night. We can only hope that in time Rhys-Jones will recover. But whether he will have time to say everything that he remembers is unknown ...

Dodi al-Fayed's bodyguard has been on the operating table for a long time. And despite the more severe injury, the doctors no longer doubted: the patient would live. At the same time, for some reason, they are trying to save Princess Diana in an ambulance.

The car is standing. It is impossible to do procedures in motion.

In fact, according to experts, the princess died because someone decided that there was no need to go to the hospital. What is this, a mistake? Nerves of doctors? After all, they are people too.

Or maybe someone needed Diana to die?

When it was all over, a decision was made to send the body of the princess on a special flight to London.

The plane from Paris to London flies no more than an hour. It would seem that there is no reason to linger in Paris, however, when the body of Princess Diana was taken to a British clinic, an incredible thing turned out. It turns out that Diana's corpse did not have time to cool down, as it is hastily embalmed in violation of all the rules. And prepare for burial. All this takes place in Paris. While a special plane, without turning off the engine, is waiting for its sad cargo.

Michael Cowell, al-Fayed's official spokesman: "In violation of French law, this was carried out on behalf of the British Embassy, ​​which, in turn, admits to having received instructions from a certain person."

The name of the person who gave the order to carry out the embalming has never been established. The preparations that are used during embalming do not subsequently allow for repeated examinations of the corpse. If British doctors wanted to find out again what state the princess was in, say, a few seconds before the disaster, they could not do it.

That is why there are versions that, perhaps, some kind of gas was sprayed into the car, which made Henri Paul lose his bearings. Today it is impossible to confirm or deny this version.

Meanwhile, al-Fayed Sr. is convinced that Diana's body was embalmed in order to hide a sensational fact. In his opinion, the English princess was pregnant by his son.

Virginie Bardet, photographers advocate: “We will never know if Diana was pregnant. All documents are classified, only the cause of death has been made public: internal bleeding.”

EPILOGUE

The collected evidence is enough for numerous novels, but not enough for the royal prosecutor's office. Non-working traffic video surveillance cameras at the scene of the tragedy, witnesses of the accident dying one after another, the white Fiat Uno that was never found, carbon dioxide taken from the driver’s blood from nowhere, fabulous sums on the driver’s accounts, the criminal slowness of the French doctors and the too obvious haste of those who embalmed the body pathologists ... The version of contract killing has not been refuted by anyone. But it hasn't been proven either.

Jacques Mules, head of the detective police brigade: “There was a banal accident. Everything has been checked and rechecked a thousand times. And the search for a conspiracy, details sucked from the finger ... Spy passions are the usual fruits of fantasy. In the eyes of Great Britain and even the whole West, Princess Diana was a symbol of a beautiful dream. A dream cannot perish in such an ordinary way.

BY THE WAY

On August 31, the day of Lady Di's death, Channel One will show the new film Princess Diana. Last day in Paris" (21.25). And immediately after its completion at 23.10 - the Oscar-winning film "The Queen" with Helen Miren in the title role. About the reaction to the tragedy of the royal family.

“We weren't going to stir up the royal family's dirty laundry. But after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, the death of Princess Diana is perhaps the loudest story. Using the example of the investigation into the death of Princess Diana, we wanted to understand how such cases are investigated in the West. Does the government interfere? Does politics influence such investigations?

We have learned a lot. And I would strongly recommend that the authorities pay attention to the role of the American intelligence services in this story. After all, it is known that Diana was the object of surveillance and control on their part, especially in recent months. If they opened their materials on Diana, I'm sure we would learn a lot of interesting things. Or maybe even find out the name of the killer.

Diana's story is unusual. If she showed a little hypocrisy, or, to put it more simply, simple worldly wisdom, she would have everything in chocolate! But she preferred the throne to the right to love whom she wants.

The story of Prince Charles, in my opinion, is still waiting for its assessment. After all, look, in spite of everything - the will of the mother, state interests, public opinion - he loves his Camilla for many years now.

Everything else is small compared to this...

On July 20, 1981, an extraordinary event took place in the UK. For the first time in 300 years, a commoner has intermarried with a member of the royal family. Her name was Diana Spencer, his was Prince Charles. They saw each other 13 times before the 33-year-old prince proposed to Diana. The difference between them was also equal to thirteen - the girl was twenty, and in response to a request to marry him, Diana enthusiastically said "yes", confessing her love to the groom now. Charles restrainedly retorted - they say that we know about love. With such a muddy dialogue, the story of this couple began.

Lady Diana leaving the gardens of Buckingham Palace after announcing her engagement to Prince Charles in 1981

Diana invested in their relationship with all possible force - for example, she seriously lost weight for the wedding after Charles remarked that she was "overweight". And if in February 1981, when the tailors took measurements for the wedding dress for the first time, measurements of her waist showed 73 centimeters, then after almost six months it was already 60. “Not long left, and it would be time already! The whole family is exhausted," the princess reported in a letter to the nanny Mary Clark at five minutes to five, concealing her own efforts and sacrifices. To lose weight, Diana caused herself to vomit and was often in a state close to fainting.

Strictly speaking, Diana Spencer was not a commoner. She was born July 1, 1961 in Sandringham, Norfolk to John Spencer. Her father was Viscount Althorp, a branch of the same Spencer-Churchill family as the Duke of Marlborough and Winston Churchill. Diana's paternal ancestors were carriers of royal blood through the illegitimate sons of King Charles II and the illegitimate daughter of his brother and successor, King James II.

The future princess with her parents, sister and brother in 1970

Diana spent her childhood in Sandringham, where she received her primary home education. She later studied at Sealfield, at a private school, and later at Riddlesworth Hall Preparatory School. When Diana was 8 years old, her parents divorced. She stayed with her father, along with her sisters and brother. The divorce had a strong influence on the girl, and soon a stepmother appeared in the house, who disliked the children.

In 1975, following the death of her grandfather, Diana's father became the 8th Earl Spencer and she received the courtesy title of "lady" reserved for daughters of high peers. At the age of 12, the future princess was accepted into a privileged school for girls in West Hill, in Sevenoaks, Kent. She turned out to be a bad student and could not finish it. At the same time, her musical and dancing abilities were beyond doubt.

In 1977, the girl attended school for some time in the Swiss city of Rougemont. But she began to miss home and returned to England ahead of schedule. In the winter of 1977, before leaving for training, she first met her future husband, Prince Charles, when he came to Althorp to hunt.

In 1978 Diana moved to London. As a gift for her 18th birthday, she received her own £100,000 apartment in Earls Court, where she lived with three friends. During this period, Diana began working as an assistant teacher at Young England Nursery School in Pimiliko.

Diana as a nanny in 1980, a year before she would marry Prince Charles

After the wedding, she believed that she was incredibly lucky, and not only because she had a life ahead of her in the status of a royal person. Diana dreamed of a real, happy family. The one that she herself was deprived of. In addition, she, apparently, really was in love with the prince.

Unlike her, Charles approached the choice of a wife much more pragmatically. Circumstances forced him to marry. The father was worried that his son would be considered a homosexual - how else to explain the bachelor life of the heir. Mother, Queen Elizabeth, also believed that the time had already come. Actually, she was more involved in choosing a wife for her son. An innocent young lady, a good pedigree, a meek character, a desire to "work as a mother" - Diana perfectly matched the requirements. The same could not be said about Charles' girlfriend, Camilla Parker-Bowles. First, she was not innocent. Secondly, she was married, bearing the surname Shend. And the most unpleasant - it was distinguished by a tough character, suggesting disobedience. In general, the decision was made - Diana. Not only Elizabeth gave her consent, but also Camilla. And Charles went to propose.

Next - six months that have passed from the engagement to the wedding in London's St. Paul's Cathedral. Charles' indifference. Bouquets of flowers sent by messenger, without postcards and cards - a formal expression of feelings. Forgetfulness of the groom - he promised, but did not call. And, of course, persistent rumors about him and Camille. Diana refused to believe that her future husband's affair with a married woman was still in full swing.

July 29, 1981 in London was hot in every sense. Onlookers crowded around the cathedral, feminists handed out badges that read "Don't do it, Di". Then there was the ceremony itself, which was watched by 700 million people around the world. There was a surprise that indicated that "timid Dee", yesterday's kindergarten teacher, always blushing from the attention of reporters, is not as simple as thought. From her wedding vow, the content of which has not changed for hundreds of years, the passage about obedience to her husband was excluded. Excluded at her own insistence, for the first time in the history of the throne.

As a result, the marriage of Charles and Diana was called a union of equals. Unheard of. “When she married Charles, I remember writing to her that this is the only person in the country with whom she could never divorce. Unfortunately, she could,” Diana’s nanny Mary Clark later recalled.

Family life began - and Diana's battle for the perfect marriage. First of all, she tried to win her husband back from her rival. And due to her youth and inexperience, she did not always behave wisely. She cried, threatened, persuaded, lured Charles. She cut veins, chest, stomach. "I was unhappy, and it was clear to everyone except Charles. Trying to cut my veins with a knife, I badly injured my arms and chest. But even this did not impress Charles," she later said. Having tried all possible options, the young wife asked her mother-in-law for help. And then a defeat awaited her: Elizabeth, without changing her face, listened to her daughter-in-law and declared that nothing could be done, Charles could not be corrected.

Meanwhile, the husband himself almost openly met with Camilla, and saw his wife from time to time. And certainly did not seek to find a common language with her and build a full-fledged family. “There were three of us in the marriage, and it was crowded for everyone,” Diana admits after the divorce. The children, the sons William and Harry, saved, all her love went to them.

This nervous ambiguity lasted until the early 90s. The new decade brought mutual cooling. They portrayed husband and wife, only going out into the world. They saw each other there. So another five years passed, and in 1995, the grown-up Diana decided to change her life. She needs a divorce. Just like that, she would not have received it - although the whole court knew about Charles's relationship with Camilla, this could not be a good reason. Publicity was required.
Towards the end of the year, Diana appeared in one of the BBC programs, where she said that there were really three of them in marriage. There was a terrible scandal, what happened was what Diana was waiting for: Elizabeth demanded a divorce. And Charles agreed.

Retaining the title of Princess of Wales, Diana started from scratch. Public life - charity, support of various funds, the fight against cancer, AIDS, anti-personnel mines, hunger, meetings with politicians, ordinary people, the Pope and Mother Teresa (the latter became her spiritual mentor). On June 15-16, 1995, the princess made a short visit to Moscow. She visited the Tushino Children's Hospital, which she had previously provided charitable assistance to (the princess donated medical equipment to the hospital), and Elementary School No. 751, where she solemnly opened a branch of the Waverly House fund for helping children with disabilities. She spent about 40 minutes in the Tushino hospital, and about 2 hours at school No. 751.

Diana in Moscow, 1995

Her personal life ceased to be personal, turning into a not too long series that unfolded on the pages of tabloids. The first and one of the most high-profile novels of Diana happened while still married. She was briefly on close terms with her riding instructor, James Hewitt. This relationship gave her self-confidence, the affair gradually ceased to be a secret for the royal court and allowed Diana to behave more boldly with Camilla and her entourage. When their relationship ended, Diana informed James that she was simply looking for solace on the side. Hewitt was depressed, then he lost his job - he was fired from the army for redundancy. He was silent for a long time, but in the end he nevertheless contributed his share to the general chorus of memories of Diana. However, he did not say a single bad word about her.

After a divorce in 1996, Diana began an affair with Pakistani doctor Hasnat Khan. The couple tried not to advertise their relationship, although they were constantly seen together. They broke up a year later, Khan believed that a possible marriage would make his life unbearable due to strong cultural differences, as well as Diana's desire for independence and love of high society. Diana was crushed.

A few months later, she began dating the son of billionaire Mohammed Al-Fayed Dodi. They had known each other before, but their romance at first was only a consolation for her. However, Diana gradually began to be imbued with the strength and charm of Dodi, brought her children to his villa in Saint-Tropez, and later, a month before her death, in a note addressed to him, she thanked him for the joy brought into her life.

At the end of August 1997, Dodi and Diana traveled on a yacht along the coast of Italy. On August 30, the couple flew to Paris, from there the next day the Princess of Wales planned to go home to her children. On the last day of summer, Dodi was choosing a ring, obviously an engagement ring, and, apparently, for Diana. They then had dinner together at the Ritz Hotel. We went down to the car, sat down, accompanied by bodyguard Trevor-Reese Jones and driver Henri Paul.

Last photo. The night before the fatal accident, Princess Diana and Dodi al-Fayed were filmed on a security camera at the Ritz Hotel in Paris on August 31, 1997.

A few minutes later, a terrible accident occurred in the tunnel in front of the Alma bridge on the Seine embankment - a Mercedes S280 crashed into a wall. Dodi and the driver died on the spot, Diana, taken from the scene to the Salpêtrière hospital, died two hours later.

The cause of the accident is not entirely clear, there are a number of versions (alcohol intoxication of the driver, the need to escape at speed from the persecution of the paparazzi, as well as various conspiracy theories). The only surviving passenger of the Mercedes S280, bodyguard Trevor Rhys Jones, who was severely injured (his face had to be restored by surgeons), does not remember anything. It is also noted that passengers, including Diana, were not wearing seat belts, which also played a role in their deaths.

Tens of thousands of mourners left flowers and photos of Princess Diana outside Kensington Palace

Thus ended the life of a brilliant princess who gave a lot of time and energy to charity and became extremely popular thanks to romantic relationships with very different men. And then began the legend of a beautiful woman who sought happiness for herself and for others.

Diana, Princess of Wales, nee Lady Diana Francis Spencer was born July 1, 1961 in Sandringham, Norfolk.

She was born into the famous, well-born family of Johnny Spencer and Frances Ruth Burke Roche. The family of Diana was very glorious on both sides. Father Viscount Althorpe, a branch of the same Spencer-Churchill family as the Duke of Marlborough, and Winston Churchill. Her paternal ancestors were of royal blood through the illegitimate sons of King Charles II and the illegitimate daughter of his brother and successor, King James II. Earls Spencers have long lived in the very center of London, in Spencer House. "In this ancient and well-born blood, pride and honor, mercy and dignity, a sense of duty and the need to follow one's own path were happily combined. Always and everywhere. To have in the chest a small heart and the spirit of the king, intertwining in it firmly, inextricably: femininity and lion's courage, wisdom and composure ... "- this is how the biographer wrote about them.

But despite all the innate nobility of the viscount and viscountess of Althorp, their marriage cracked, and they failed to save the family - even the birth of the desired heir to the earl title, Diana's younger brother, Charles Spencer, did not save the situation. By the time Charles was five years old (Diana was then six years old), their mother could no longer live with her father, and the Spencers underwent a shameful and rare “procedure” for those times - they divorced. The mother moved to London, she began a stormy romance with the American businessman Peter Shand-Kid, who left his family and three children for her sake. In 1969 they got married.


1963 Two-year-old Diana rests in a chair in her home.


1964 Three-year-old Diana walks around her house with a stroller.


1965


Diana spent her childhood in Sandringham, where she received her primary home education. Her teacher was the governess Gertrude Allen, who taught Diana's mother. Lady Diana, already an adult, bitterly recalled that her mother did not really care about the custody of her babies. The princess said: “My parents were busy settling scores. I often saw my mother crying, and my father did not even try to explain anything to us. We didn't dare ask questions. Nannies replaced one another. Everything seemed so shaky…”

Later, relatives will say that parting with her mother was a huge stress for Diana. But the little girl withstood this situation with truly royal calm and unchildish stamina, moreover, it was she who most of all helped her younger brother recover from this blow.

1967 Diana plays with her younger brother Charles outside their house.


Viscount Spencer, as far as possible, tried to mitigate the consequences of the loss and in every possible way entertained the depressed, confused, shocked children: he arranged children's parties and balls, invited dance and singing teachers, personally chose the best nannies and servants. But this still did not completely save the kids from mental trauma.

1970 Little sportswoman on holiday in Itchenor, West Sussex.


1970 Diana with her sisters, father and brother.


After the parents divorce, the children stay with their father. Soon a stepmother appeared in the house, who disliked children. Diana began to study worse at school and eventually did not finish it. The only thing she loved was dancing. Diana's education continued at Sealfield, at a private school near King's Line, then at Riddlesworth Hall Preparatory School. At the age of twelve, she was admitted to a privileged school for girls at West Hill, in Sevenoaks, Kent.


"Lady Diana" (a courtesy title for daughters of high peers) she became in 1975, after the death of her grandfather, when her father inherited the earldom and became the 8th Earl Spencer. During this period, the family moved to the ancient ancestral castle of Althorp House in Nottrogtonshire.

After graduating from youth school in West Heth, Diana lived in Switzerland. Her father sent her to learn housekeeping, cooking, sewing, as well as French and other skills of a well-bred girl. Dee, apparently, did not like the process of learning very much, she was languishing from boredom, besides, she did not like French and wanted to become independent as soon as possible.

Diana in Scotland


In the winter of 1977, shortly before leaving to study in Switzerland, sixteen-year-old Lady Diana meets Prince Charles for the first time when he comes to Althorp to hunt. At that time, impeccably educated, intelligent Charles seemed to the girl just "very funny."

Since Diana strove for independence, Charles Spencer Sr. gave her such an opportunity. When she came of age, her father gave the future princess an apartment in London. Diana did not show aristocratic stiffness and willingly and confidently began her independent, adult life. She worked as a kindergarten teacher and took care of children at home. Interestingly, the hourly rate of the future princess was only one pound.

Diana as a nanny, a year before she marries Prince Charles.


At this time, the heir to the English throne courted Diana's older sister, Sarah Spencer. Diana simply idolized Lady Sarah Spencer - charming, witty, proud, though a little harsh in manners and behavior. Therefore, she was glad to see how the relations of the eldest of the Spurser sisters with such an enviable groom were developing. Charles at that time was passionate about his studies, closed, a bit cold, but his high status aroused an exaggerated interest in girls. Among the contenders for the heart of the prince was even the granddaughter of the legendary Prime Minister Winston Churchill, Lady Charlotte. And yet, he clearly singled out the Spencer house for himself.

Cheerful Diana, who knew why the future king of Great Britain was coming to their house, smiled happily at the guest and muttered something embarrassedly in French - she really loved her sister and wished her happiness. Showering Sarah with signs of attention, Charles was also very kind to Diana, he liked the girl, but nothing special came of it. In November 1979, Diana was invited to the royal hunt. At the Earl Spencer's estate, she was to spend the weekend with her family and Prince Charles. Athletic, graceful, Diana carried herself like an Amazon on a horse, and during the fox hunt, despite her simple dress and modest demeanor, she was irresistible.

It was then that the Prince of Wales first realized that Diana was an incredibly "charming, lively and witty girl who is interesting." Sarah Spencer later said that she played "the role of Cupid" at this meeting. For the first time, Charles had a long conversation with Dee and could not help but admit that she was simply lovely. However, at that moment it was all over.

In the summer, in July 1980, Diana learned that Prince Charles had suffered a great misfortune: his uncle, Lord Mountbatten, whom the prince considered one of his closest people, the best adviser and confidant, had died. As Diana later recalled, “I saw the prince sitting alone in a haystack, thoughtful; turned off the path, sat down beside him and simply said that she had seen him in church at the funeral service. He seemed so lost, with an incredibly sad look ... This is unfair, - I thought then, - He is so lonely, someone should be there at this moment! In the evening of the same day, Charles frankly and publicly showered Lady Diana Francis with signs of attention befitting the chosen one of the prince. Sarah Spencer was completely forgotten.

At the time of the "acquisition" by Charles of Diana, the prince was 33 years old. He was the most enviable suitor in Great Britain and was considered an incredible womanizer, conqueror of girls, although this title should rather be attributed to his title. In particular, since 1972, Charles had an affair with Camilla Parker-Bowles, the wife of an army officer, Andrew Parker-Bowles, by the way, a good "friend" of some members of the royal family. However, Camilla was in no way suitable for the role of the future queen, and Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip broke their heads a lot over how to "slip" a better candidate to their son. But then Diana appeared, and in general, saved the situation. They say that Prince Philip himself proposed to Charles to marry Diana. She was well-born, young, healthy, beautiful and well-bred. What else is needed for a good royal marriage?

In the autumn of 1980, there was a rumor about her affair with the Prince of Wales for the first time. It all started when a reporter specializing in covering the private life of the royal family filmed Prince Charles walking along the shallows of the River Dee in Balmoral in the company of a young shy girl. The attention of the world press instantly turned to this unknown person, whom everyone will soon begin to call nothing more than "timid Dee." Diana suddenly felt that she was immersed in a new life that had previously been completely unfamiliar to her. From now on, as soon as she left the apartment, numerous cameras began to click around. And even the little red car was always followed by the paparazzi wherever she went.


Prince Charles formally proposed to Lady Diana on February 6, 1981, after returning from a three-month naval voyage on the Invincible, which he was supposed to oversee as the future king. The couple met for a romantic candlelight dinner at Buckingham Palace. After dinner, Charles finally asked the girl the most important question, and Diana gave him the most important answer.

Future princess under an umbrella, 1981.

Soon all the rumors and speculation were put to rest. On February 24, the engagement of the Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer was officially announced. The wedding was scheduled for July 29 and was to be held at St. Paul's Cathedral. The whole of Britain was excited by the news: it lifted the spirit of the nation during a rather grim economic downturn. Apparently, the time for the wedding was chosen very opportunely.

Romantic moments from the life of Prince Charles and Princess Diana.



Meanwhile, preparations for the "wedding of the century" were in full swing throughout the UK.
To sew a romantic Victorian wedding dress, chastely closed, with many frills and frills, was Diana's idea. She entrusts such a responsible task to little-known designers David and Elizabeth Emmanuel and does not lose. The dress becomes legendary.


On July 29, 1981, young Diana Spencer in a chic wedding dress with an almost eight-meter white silk train went to the altar of St. Paul to become one of the members of the British royal family. Seven hundred and fifty million viewers around the world did not tear themselves away from the TV screens, where one of the most beautiful women in Europe was married to one of the richest suitors in Europe. As the Archbishop of Canterbury put it in his speech, “In such magical moments, fairy tales are born.” This day, as journalists rightly noted, began a new page in the history of the Windsor family and the whole of Great Britain.

The wedding was fabulous. And not only because it was the most expensive event of its kind (costs were estimated at 2,859 million pounds sterling). It’s just that the groom is a real prince, and the bride is fabulously beautiful and charming.


Now they will bring each other an oath of allegiance. Moreover, Diana, who was barely 20, with an unshakable hand, contrary to tradition, crossed out the promise to obey her husband from the text of her oath. Therefore, later journalists will call their marriage "Marriage of equals"









After the wedding, the girlfriends received a souvenir from Diana. For each, a rose filled in plastic from a luxurious bouquet of the bride was prepared.

Honeymoon in Scotland at Balmoral on the River Dee.






The first official trip of Prince Charles and his young wife around the country began with their titular possessions - Wales. In just three days, the prince and princess held eighteen meetings! On the first day, their itinerary included Caernarfon Castle, where Prince Charles, twelve years earlier, had been solemnly conferred the title of Prince of Wales. On the third day of her trip to Wales, Diana received the title "Freedom of the City of Cardiff". In gratitude for the honor done to her, she gave her first public speech, part of which was in the Welsh dialect.

Diana said she was proud to be the princess of such a wonderful country. Later, Diana admitted what fear and embarrassment she experienced before this visit and her first public appearance, but it was this trip that became Diana's real triumph and served as a kind of springboard to the future.


Princess Diana dozed off at an event at the Albert and Victoria Museum in 1981. The next day, her pregnancy was officially announced.

On July 21, 1982, at half past five in the morning, Prince William of Wales was born at St. Mary's Hospital in Paddington.

Diana and Charles with their son Prince William. The child was baptized on August 4 and given the name Arthur Philip Louis.



In February 1984, Buckingham Palace officially announced that the Prince and Princess were expecting their second child. The boy, who was born on September 15, 1984, was named Henry Charles Albert David. In the future, he will be known as Prince Harry.


Realizing the inevitability of the press attention that the young princes will experience in the future, Charles and Diana decided to protect them from this as much as possible. In this, the parents succeeded.

When it came to the primary education of her sons, Diana opposed the fact that William and Harry were brought up in the closed world of the royal house and they began to attend preschool classes and a regular school. On vacation, Diana allowed her boys to wear jeans, sweatpants and T-shirts. They ate hamburgers and popcorn, went to the movies and rides, where the princes stood in a general line among their peers. She later introduced William and Harry to her charity work, and when she went to see hospital patients or the homeless, she often took her children with her.



Diana was actively involved in charitable and peacemaking activities. During her public appearances, Diana, whenever possible, stopped to talk to people and listen to them. She was completely free to talk with representatives of different social strata, parties, religious movements. With an unerring instinct, she always noticed exactly those who most needed her attention.


Diana used this gift, as well as her growing importance as a global figure, in her philanthropic work. It was this aspect of her life that gradually became her true calling. Diana personally participated in the transfer of donations - to the AIDS Relief Fund, to the Royal Mardsen Foundation, to the leprosy mission, to the children's hospital "Great Ormond Street Hospital", "Centropoint", to the English National Ballet. Her latest mission was to work to rid the world of landmines. Diana traveled to many countries, from Angola to Bosnia, to see firsthand the horrendous consequences of the use of this terrible weapon.


In the early 90s, a blank wall of misunderstanding grew between the most famous spouses in the world. In 1992, the tension in their relationship reached a climax, Diana began to suffer from depression and bouts of bulimia (painful hunger). Soon, Prime Minister John Major announced the decision of the Prince and Princess of Wales to separate and lead a separate life. There was no talk of a divorce then, but the following year, the first of those sensational interviews that shocked the British took place - then Prince Charles admitted to the host Jonathan Dimbleby that he was unfaithful to Diana.

In December 1995, Diana appeared on the BBC's Panorama, a popular show that was watched by several million viewers. She talked about the fact that Camilla Parker-Bowles appeared in the life of the prince even before their marriage, and continued to be “invisibly present” (or even quite visible!) Throughout it. “There were always three of us in that marriage,” Diana said. - It's too much". The marriage of Charles and Diana ended in divorce on August 28, 1996 at the initiative of Queen Elizabeth II.

Despite this, interest in Diana did not decrease at all, on the contrary, the public showed more and more attention to the proud Lady Di. Reporters were still eager to penetrate the princess's private life, especially after her romantic relationship with Dodi Al-Fayed, the forty-one-year-old son of Arab millionaire Mohammed Al-Fayed, owner of fashionable hotels, became public in the summer of 1997. In July, they spent holidays in Saint-Tropez with Diana's sons, Princes William and Harry. The boys got along well with the friendly owner of the house.


Later, Diana and Dodi met in London, and then went on a Mediterranean cruise aboard the luxury yacht Jonical.

By the end of August, the Jonical approached Portofino in Italy, and then sailed for Sardinia. August 30, Saturday, the couple went to Paris. The next day, Diana was to fly to London to meet her sons on the last day of their summer vacation.

On Saturday evening, Diana and Dodi decided to have dinner at the restaurant of the Ritz Hotel, which Dodi owned. In order not to attract the attention of other visitors, they retired to a separate office, where, as it was later reported, they exchanged gifts: Diana gave Dodi cufflinks, and he gave her a diamond ring. At one o'clock in the morning they were going to go to Dodi's apartment on the Champs Elysees. Wanting to avoid the paparazzi crowding the front door, they left the hotel through a service exit. There they boarded a Mercedes S-280, accompanied by bodyguard Trevor-Reese Jones and driver Henri Paul.

Last photo.
The night before the fatal accident, Princess Diana and Dodi al-Fayed were filmed on camera at the Ritz Hotel in Paris on August 31, 1997.


The accident occurred in Paris on August 31, 1997 in a tunnel located near the Alma bridge. A black Mercedes-Benz S280 crashed into a convoy separating oncoming traffic lanes, then hit the tunnel wall, flew several meters and stopped.




The injuries sustained by Princess Diana, Dodi al-Fayed and a bodyguard were fatal. True, they managed to take Diana alive to the Pite Salpêtrière hospital, but all attempts to save her life were in vain. She was only 36 years old.
While the doctors were fighting for the life of the favorite of millions of Englishmen, forensics were working to clarify the circumstances of the accident.

The following versions of the reasons for her death gradually emerged:
. the death of the Princess of Wales in a traffic accident is nothing more than an ordinary car accident, a tragic accident;

Henri Paul, the driver of the Mercedes, is to blame for everything - the examination showed that he was in a state of extreme intoxication while driving;

The car accident was provoked by annoying paparazzi, who literally followed Diana's car;

The British royal family was involved in the death of the princess, who never forgave Diana for her divorce from Prince Charles;

The car lost control due to a malfunction of the brake system;

. "Mercedes" at high speed collided with another car - a white "Fiat", after which Diana's driver could not manage to control;

British secret services had a hand in the death of the princess, who intended to disrupt the marriage of the mother of the future British king with a Muslim.

Which version is the most plausible and close to the truth? The answer to this question should have been given by French experts.

The commission, created at the Institute of Criminal Studies of the French Gendarmerie, worked out all the versions of what happened. As a result, several paparazzi were brought to justice. True, no one took the liberty of accusing them of provoking the death of Princess Diana. The accusations related mainly to violations of journalistic ethics and failure to provide timely assistance to the victims. Indeed, photographers first of all sought to capture the dying Diana and only then tried to do something to save her. The assumption about the malfunction of the brake system of the Mercedes was not confirmed either.

Experts, who carefully examined what was left of the car for several months, came to the conclusion that at the time of the disaster, the car's brakes were in working condition. The investigation team also denied allegations that a drunk driver was at fault. Of course, the drunken state of Paul Henri played a role in what happened. However, not only (and not so much) it led to the tragedy. During the investigation, it turned out that before crashing into the 13th column of the tunnel, Diana's car collided with a white Fiat-Uno. According to the testimony of one of the witnesses, the latter was driven by a brown-haired man in his forties who fled the scene of the crime. After this collision, the Mercedes lost control, and then what happened was already described above.

The French police literally shook up all the owners of the white "Uno", but they did not find the right car. In 2004, the results of the investigation of the Commission of the Institute of Criminal Studies of the French Gendarmerie were transferred to "more competent authorities", which, apparently, should have decided whether enough facts had been collected and research had been conducted to close this case with good reason. However, the search for the mythical "fiat" continues. Law enforcement agencies in France are still hoping that the driver of the mysterious car will still show up and report the details of the collision, which became the prologue to the tragic disaster. In the Parisian prefecture, a special entrance was even opened for him. But so far no one has responded to the call of the police.

If the collision of the Mercedes with the Fiat really took place, and the mysterious driver exists, then it is unlikely that he will voluntarily take full responsibility for what happened, as well as the full weight of the anger of those who still remember Diana and sincerely mourn for her. It is not known when the investigation into the circumstances of the death of the "People's Princess" will be brought to an end. But whenever this happens, in England, and in many other countries, the life and death of Lady Dee will be discussed for a long time. Moreover, regardless of what the final conclusion of the mentioned “competent authorities” will be.

Probability of killing
The father of Diana's lover, billionaire Mohammed al-Fayed, is sure that the British intelligence services were involved in the death of Diana and his son. It was he who insisted on a state investigation of the car accident, which lasted from 2002 to 2008. According to al-Fayed Sr., the driver, Henri Paul, was sober during the fateful trip. “There is video footage from the Ritz Hotel where Henri Paul walks normally,” he says, “although, in theory, he should have just crawled. Doctors found a wild amount of antidepressant in his system. Most likely, this man was poisoned. Except "Moreover, I have documents that he worked for the British special services. Later they found his secret bank accounts, to which 200 thousand dollars were transferred. The origin of this money is unclear."

And Mohammed, contrary to official reports on the results of the study, claims that Diana died while pregnant:
“At first, the authorities refused to do the test, and when they did it under pressure, many years passed. During this time, traces can simply be lost. But after all, on the eve of the tragedy, Dodi and Diana visited a villa in Paris that I bought for them. They chose a room for their child there, overlooking the garden.”

Paul Burrell, Diana's former butler, also agrees with the version of a conspiracy against Diana and Dodi with the participation of special services and the royal court. He has a letter to Lady Dee in which she wrote 10 months before her death: “My life is in danger. The ex-husband plans to stage an accident. The brakes will fail in my car, there will be a car accident.

“Her death was brilliantly orchestrated,” says Burrell, “it's a signature English style. Our intelligence has always “removed” people not with the help of poison or a sniper, but in such a way that it looks like an accident.”

A similar opinion is shared by the secret services themselves, for example, the infamous former officer of the British counterintelligence service MI6 Richard Tomlinson. He was arrested twice for revealing state secrets in his books on British intelligence, left Britain and now lives in France. Tomlinson openly stated that Diana was killed by MI6 agents under a "mirror" plan of a "random car accident" that was being prepared 15 years ago for Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic.

The only survivor of a car crash in Paris is Dodi and Diana's bodyguard Trevor Rhys-Jones. He, unlike the driver and passengers, survived because he was wearing a seat belt. The shattered bones in his body are held together with 150 titanium plates and he has undergone ten surgeries.

Here is his opinion about the situation before the disaster:
“Henri Paul was not drunk that evening. He did not smell of alcohol, he communicated and walked normally. I didn't drink anything at the table. I don't know where the alcohol came from in his blood after his death. Unfortunately, I cannot explain why I was wearing seat belts in the car, but Diana and Dodi were not. My brain is damaged, I suffer from partial memory loss. My memories end when we left the Ritz Hotel”…

Parting
For the body of Princess Diana, her ex-husband, Prince Charles, flew to Paris. Butler Paul Burrell brought clothes and asked that the rosary, given to her by Mother Teresa, be placed in the hands of the princess.
In London, an oak coffin with the body of a princess stood in the Royal Chapel of St. James's Palace for four nights. People from all over the world gathered at the walls of the palace. They lit candles and laid flowers.


The farewell ceremony with Princess Diana was held at Westminster Abbey.


Princess Diana was buried on September 6 at the Spencer family estate of Althorp in Northamptonshire, on a secluded island in the middle of a lake.

Diana was one of the most popular women of her time in the world. In the UK, she has always been considered the most popular member of the royal family, she was called the "Queen of Hearts" or "Queen of Hearts".
High, high, in heaven, the stars sing her name: "Diana."