Active Conspiracy Theories
Who was really responsible for Princess Diana's death? Did the royal family arrange a hit on her? Did the paparazzi purposely run her into a pillar? Was Henri Paul solely responsible for the crash that killed her? A thorough look through the case's evidence and the public’s most popular theories will reveal more than meets the eye.
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The first, and most plausible, conspiracy theory is that Prince Charles had Diana killed. In a letter, Diana wrote that "'My husband is planning an accident in my car. Brake failure and serious head injury’" (Badshah). Diana correctly predicted that the cause of her death would be a car accident and she accuses her husband of causing it, leading to the belief that the royal family was responsible for her death. Critics think that the Royal family’s motive was to “prevent Princess Diana from marrying her boyfriend, Fayed, the son of a prominent Egyptian billionaire,” (Arnold) because of its potential effect on the royal family. Charles supposedly thought that Diana and Fayed’s marriage was likely to cause a problem or scandal for the crown, so he had her killed. Though Diana was no longer married to Prince Charles, he may have thought that for her to marry another man, specifically Fayed, would reflect poorly on his character. According to Fayed’s father, Egyptian billionaire Al Fayed, “the members of the royal family were racist... [and they] couldn’t bear the prospect of a Muslim marrying the princess” (“Al Fayed Attacks UK Royals as ‘Dracula Family’”). This suggests that Diana and her boyfriend were killed to prevent a marriage that was deemed unsavory by Diana’s former husband. According to CBS News reporters “Al Fayed has relentlessly accused the British government of orchestrating the death of Princess Diana, and his son, Dodi” (Lueng). Fayed senior suggests that the crash was too big of a coincidence for the royal family to not be at fault for the deaths. He also claims that “the French switched [Henri Paul’s] blood samples either by accident or on purpose” (Leung). If the samples were swapped, it suggests that the driver purposely killed Diana and it was covered up by the royal family. Fayed Senior, along with much of the public, is absolutely convinced that Charles had Diana and Dodi killed.
Following the theory that royalty should be blamed for Diana’s death, journalists report that “although she had suffered internal injuries, [Diana] did not arrive at the Parisian hospital for 110 minutes -- too late for the surgery that some speculated could have saved her life” (“Princess Diana’s Death Offers Lessons for Health Care Debate, 12 Years Later”). Because Diana was forced to wait so long for intensive medical attention, she died only hours after the car crash. Many conspiracy theorists believe that the royal family purposely had the medical team attending Diana delayed in arriving and treating her.
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The second plausible conspiracy is that the paparazzi caused Diana's car accident. The media was unconditionally enthralled with the princess, especially after her divorce, so it is not much of a stretch to wonder if journalists and photographers were so desperate to get a new story of her that they chased her down. On August 31, 1997, Diana and Fayed, along with the driver and bodyguard, left the Ritz hotel through a back entrance where paparazzi were waiting for them. They were chased by motorcycles and cars who tried to get pictures of the couple. Because of this, Paul exceeded the speed limit and drove their car recklessly, which then crashed into a pillar of the Alma Tunnel (“Princess Diana Dies in a Car Crash”). Photographers are the reason that Paul was driving so fast. According to CBS News journalists, “Outrage focused on two black and white photos taken by paparazzi at the scene, showing an unconscious Diana being treated by a doctor as she lay slumped in the back of a car” (Lueng). This shows that even after the princess was severely injured, the media following them could not resist taking pictures of her incapacitated body. The Guardian reported that "nine photographers were charged with manslaughter in France, but the charges were thrown out in 2002" (Balakrishnan). This illustrates that the paparazzi were meticulously investigated but were ultimately deemed not guilty. The theory that paparazzi killed Diana was thoroughly investigated by police, but was later dismissed, disproving this conspiracy.
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The final conspiracy theory is that driver Henri Paul is entirely to blame for Diana’s death. According to The New York Times journalists, “French prosecutors said that [Paul’s] body showed a blood alcohol level of between 0.173 and 0.187 percent after the accident at 12:25 A.M. Sunday, Aug. 32 – more than three times the legal driving limit” (Ibrahim). Because of Paul’s high blood-alcohol level, his reaction speed and awareness would have been significantly reduced, leading to poor judgement and eventually Diana’s death. Detectives investigating the deaths say they “believe the car was travelling at 196kph (121mph) when it crashed” (“Crash Driver Was over Alcohol Limit – Prosecutors"). Because Paul was driving at such a high speed, adequate control over the vehicle would have been extremely difficult, even if he was not under the influence. According to conspiracy theorists, “Henri Paul's blood samples were swapped to portray him as drunk in an elaborate cover-up of a secret service plot to murder Princess Diana” (“Press Office - How Diana Died: The Conspiracy Files”). If his blood samples were swapped with another person’s blood, why would a secret service want the princess dead? Though Paul may have been physically responsible for Diana Spencer’s car crash, we must also consider that it may not have been a tragic accident.