There are conflicting reports about the precise details of Diana, Princess of Wales, and Dodi Fayed’s fatal car crash. However, there are some verifiable facts. Per People, on August 30, 1997, Diana made what would be a final call to her sons, William, Prince of Wales, and Harry, Duke of Sussex. She and Dodi then dined at the Paris Ritz, where some allege he proposed.
The AP reports they had been hounded by paparazzi since arriving in Paris, and the pressure was wearing thin. At 10.08 p.m., Henri Paul, a Ritz security guard, arrived at the hotel. He spent two hours in the lobby and bar. Diana and Dodi finished dinner at 12.07 a.m. Due to the swarms of photographers outside, they decided to decamp to Dodi’s Champs-Elysees apartment.
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Two “decoy cars,” one driven by Dodi’s chauffeur, left from the hotel’s main entrance, hoping to trick the paparazzi. Meanwhile, Dodi, Diana, and their bodyguard, Rees-Jones, escaped in a Mercedes driven by Paul. It quickly became apparent the decoy trick hadn’t worked. So, with hordes of paps in hot pursuit, they sped up. At 12.25 a.m., the Mercedes entered the Pont de l’Alma tunnel, which has a speed limit of 30 mph; it’s estimated they were traveling at 121 mph. Seconds later, the car hit a concrete pillar, flipped, and smashed into a wall. Paul and Dodi were killed instantly. Rees-Jones and Diana were rushed to the hospital. She was pronounced dead at 5:00 a.m. on August 31, 1997.
