Yahoo News EYNTK about the Princess Diana's death inquiry – and if Mohamed Al-Fayed’s claims hold any truth
It’s finally here – The Crown is back with the last drop of episodes for its very final series.
The last half of the season six sees how the Royal Family deals with the fallout following on from Princess Diana’s tragic death.
While Queen Elizabeth II was heavily criticised for not publicly showing her grief (something that it’s thought Prime Minister Tony Blair had to intervene with), it was Mohamed Al-Fayed’s response that really set tongues wagging.
The father of Dodi, who was also killed in the Paris car crash where Diana died, Al-Fayed continuously claimed the royals had orchestrated the accident, as well as making other outlandish statements.
As a response, Operation Paget was set up to investigate what really happened on the fateful night of the accident – and we see the results of the two-year inquiry during The Crown.
Here, we take a look at what happened during Operation Paget, and whether Al-Fayed really said those shocking things about the royals…
What was the Princess Diana inquiry?
Operation Paget was set up at the behest of Queen Elizabeth II, with the coroner of the royal household, Michael Burgess, asking Metropolitan Police commissioner Sir John Stevens to conduct enquiries into allegations of a cover-up and conspiracy, as well as examining the circumstances around her death.
The basis of the inquiry was to investigate the numerous conspiracies around Diana’s death, many of which that had been furthered by Al-Fayed. It then stretched to every associated allegation that had been made, through the media, in legal submissions, and in formal correspondence since the crash
It meant it was a lengthy operation, taking nearly three years to complete and with 14 police officers working on Paget. The report with the official findings was over 830 pages, and the inquiry in total cost over £12.5 million.
Princess Diana conspiracy theories
Since Diana’s death in 1997, conspiracy theories have raged over the circumstances in which she died.
One of the main conspiracy theories, which Al-Fayed repeated, was that Diana was pregnant, with her and Dodi recently engaged. Repeated medical tests found Diana was not expecting. Elsewhere, close confidantes of the Princess claimed she was on contraception at the time of her death.
Another conspiracy theory, which Al-Fayed pushed, is that Diana herself thought she may be killed.
This theory was given further legs after Paul Burrell, Princess Diana’s one-time butler, released a letter that he claimed she had given to him for safe-keeping.
“I am sitting here at my desk today in October, longing for someone to hug me and encourage me to keep strong and hold my head high,” it reads. “This particular phase in my life is the most dangerous. [...] is planning 'an accident' in my car, brake failure and serious head injury in order to make the path clear for Charles to marry.”
There are some grounds for this letter - when Diana wrote it, she had experienced problems with her car, had voiced fears about them, and her bodyguard had recently died in a car accident.
Al-Fayed added that he believed that Prince Philip ordered the ‘execution’ of Diana, and worked with the British and French intelligence service, alongside the CIA, to organise the crash.
He also named the-then Prince Charles as a co-conspirator in the plot, claiming the heir to the throne had done this so he could marry his former fling (now wife and queen) Camilla Parker-Bowles.
However, there was no evidence or official suggestion that Diana was being targeted by royals, and all these claims were dismissed in the inquiry.
What was the outcome of Operation Paget?
It was ruled that Princess Diana was a victim of an unlawful killing due to the gross negligence of Henri Paul, the driver of the car Diana and Dodi were in, as well as the speed of paparazzi. The report also noted that the deceased weren’t wearing seatbelts.
Al-Fayed initially was dismissive of Operation Paget’s conclusion which suggested Al-Fayed’s accusations against the royals were made ‘in grief’. He told Stevens that he was a “tool for the establishment and the royal family and intelligence.”
Al-Fayed added: “He is himself a mental case. Just to say I am a grieving father, it's baloney.
What did Mohamed Al-Fayed say about the Royal Family?
In The Crown, we see the emotional scenes where Al-Fayed responds to Operation Paget’s findings. In real life, he described the royals as “that Dracula family”, and said that Prince Philip, who has German ancestry, “a Nazi”, whose original name “ends in Frankenstein”. Al-Fayed claimed that the-then Duke of Edinburgh arranged for the crash to happen because of racism, with the royals unable to abide Diana marrying a Muslim. He then added that Charles was part of the plan, which paved way for him to marry his “crocodile wife”.
While the Royals never spoke publicly about Al-Fayed, it’s safe to say they weren’t much impressed by his repeated allegations.
“I think we can all guess their feelings towards him, can’t we?” historian and broadcaster Sarah Gristwood told Cosmopolitan UK.
“I think there isn't much doubt that the royal family’s feelings toward Mohamed Al-Fayed, to put it very mildly, were not warm. They were always going to maintain a kind of public reticence but there’s not much doubt is there.”
However, in 2008, Al-Fayed said he will no longer be seeking any further lines of investigation after the car crash.
"Enough is enough," he said. "For the sake of the two princes, who I know loved their mother. I am sure they are blessing in their deep heart what I'm doing to discover the truth."
He added: "I'm leaving the rest for God to get my revenge. I'm not doing anything any more... this is the end."
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