It is one of the greatest tragedies in the history of the British royal family: On August 31, 1997, Lady Diana died in a car accident in Paris. The accident will be 25 years old in a few weeks. On this occasion, ZDF is showing the 90-minute documentary “Diana’s last night – love, life, legend”, in which the last hours of Diana’s life and what happened on the night of the accident are reconstructed.
The authors and directors Annika Blendl and Leonie Stade as well as royal expert Ulrike Grunewald were able to bring more than two dozen contemporary witnesses and companions in front of the camera. They describe their memories and try to explain how the devastating accident in the Alma tunnel in Paris could have happened, which not only cost Diana the life, but also her then partner Dodi Al-Fayed and the chauffeur Henri Paul. The sole survivor was bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones, who was in the passenger seat of the black Mercedes. It is well known that Paul had a cocktail of alcohol and medication in his blood, drove far too fast and all the occupants were not buckled up. In this respect, the film provides no new insights.
However, the statements made by Dai Davies, head of royal personal security in 1997, Patrick Jephson, Diana’s former private secretary or Ken Wharfe, once the bodyguard of the Princess of Wales, are exciting in the documentary. All three men come to more or less the same conclusion: Perhaps Diana would not have had to die if the trip to Paris had been better organized and the celebrity couple protected more professionally. Because neither Lady Diana nor Dodi Al-Fayed had informed their employees in advance that they would be flying to Paris. They also left many of those involved in the dark about their concrete plans in the French capital.
In the eyes of the experts, the fact that Diana refused the bodyguards from Scotland Yard to whom she was entitled after the divorce from Prince Charles weighed heavily. He begged her not to do it, says private secretary Patrick Jephson in the documentary. But Diana remained stubborn. Her distrust was too great. She was worried that his men would spy on him on behalf of Prince Charles, explains bodyguard Davies. Instead, Mohammed Al-Fayed hired two bodyguards: Trevor Rees-Jones, who was later in the accident car, and Alexander “Kes” Wingfield. Both had already accompanied the entrepreneur in public. Apparently they were not prepared for the onslaught of paparazzi that Diana and Dodi triggered and were not adequately briefed on site.
In general, the film does not cast a good light on the Al-Fayed family. Mohamed Al-Fayed, a controversial entrepreneur, pushed his son Dodi’s relationship with Diana. “He was keen on their marriage. It was the perfect trophy for him,” says film producer Michael Attwell in the documentary. Dodi himself used Diana for his own purposes. “He was a playboy. He was up to something,” claims her ex-butler Paul Burrell.
In Paris, Dodi allegedly wanted to ask for Diana’s hand. A few hours before the accident, he changed his plans again – again without telling his security guards. Diana and Dodi actually wanted to have dinner in a restaurant, but when they were followed by photographers, they returned to the “Ritz” hotel. Instead of staying the night there, Dodi wanted to go to his apartment near the Arc de Triomphe – probably to propose to Diana there. But they never arrived at the apartment. The accident in the Pont de l’Alma tunnel happened 20 minutes after midnight. Diana initially appeared to be seriously injured and was taken to the Pitié-Salpêtrière hospital. She died there in the early hours of the morning. She was only 36 years old.
“Diana’s last night – love, life, legend” will be on August 2, 2022 at 8:15 p.m. on ZDF
