Princess Diana Conspiracy Theory Essay by Hannah Crawford

What really happened to the beloved, kindhearted, Princess Diana? On a trip to Paris, Princess Diana was killed in a fatal car accident. Despite continuous questioning, investigation, and theories being tossed around, the question is still un-answered. Was Princess Diana murdered for being said to be pregnant and in a relationship with Dodi Al Fayed which the royal family despised and considered to be embarrassing? Was it the paparazzi’s fault for trailing her car and intentionally causing her driver to crash? Was it the driver who was missing for hours and was witnessed to be a part of the murder? Let’s examine Princess Diana, the conspiracy theories of her death, and the likelihood she was murdered for being pregnant and in a relationship with Fayed by her hired driver Henri Paul.

Princess Diana was highly involved in her community along with being a full-time mother to her two sons, Prince Harry and Prince William. She was said to be a bit shy but soon grew into her role as Queen of Wales alongside her husband King Charles. She was very insecure in her own shoes, mainly due to her husband’s affair which she gave a cutting wit interview over saying, “Well, there were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded.”. Princess Diana was seen to be this strong, funny and giving lady but deep down she was trapped, controlled and struggling with the life that was forming before her eyes. Her failing marriage is what led her to her new fiancé and the royal family was not fond of her new encountering’s at all, giving them motive to end it in traumatic ways.

Princess Diana’s marriage with King Charles failed due to many reasons but led to her finding someone she deeply cared for and loved, Dodi Al Fayed. Fayed believed the royal family was biased against him because he was an Egyptian Muslim. Fayed reasoned the British establishment wanted to prevent Diana and Dodi from marrying so that Prince William, the future king, and Prince Harry would not have a Muslim stepfather (“Who Killed Princess Diana? Conspiracy Theories Endure, Twenty Years Later.”).  Also, rumors were being spread of an expecting child on the way but autopsy on Diana’s body showed no signs of pregnancy or HCG hormones which could prove a very early pregnancy. In fact, it showed she was keeping up and regularly using her birth control. The royal family did not approve of her relationship with Dodi Al Fayed but there was no evidence of motive, since there was no pregnancy, to end her life for being engaged to an Egyptian Muslim man.

The night of the tragic car accident Diana, Fayed, and here driver was being followed by paparazzi while having a night in Paris. Martin Stenning was always on hot pursuit with stories over Princess Diana and what she was doing. Stenning and Diana had history together but never really met face to face, just in court. Stenning, a courier turned photographer, was also fond of pursuing the princess on a motorbike. He chased Diana most everywhere and, she said, twice crashed into her car. His actions, Diana said in an affidavit last year, "are calculated to cause me harm." Stenning insisted that wasn't so, but the court sided with Diana and ordered him to stay 300 meters away (“Is the Press to Blame for Princess Diana’s Death? What Really Happen That Night in Paris.”). She had a popular life everyone wanted to know about but was being constantly followed for everyone’s unanswered questions to be answered, or for the press to find the smallest amount of dirt to make a story out of. There was no proof the paparazzi caused this accident, mostly Stenning, since he was called by the court to keep 300 meters away from Princess Diana. The presses job was to find out about her life, not end it.

Investigations carried out by both French and British authorities concluded that Mr. Paul was responsible for the crash. He was drunk and on anti-depressants when he lost control of the Mercedes as it sped through the tunnel that lies next to the River Seine, while trying to shake off paparazzi photographers (“Princess Diana: What Happened on the Nigh of Her Death?”). Investigators questioned many people who were close to all 3 of the victims including a person with the last name Tomilson, he said, “Henri Paul, who was the driver of the car, was also the security manager at the Ritz Hotel and he was a MI6 informant. ... I saw his file,” Tomlinson told reporters at the time. “It’s been well-established that he went missing for two or three hours the night of his death." (“Who Killed Princess Diana? Conspiracy Theories Endure, Twenty Years Later.”). it was also very suspicious that Henri was only paid $35,000 a year but had $250,000 in his bank account by the time of his death. It was also found in the car with him, a large amount of cash in the trunk of the car in a bag with his initials on it, “HP”.

All three conspiracy theories have their reasons to believe one another, but the real one to believe is that Henri Paul was hired to take Diana, Fayed and his own life that night in Paris. Since the investigation sizzled out and there was no definite reason to put behind Princess Diana’s death, they concluded it was a car accident. But was the car accident intentional? And who would want to hire Henri Paul to carry out the suicide mission just to kill Princess Diana?

Works cited

McDermott, Maeve. “Who Killed Princess Diana? Conspiracy Theories Endure, Twenty Years Later.” USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network, 29 Aug. 2017, www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2017/08/29/who-killed-princess-diana-conspiracy-theories-still-endure/543939001/.

Newsweek Archives. “Is the Press to Blame for Princess Diana's Death? What Really Happened That Night in Paris.” Newsweek, 29 Aug. 2017, www.newsweek.com/did-paparazzi-have-role-dianas-death-654159.

Reporters, Telegraph. “Princess Diana: What Happened on the Night of Her Death?” The Telegraph, Telegraph Media Group, 31 Aug. 2018, www.telegraph.co.uk/royal-family/0/princess-diana-happened-night-death/.