Conspiracy theories about Princess Diana’s death that people still believe decades later

Diana died in a car crash in Paris in 1997

Conspiracy theories about the death of Princess Diana still persist today despite it being 28 years since she died.

Princess Diana tragically died at the age of 36 on August 31, 1997 following a car crash in Paris.

There was much speculation about her death and many conspiracy theories, which are still discussed today. Here we take a look at some of the most popular conspiracies.
Diana died 28 years ago (Credit: Flynetpictures.com / SplashNews.com)

Operation Paget was created to prove Princess Diana death conspiracy theories wrong

A formal inquiry was launched in 2005 to determine the cause of death of Princess Diana, Dodi al Fayed and the driver Henri Paul – and more importantly to put the conspiracy theories to bed.

After three years, and millions of pounds, they concluded that the royal passed away due to the crash. A formal inquest took place a year later, and found they died from ‘grossly negligent driving’.

It was ruled she was victim of an unlawful killing due to Henri Paul being under the influence of alcohol as he tried to speed away from paparazzi – who were also noted in the report. While there are many conspiracy theories over Princess Diana’s death, Operation Paget did also report the three individuals were not wearing seatbelts.

However, Dodi’s father Mohamed dismissed the 871-page report when it was published. He made accusations against the royal family. He said he believed Dodi and Princess Diana’s death was a conspiracy – sparking theories to linger much longer.

Although, in 2008, he said he’d no longer be seeking further investigations into the crash.

While he did not state he did no longer believed in the conspiracy theories surrounding the death of Dodi and Princess Diana, he wouldn’t pursue it publicly. He said he was thinking of Diana’s children, William and Harry.

“Enough is enough,” Fayed 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.”

Dodi’s father said he stopped pursuing an investigation for the sake of Prince William and Prince Harry (Credit: SplashNews.com)

Princess Diana death conspiracy theories people still believe

1) Diana and Dodi Fayed’s relationship doomed the couple

The first conspiracy theory is that Princess Diana’s relationship with Dodi Fayed cost them their lives. Rumours claimed Diana fell pregnant and her and Dodi planned to become engaged.

However, some people claimed that the royal family didn’t want the mother Prince William – a future King – to be married to a Muslim.

The father of Henri Paul – the driver of Diana and Dodi’s car on the night of the crash – claimed British police told him that Diana was killed off.

He said: “Diana was killed and my son was killed. I believe they were both murdered. My son was simply collateral damage of a plot to kill Diana and they killed him as well.”

However, police denied these reports. They later insisted there was no evidence to support the allegation.

Read more: Princess Diana’s ‘desperate plea’ as she decided to step away from the royal family
Dodi and Diana before their death (Credit: Photo by Sipa/Shutterstock)

2) One of the bizarre conspiracy theories claims Princess Diana was pregnant before her death

The next conspiracy theory was that Diana was pregnant with Dodi’s baby.

Dodi’s father claimed in 2003 that the Princess of Wales had phoned and told him she was pregnant on the night she died.

However, in 2004, the former coroner of the Queen’s Household, Dr. John Burton, told The Times that he personally examined Diana’s womb during a post-mortem and found her not to be pregnant.

In addition, Operation Paget – a special Metropolitan Police inquiry team looking into the conspiracies surrounding Diana’s death – conducted scientific tests on pre-transfusion blood found in the footwell of the seat in the car the princess was in during the crash.

The blood found no trace of the hCG hormone associated with pregnancy.
Mohamed al Fayed, Dodi’s father, claimed Diana had told him she was pregnant the night she died (Credit: Tony Clark / SplashNews.com)

3) MI6 paid Diana’s driver Henri Paul to kill them

Another conspiracy was that the driver Henri Paul was paid by MI6 to kill Diana and Dodi.

Former MI6 officer Richard Tomlinson claimed he had seen Paul’s file and could confirm he was an informant.

Tomlinson told reporters around the time of Diana’s death: “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.

“It’s been well-established that he went missing for two or three hours the night of his death.”

Rumours claimed Paul had nearly $250,000 (£182,000) in his bank account at the time of his death.

Tomlinson told a French judge in 1998: “I am certain that this money originated from MI6.

“This is speculation on my part, but if he was an MI6 informant, it would be quite normal for him to receive money.”
Diana died in 1997 following a car crash in Paris (Credit: Arnie Sachs / CNP / SplashNews.com)

4) Camera flash

There were reports that there was a camera flash in the tunnel before the crash. This is said to have blinded the driver.

A few eyewitnesses at the scene of the crash claimed they saw a bright flash of light before the collision.

François Levistre, who was driving through the tunnel ahead of Diana’s Mercedes, claimed he saw a bright light.

Meanwhile, Richard Tomlinson then alleged that he had also seen a similar flashing light in his training. He said it was used to blind drivers.

However, a series of witnesses who would be expected to have seen a flash made no reference to seeing one.

In conclusion, Operation Paget later said that no flash had taken place.
Princess Diana had written in a letter that Charles had ‘planned an accident’ years before her death (Credit: Flynetpictures.com / SplashNews.com)

5) Princes Charles ‘plotted accident’

Another conspiracy claimed the now King Charles had something to do with Diana’s death.

In 2003, Diana’s butler Paul Burrell published a note he claimed Diana had written in 1995.

The letter alleges that Charles was “planning ‘an accident’ in [Diana’s] car, brake failure and serious head injury” so he could marry again. Charles and Diana had split the year before after 15 years together.

Then, in 2005, head of the Metropolitan Police Service at the time, Sir John Stevens, questioned Prince Charles.

The Prince of Wales told Stevens that he didn’t know about the note and didn’t understand why Diana had those feelings.

At the time, Stevens said: “Yes, allegations had been made about the Prince of Wales and other royals but we had to find or examine the [existing] evidence before we approached him with formal questions.

“We found no other evidence to support the scenario suggested in Diana’s note. We were left with the note, which in itself was not enough to make Charles a formal suspect.”

Read more: Inside Princess Diana’s relationship with ex-lover James Hewitt – from her being ‘let down’ to his suicidal thoughts
The Prince of Wales said he didn’t know about the note (Credit: SplashNews.com)

6) Absence of CCTV images

Another conspiracy surrounds CCTV images of the night Diana died.

According to The Independent in 2006, there were more than 14 CCTV cameras around the Pont de l’Alma underpass.

However, reports claim none recorded footage of the collision.

Judge Hervé Stéphan investigated this case in September 1997. He tasked the Brigade Criminelle with looking at all video and images along the route taken by Diana’s car.

His team found ten locations of CCTV cameras. However none of these had any images relating to the inquiry.

This is because they were security cameras facing the entrances to buildings.

A traffic-monitoring camera was above the underpass and controlled by the Paris Urban Traffic Unit, which closed down at around 11 p.m.

It also had no night duty staff and made no recordings.
Operation Paget looking into conspiracy theories surrounding Princess Diana’s death (Credit: SplashNews.com)

8) Seatbelt sabotage was to ‘blame’ for Henri Paul, Dodi al Fayed and Princess Diana’s death

Finally, another conspiracy theory suggested there might have been a seatbelt sabotage as Diana wasn’t wearing hers despite the princess reportedly being a faithful seat belt user.

According to her sister, Lady Sarah McCorquodale, Diana “was religious in putting on her seatbelt”.

CNN did an analysis of the crash in September 1997 and found that if the occupants of the car were wearing seatbelts, injuries would have been minor.

Meanwhile, after the car returned to England in 2005, analysis took place on the wreckage of it by a forensic accident investigator from the Transport Research Laboratory on behalf of Operation Paget.

Read more: Princess Diana’s most controversial moments and the times that broke royal tradition

The analysis found that all the seat belts operated fine except for the one attached to the seat Diana was sitting in.

However, a follow-up inquiry with French investigators concluded they had found all the seatbelts operational in October 1998.

This suggested the damage to that seatbelt happened after the crash.