On August 31, 1997, former soldier Rees-Jones – who was an employee of late Harrods department store boss Mohamed al-Fayed – was tapped to escort Diana, 36, and the billionaire’s son Dodi, 42.

Shortly after the group left the Ritz Hotel, chauffeur Henri Paul lost control of their Mercedes-Benz while speeding through the Pont de l’Alma tunnel trying to escape paparazzi.

The vehicle smashed into a pillar, killing Diana, Dodi and Paul.

Source: MEGADiana and Dodi Al Fayed heading to the Ritz hotel hours before they died in a car crash under Alma tunnel in Paris in 1987.

Rees-Jones spent five weeks in the hospital with severe brain and chest trauma, leaving surgeons to rely on old photos – and 150 pieces of titanium – to reconstruct his face.

During a 2008 inquest, Rees-Jones recalled: “I remember having heard somebody moaning and the name Dodi was uttered, but I don’t know who said it. On the other hand, if there was no one else there apart from us, I conclude it was Princess Diana, as it was a female voice.”

He then appeared to question his own memory, adding: “These memories are vague, and I myself doubt them, but I’m mentioning them as these memories are coming back to me repeatedly.”

Source: MEGARees-Jones recalled being upset at Dodi’s plan for splitting the security officers into multiple vehicles.

The former paratrooper additionally confessed he “goes mad thinking about ‘if onlys.'”

Rees-Jones further recalled not being thrilled at Dodi’s demand that the two cars the group used earlier that day would leave from the front of the hotel to serve as decoys for the paparazzi, while Ritz security chief Paul would personally drive the princess and Dodi in a hotel limo, which would leave from the back of the hotel.

He said: “I wasn’t happy, as it meant Dodi would be splitting the security officers, but I went along with it.”

Source: MEGAThe horrific scene of Di’s crash in Paris.

Rees-Jones also claimed he was unaware the driver had been drinking.

He explained: “A mistake was made by Henri Paul to get behind the wheel of the car when he knew that he had been drinking. Not declaring to either us or to Dodi that he wasn’t fit to drive.

“I don’t know what speed the vehicle was going because I don’t remember. But if Henri Paul had been driving so fast that it was a security risk, that his driving was – that he couldn’t control the car, that it was going too fast – then I would like to think that I would have said, ‘Slow down.'”

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He further opened up about his “moral responsibility” in his 2000 tell-all, The Body Guard’s Story: Diana, The Crash and The Sole Survivor.

Rees-Jones wrote: “I was paid to look after Dodi and his guest, and they died on my shift. I’ve got this hanging over me for the rest of my life.

“A couple of times I felt if I had died instead of them, it would have been much easier.”

Meanwhile, a courier said Charles has also been stricken with guilt over how his marriage with Diana and her death.

The courtier said: “Charles will never take outright responsibility for Diana’s death – but he knows how miserable she was over his longtime affair with Camilla. That unhappiness sent her running into Dodi’s arms – and into her grave.

“He regrets that William and Harry will never forgive him for the pain he and Camilla caused their mother. That’s why the monarch issued a deathbed ultimatum – telling William if he protects Camilla’s palace standing after he inherits the throne, the new king can banish Harry and his uppity American wife, Meghan Markle, for badmouthing the royal family.”