August in Paris is usually quiet. The locals flee to the coast, leaving the limestone streets to the tourists and the heat. But on the night of August 30, 1997, the air around the Hôtel Ritz felt electric, almost vibrating with a strange, jagged tension. You've probably seen the grainy CCTV footage—a woman in a blazer, golden hair catching the light, stepping into an elevator. She looks tired. Maybe a little hopeful. That woman was the most famous person on the planet, and within hours, she would be gone.
The docudrama Diana: Last Days of a Princess tries to piece this together. It’s a weird, haunting hybrid of real interviews and scripted drama. Honestly, it’s one of the better attempts to capture that final, frantic summer, but even the best film can’t quite touch the raw chaos of what actually went down.
The Summer of the "Golden Girl"
By 1997, Diana was technically a private citizen. Divorced. Stripped of her "Her Royal Highness" title. But she was more powerful than ever. She’d spent the summer campaigning against landmines in Bosnia and Angola, using her fame like a physical lever to move the world.
Then came Dodi Al-Fayed.
People still argue about whether it was love or just a rebound. Dodi was the son of Mohamed Al-Fayed, the billionaire owner of Harrods. He was flashy, rich, and—critically—he offered Diana the one thing she couldn't buy: absolute, ironclad security. Or so she thought. Their relationship played out across the Mediterranean on the Jonikal, a luxury yacht. Paparazzi with long-range lenses followed them like sharks trailing a scent. The "Kiss" photo alone was worth millions.
But as the calendar flipped to late August, the vacation was winding down. They headed to Paris for one last night before Diana was supposed to return to London to see her boys, William and Harry.
That Fateful Night at the Ritz
If you watch Diana: Last Days of a Princess, the movie spends a lot of time in the Imperial Suite of the Ritz. It’s claustrophobic. Outside, the Place Vendôme was a sea of photographers. They were everywhere. Standing on scooters, pushing against the doors, shouting.
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Diana and Dodi just wanted to eat. They tried to go to a restaurant called Benoît, but the crowd was so thick they turned back to the hotel. They ended up eating in their room. Imagine that—one of the wealthiest couples in the world, basically trapped in a five-star cage.
Dodi hatched a plan. It was a decoy move. He sent a Mercedes and a Range Rover out the front to distract the press, while he and Diana slipped out the back in a different car.
The Fatal Variable: Henri Paul
This is where the story gets dark. The man assigned to drive them wasn't a professional chauffeur. He was Henri Paul, the deputy head of security at the Ritz. He had been off duty. He’d been at a bar.
Later tests showed his blood-alcohol level was three times the French legal limit. He was also on prescription meds—Prozac and Tiapridal. Basically, he was in no condition to ride a bike, let alone drive a heavy Mercedes S280 at high speeds through narrow city streets.
The car left the Ritz at 12:17 a.m.
The Pont de l'Alma Crash
It only took a few minutes. The car sped toward the Pont de l'Alma tunnel, trying to shake the paparazzi who were trailing on motorcycles. Witnesses say the car was flying—maybe 65, maybe 70 miles per hour.
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Henri Paul lost control.
The Mercedes clipped a white Fiat Uno—a car that has never been officially found, fueling decades of conspiracy theories—and slammed into the 13th concrete pillar of the tunnel.
Dodi and Henri Paul died instantly.
Diana didn't.
The Aftermath in the Tunnel
The first doctor on the scene, Frédéric Mailliez, was just driving by. He found a woman slumped on the floor of the backseat. He didn't even recognize her at first. She was alive, but her body had been subjected to massive G-forces.
The paparazzi arrived seconds later. Some tried to help. Others... they just kept shooting. The flashes of their cameras lit up the wreckage like a strobe light. It’s one of the most grotesque details of the entire night.
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Diana was taken to the Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital. She had a torn pulmonary vein. Her heart had shifted in her chest. Surgeons worked for hours, but the internal bleeding was too much. At 4:00 a.m., they called it.
Why the Story Still Grips Us
Why do we still talk about this? Why did Diana: Last Days of a Princess even need to be made?
Maybe because it feels like a glitch in the matrix. Someone that vibrant, that influential, shouldn't just vanish because of a drunk driver and a lack of seatbelts. Because that’s the kicker—neither Diana nor Dodi were wearing seatbelts. Trevor Rees-Jones, the bodyguard in the front seat, was the only one who buckled up. He was the only one who survived.
There are always rumors. Was she pregnant? (The autopsy said no). Was it an MI6 hit? (The Operation Paget inquiry found zero evidence). Was it the paparazzi’s fault? They certainly didn't help, but the legal blame eventually landed on Henri Paul's shoulders.
What You Should Take Away
If you’re looking for the truth behind the headlines, the "Diana: Last Days of a Princess" docudrama is a solid starting point for the atmosphere, but the facts are found in the 800-page Operation Paget report.
If you want to understand the legacy of that night, look at how the world changed:
- Privacy Laws: The tragedy led to a massive shift in how the press is allowed to pursue public figures, especially in the UK and France.
- The Royal "Thaw": The Queen’s initial silence nearly broke the monarchy. The public's grief forced the royals to become more "human," a shift we still see in the younger generation today.
- The Seatbelt Lesson: It sounds mundane, but investigators were adamant—had she been wearing a seatbelt, Diana likely would have walked away with broken ribs and a concussion.
If you’re diving into the history, start by watching the 2007 film for the "vibe," then read the actual witness testimonies from the 2008 inquest. The reality is often less about secret agents and more about a series of small, human mistakes that added up to a global tragedy.
Check the official archives of the Metropolitan Police for the full investigation summaries if you really want to see the forensics. It’s sobering stuff, but it cuts through the noise better than any movie ever could.