Who was Princess Diana with when she died and the truth about that night in Paris

The images are burned into the collective memory of the nineties. A crumpled black Mercedes-Benz S280. Flashes from paparazzi cameras bouncing off the jagged metal of the Pont de l’Alma tunnel. It’s been decades, but the question of who was Princess Diana with when she died still drives a massive amount of curiosity, mostly because the people in that car represented the collision of two very different worlds.

She wasn't alone. Far from it.

Diana was traveling with three other men when the car hit the thirteenth pillar of the tunnel at roughly 65 miles per hour. It wasn't just a random night out; it was the final leg of a Mediterranean vacation that had been under the microscopic lens of the global press for weeks. Honestly, the chaos of that night started long before the engine even turned over at the Ritz Hotel.

The occupants of the Mercedes: A breakdown of who was there

When people ask who was Princess Diana with when she died, the name everyone knows is Dodi Fayed. He was the son of billionaire Mohamed Al-Fayed, who at the time owned Harrods and the Ritz Paris. Dodi and Diana had been seeing each other for just a few weeks, a whirlwind romance that the tabloids were obsessed with. Dodi was sitting in the rear passenger side seat, directly behind the driver. He died almost instantly.

Then there was Henri Paul. He was the acting head of security at the Ritz. On paper, he was supposed to be the one ensuring their safety, but history remembers him much differently. He was behind the wheel. Like Dodi, he didn't survive the impact.

The only person to make it out alive was Trevor Rees-Jones (now known as Trevor Rees). He was a member of the Al-Fayed security team, a former paratrooper who was sitting in the front passenger seat. He suffered horrific facial injuries and spent ten days in a coma. Because of the trauma, his memory of the actual moment of impact is basically non-existent, which has fueled conspiracy theorists for years.

Why Dodi Fayed was by her side

To understand the dynamic, you have to look at Diana’s state of mind in the summer of 1997. She was a year post-divorce from Prince Charles. She was looking for a protector, or at least someone who could provide the kind of security and privacy that the Royal Family's infrastructure no longer afforded her. Dodi offered that. Or he tried to.

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They had spent the preceding days on the Jonikal, the Al-Fayed family yacht, cruising the French and Italian Riviera. The photos of them—the "Kiss" photo—had sold for millions. By the time they reached Paris on August 30, they were exhausted by the "paps." They just wanted a quiet dinner. They didn't get it.

The role of Henri Paul: A fatal decision

Henri Paul wasn't even supposed to be working that night. He had finished his shift earlier but was called back when the paparazzi swarm outside the Ritz became unmanageable. This is where the story gets murky and tragic.

Official investigations, specifically the French inquiry and the British Operation Paget led by Lord Stevens, concluded that Paul was legally intoxicated. His blood-alcohol level was reportedly three times the French legal limit. He was also on prescription medication (antidepressants and an anti-psychotic). When you think about who was Princess Diana with when she died, Paul is the figure that represents the catastrophic failure of duty. He attempted to outrun the photographers on motorcycles, leading to the high-speed entry into the tunnel.

The chaos at the Pont de l'Alma

The tunnel wasn't a long stretch. It was a short, subterranean dip.

Inside the car, the seating arrangement meant everything. Because Diana was in the back right seat, she didn't hit the dashboard. However, the force of the deceleration caused her body to be thrown forward, snapping the tiny pulmonary vein in her chest. It’s a rare injury, but a fatal one.

The first person to provide medical aid wasn't a paramedic. It was Dr. Frederic Mailliez, a physician who happened to be driving in the opposite direction. He didn't even recognize her at first. He just saw a woman in the back of a wrecked car, struggling for breath.

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• Dodi Fayed: Declared dead at the scene at 12:40 AM.
• Henri Paul: Dead at the scene.
• Trevor Rees-Jones: Critically injured, saved by the airbag.
• Princess Diana: Transferred to Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital; declared dead at 4:00 AM.

Misconceptions about that night

People love a good conspiracy. It's human nature. Some believe the car was clipped by a mysterious white Fiat Uno. Others think the flashes from the photographers blinded Henri Paul.

But if you look at the evidence from Operation Paget—which was a massive 800-page report—most of these theories fall apart. For instance, the idea that Diana was pregnant. Pathologists and forensic tests confirmed she was not. Or the idea that she was about to announce an engagement to Dodi. While Dodi had purchased a ring from Repossi jewelers that day, there is no evidence Diana had accepted a proposal or even knew it was coming.

The most haunting detail? None of the passengers in the back seat were wearing seatbelts. Experts have since testified that had she been buckled in, the Princess of Wales likely would have walked away with broken ribs and a concussion.

The aftermath and the "Bodyguard"

Trevor Rees-Jones is the silent witness to the question of who was Princess Diana with when she died. He’s the only one who can’t tell the full story because his brain literally blocked it out. He underwent massive reconstructive surgery; his face was rebuilt using 150 pieces of titanium.

He eventually wrote a book called The Bodyguard's Story. In it, he tried to clear the air, but he was caught between the Al-Fayed family’s version of events—which often leaned into conspiracy—and the cold hard facts of the police report. He eventually moved back to Shropshire and tried to live a normal life, but he will always be the man who survived the crash that changed the monarchy.

Why it still matters in 2026

We are still talking about this because Diana changed the way we view celebrity and the "Firm." The people she was with that night—a playboy heir, a security officer with a troubled personal life, and a loyal bodyguard—represent the strange, nomadic life she led after leaving the palace.

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She was surrounded by people, yet in many ways, she was incredibly isolated. The security detail was private, not state-funded. The car was a rental from the hotel fleet. The plan was made on the fly to evade the press. It was a recipe for a "perfect storm."

What we can learn from the evidence

Looking back, the tragedy serves as a grim case study in road safety and the ethics of journalism.

1. The Seatbelt Factor: It remains the most preventable aspect of the tragedy. No matter the speed or the driver, a belt likely would have changed history.
2. The Pressure of the Paparazzi: While they weren't the "legal" cause of the crash (that fell on Henri Paul), their presence created the environment of panic.
3. Chain of Command: The decision to let an off-duty, intoxicated employee drive the world’s most famous woman is a corporate failure that the Ritz has had to live with forever.

If you're looking for the definitive answer to who was Princess Diana with when she died, it was Dodi Fayed and Henri Paul (who died with her) and Trevor Rees-Jones (who survived).

To dig deeper into the actual forensic findings of the case, you should look into the Operation Paget report. It is the most comprehensive collection of witness statements, car telemetry, and medical records ever assembled regarding the accident. It’s dry, it’s long, but it’s the only way to separate the myths from the reality of what happened in that tunnel.

For those interested in the legal side of the story, researching the 2008 British inquest provides a clear view of how a jury viewed the "unlawful killing" caused by the grossly negligent driving of Henri Paul and the pursuing photographers. Understanding these documents is the best way to honor the facts of a story that is often buried in sensationalism.