Twenty-five years after Diana, Princess of Wales, died, conspiracy theories still circulate, shaping legends about her murder or alleged royal involvement. The tragedy occurred in a car accident in Paris.
In 2008, a British forensic inquiry examined the death of the 36-year-old princess and her partner, Dodi al-Fayed. The inquiry concluded that the fatal crash resulted from reckless actions and the tragedy was not a deliberate act.
Police findings blamed Henri Paul, the driver of the Mercedes, during the night of August 30, 1997, when the car collided with the Pont de l’Alma in Paris as paparazzi pursued for a dramatic image of the era’s most famous woman.
Only the couple survived the initial impact, while Trevor Rees Jones, the princess’s companion, has been unable to share detailed statements due to memory gaps, a point often cited by skeptics who argue about silenced witnesses.
The jury in the investigation found that the paparazzi who chased the vehicle played a reckless role at the outset, inflaming public anger toward sensational media coverage.
“Queen made”
Early on, investigators from the Paris Crime Brigade examined the scene, but in the following days a wave of theories emerged, some circulating online in its early era, others propelled by prominent individuals.
Within a day of the crash, Mohamed Al Fayed, Dodi’s father and then owner of Harrods, requested a criminal inquiry for manslaughter as Paris prosecutors announced that Paul had exceeded the legal blood alcohol limit.
A few days later, Diana’s funeral took place at Westminster Abbey in London. The princess’s brother, Charles Spencer, faced criticism from the press. Diana was privately laid to rest at Althorp House in Northamptonshire, the Spencer family home, in the English countryside.
That event intensified public doubt as graffiti near the Alma bridge suggested a darker possibility with phrases like killer paparazzi or queen did it appearing at the scene.
What begins here is a journey into the rabbit hole—an exploration often labeled true crime—where some argue that anti media attacks hide the real perpetrators, a thesis echoed by Al Fayed in recent statements and on archival footage.
Al Fayed maintains the long-standing claim that the two deaths were tied to a conspiracy, a theory he has supported for over two decades, citing personal motives tied to marriage plans.
The hitmen will kill Diana
Even with two major investigations, the 2006 police inquiry and the 2008 forensic review, he remains unconvinced, clinging to the idea of a calculated plot rather than a tragic accident.
The Daily Mirror published a letter in which Diana’s husband is alleged to have discussed a plan to end her life in a car crash, a claim that has kept the rumor mill active for years and fed numerous reinterpretations.
Al Fayed has accused the royal family and the secret services of orchestrating Diana and Dodi’s deaths, linking these claims to broader narratives about their private lives and public roles.
The documentary also examines reports of a shooting event just before the crash, including a supposed beam of light from a passing motorcycle that may have startled the driver and caused the misfortune, along with accounts of a white vehicle seen nearby and a dark-skinned driver in another car, described by some witnesses.
Martin Monteil, who led the Paris criminal brigade at the time, notes traces of white paint and glass on the Mercedes, but he concedes that these testimonies did not provide conclusive evidence about responsibility.
Regardless of the conclusions, the Diana story continues to captivate millions in the United Kingdom and beyond, a reminder that conspiracy theories can endure long after official findings are issued.