Death of a Princess: The True Story Behind Diana's Tragic End

by Tom Sancton, Scott MacLeod

For the twentieth anniversary of Diana's death, a new, updated edition of the headline-grabbing New York Times bestseller that told the definitive story of how the Princess of Wales lost her life in a high-speed car accident in the heart of Paris on August 31, 1997.What really happened on that fateful summer night? Rumors still that Diana and her boyfriend, Dodi Fayed (son of wealthy Egyptian businessman Mohamed Al Fayed), were planning to marry and British intelligence was somehow involved in their deaths. Or, that the paparazzi, a second car, or Diana and Dodi's driver, may have been responsible.Written by Tom Sancton, Time's Paris bureau chief at the time, and Scott MacLeod, then the magazine's Middle East correspondent, Death of a Princess struck a chord in 1998 with its exhaustive account of what really happened in the months, days, hours, and minutes leading up to the fatal crash. The book remains a masterwork of strong, original reporting, firsthand interviews with key figures, and insider analysis of one of the twentieth century's most tragic and unforgettable events.

Genres: Nonfiction

363 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 11, 2017

Reviews

[Geoff Hunton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant

I remember when the news broke that the Princess had passed and this book is an amazing analysis of the days and weeks after

[Lee Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've been going through all the back episodes of the You're Wrong About podcast, and their multi-part Diana series led me to buy this e-book. It could have been worse; they've done oodles of OJ episodes, and I've only been lightly tempted to find copies of Paula Barbieri's and Kato Kaelin's books, which may be the only two books on that case that I haven't read.

Anyway, I specially sought out this e-book, since it was supposed to be a newer, updated edition. It isn't really. The main body of the book is the same, which is immediate reportage of the accident and its aftermath. The "update" is pretty much just a reprint of a Vanity Fair article that I probably read when it came out, since I've subscribed to VF for years. So if you want to read this, find a copy for a dollar somewhere, and Google the article, and you'll save yourself the cost of a cup of coffee.

As for the book, it did give me what I was looking for, based on what YWA had enticed me with: very, very detailed retelling of the night of the crash, the investigation, Diana and Dodi's relationship prior to the crash, and some background on the driver, Henri Paul. There wasn't too much extraneous stuff, just a little on some of the reporters that I didn't really need, and I will admit my eyes glazed over by the final time I read the words "Fiat Uno" (56 times, the e-book tells me). I suppose we will never truly know what exactly happened in that Paris tunnel, but we know enough that it's never going to reach the Jon-Benet level of mystery. RIP

[Nancy Chiok · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everyone knows what happened to Princess Diana. I picked this book because I wanted to know what Tom had picked up in which there are new openings that we are unaware off.

Well, there are some new happenings which are written and the usual situations in the broader picture. What is exciting, is that this book specifically mentioned the personalities of those who died like the body guards, and further mention of Dodi and Diana.

As I have a special liking to thrillers and mysteries, I read to see if there is a difference to what we have gathered from newspapers, magazines, and the internet.

[Tonya's Turning Pages · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a well-researched book on the death of Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed. There is a lot of information about the crash, the investigations into the crash (both the French and British), medical trauma, and judicial findings. This book goes into Dodi's father, Mohamed Al Fayed, stating that the couple was murdered. He also states that they were going to be engaged and were pregnant. It gives a lot of information on Dodi's life before Diana, but it is mostly speculation and gossip. I dropped a star because of the gossipy chapter. He gave way too much time and attention to an ex-girlfriend of Dodi's who sold sex stories about him to the tabloids. She was also suing Dodi before he died because she said she gave up modeling to be his girlfriend and should be compensated (it was dropped after his death). He gave her too much space and grace for a woman who told a story about not using a condom and sold it to the Enquirer rag. It was a lot of "she told" and "he said," which was out of place with the rest of the book, which was researched.
This book also discusses the photographers and the role they played in the crash. What is known is that when the crash happened, they took a picture of people who were dead and dying instead of rendering aid. This book also reveals that the police on the scene broke up a fight between two photographers, where one was accusing the other of causing the crash. It has also been stated that a Fiat was involved in the crash but was not found. This book gives a lot of answers, and it also clearly states that there are still many unanswered questions even over 25 years later. One question that remains is why it takes the ambulance 40 minutes to drive the ten-minute ride to the hospital? Why did they not go to hospitals that were closer? Why is there a difference in the blood samples taken from the driver? Why won't the French investigators release the tapes of the surveillance of the route even now, after it is closed? These are all important questions, and I do not know if we will ever know all the answers. Dodi's father pursued every investigation possible, but the conspiracy theories have never been proven true. The investigations all concluded that the driver was impaired by alcohol and drugs, excessive speed, the dangerous Alma tunnel, and paparazzi interference and pursuit. It stated that "sometimes a car crash is just a car crash (Sancton, pg. 309). Although the photographers (who were still on scene) were arrested and eventually cleared, the judge stated that while their morals and ethics should be questioned, they did not technically do anything criminally wrong. I could not disagree with that judgment more. Endangering the lives of everyone because you want a picture should be considered criminal. And taking a picture of those dead and dying instead of helping should also be criminal.
I appreciated the postscript chapter that caught up the past twenty or so years and what had been found. However, it just left even more questions. A French detective has since come forward. There was a Fiat found with crash damage that was not investigated, blood anomalies in the driver's samples, and a photographer named Andanson, who was previously accused of stalking Diana, was found burned to death in their vehicle, and it was declared a suicide. Family and friends deny the suicide factor, and his son has stated he was not home the night of the crash and that his father had owned a Fiat. Additionally, Andanson's office was broken into after his death, and files and computers were stolen. Also, Dodi's dad has never stopped saying they were murdered, and he still states that they were to be engaged that weekend and that Diana was pregnant. However, although she was never tested for pregnancy, the autopsy findings state that she was not pregnant by looking at her womb. And her family and friends deny this. They were only together around six weeks, so if she was, it would have been very early on. However, I do wonder if they were going to be engaged because of visiting a jewelry store days before.
Overall, this is a very informative book, minus the gossipy chapter, but it still leaves so many lingering questions about Diana's death.

[Heather G · Rating 3 out of 5]

Long

For a short book, it was a struggle to finish. Lots of things were repeated and there were several tedious parts, but there was also interesting parts and it was very thorough.

[Theophilus]

I want to read

[Jim Swike]

Many books on Diana, this covered the immediate aftermath of the accident. Great book if you are interested in the topic. Enjoy!

[Deity World · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember this day very well back in 1997. What a sad loss to the world after all she did. That accident should never have happened.