Known as the People’s Princess because of her nurturing and compassionate nature, as well as love for the ordinary citizens, Lady Di will forever be remembered as the woman who changed Britain and the Monarchy.
This incredible Princess rose to prominence upon her engagement to Prince Charles, Queen Elizabeth II’s eldest son and heir apparent to the British throne. Ever since the world learned of her, she was under the spotlight. The paparazzi followed her every move, and according to many, pushed her to her death.
At the time of her death, Princess Diana’s sons, Harry and William, were only 12 and 15 years.
She lost her life after she and her partner Dodi Fayed, the son of Egyptian billionaire Mohamed Al-Fayed, her driver Henri Paul, and her bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones crashed the Mercedes in the Pont de I’Alma tunnel in Paris while trying to escape the paparazzi.
Shutterstock. The Pont de l’Alma tunnel where Princess Diana was fatally injured in the car crash. Above the tunnel you can now see the Flame of Freedom of Liberty, now a tribute to the Princess.
Xavier Gourmelon was one of the first responders who came to the scene after the tragic crash. He spoke of the day and revealed what the Princess’ final words were.
As reported by The Independent, Gourmelon said: “The car was in a mess and we just dealt with it like any road accident.”
He then continued, “For me this was simply a banal traffic accident, one of many that emergency services have to deal with and it was the usual causes, speed and a drunk driver…
“I could see she had a slight injury to her right shoulder but, other than that, there was nothing significant. There was no blood on her at all. I held her hand and told her to be calm and keep still, I said I was there to help and reassured her.”
As she was still conscious when he approached her to help her, the Princess said: “My God, what’s happened?”
Gourmelon further said how he believed the Princess would pull through and was shocked to hear that she died one day after she was admitted to the Pitie-Salpetriere hospital. According to reports, Lady Di passed away as a result of massive internal injuries and a ruptured blood vessel which caused internal bleeding.
Her funeral was watched by 2.3 billion people from all over the world. Diana’s passing was a loss that crushed billions of hearts. There was no single Briton who didn’t mourn her death.
Dodi Fayed’s father, Mohamed Al-Fayed, whose son died at the scene, was convinced that the crash was no incident at all.