Trevor Rees-jones: The Bodyguard Who Survived Princess Diana’s Car Crash Reader’s Digest

In the early hours of Sunday morning, Diana, Dodi, and their chauffeur Henri Paul had been killed when their automobile crashed in Pont de l’Alma tunnel. As followers of The Crown know all too well, Princess Diana’s love life was pretty rocky — and her tumultuous marriage to Prince Charles was just one piece of the puzzle. The couple received married Wapa popularity in 1981 (when Diana was 20 years previous and Charles was 32). After welcoming two children, William in 1982 and Harry in 1984, the couple separated in 1992 and officially divorced in 1996. In honor of The Crown returning for Season 5, let’s take a look back at her fascinating romantic historical past. In the early hours of August 31, 1997, Diana and Dodi Fayed had been involved in a automobile crash that killed them both and their driver Henri Paul in Paris, France.

In his absence, Camilla married her longtime boyfriend, military officer Andrew Parker-Bowles, in 1973. In the early ‘90s, Diana went public with her resentment of Charles and Camilla’s relationship. The sensational details that followed triggered an embarrassing scandal for the royal household. She renewed her contacts with the royal household, and her friendship with Charles grew in 1980. On February 24, 1981, their engagement was introduced, and her beauty and shy demeanour—which earned her the nickname “Shy Di”—made her an immediate sensation with the media and the basic public.

July 1980: three years later, diana spencer and then-prince charles met again, igniting a romantic relationship.

In his memoir “Spare” and in interviews selling the e-book, Harry accused Camilla of buying and selling personal information about him and others to the media as part of a drive to forge friendly relationships with journalists and enhance her popularity. Mindful of lingering public hostility towards Camilla, palace officials cautiously managed her public appearances over the a long time. Camilla made dozens of official visits with charities each year, and her heat persona and ease at connecting with people little doubt helped her image makeover; those who’ve met her typically describe her as heat, unstuffy and likeable. She refused to keep her royal safety detail after the divorce, one thing that is putting contemplating her demise.

February 24, 1981: charles, then 32, and diana, then 19, announced their engagement.

Following the funeral, Diana’s coffin was driven to her childhood home in Althorp as fans lined the streets to applaud and throw flowers. She was carried to her final resting spot – an island on her household’s property – by the Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment, who reportedly all had tears in their eyes. Reverend Victor Malan, the Spencer family, Prince Charles, Prince William, Prince Harry, Paul Burrell and Colin Tebbutt all mentioned their goodbyes in the course of the burial service earlier than going back into the home for tea. Inside the abbey, family, pals, acquaintances and celebrities took their seats to observe Diana’s loved ones say their goodbyes. Charles Spencer read the eulogy for his sister, and Elton John who re-wrote lyrics to his track Candle in the Wind to honor his pal, ‘England’s rose’.

July 1981: the couple’s honeymoon foreshadowed future issues.

“The Princess is in glorious well being. The Princess hopes to continue to undertake some public engagements but regrets any disappointment which can be brought on by any curtailment in her planned program.” Despite seemingly hitting it off during their first meeting, it might be greater than a 12 months before Charles began courting Diana. In audio recordings made by Diana at Kensington Palace, which might in the end serve as the basis for her 1992 biography, she recalled attending Charles’ 30th birthday dance on Nov. 14, 1978.

The oldest son of former Harrods proprietor and billionaire Mohamed Al Fayed, Dodi was born in Alexandria, Egypt in 1955. Before this tragic end, he was launched into the highlight in the summertime of 1997 when he started courting Diana. According to “The Diana Chronicles” by Tina Brown, Diana was getting over a relationship with heart specialist Hasnat Khan. The journey would be a “good place to nurse her disappointments,” in Brown’s phrases.

June 21, 1982: prince william was born.

According to her friend, Rosa Monckton, Diana remained infatuated with Khan at the same time as she started dating Egyptian millionaire Dodi Fayed. After Diana and Fayed died in a car accident in Paris on August 31, 1997, Khan remained respectfully silent about his relationship with Diana for the following 16 years. During that point, Khan was married once, briefly, to Hadia Sher Ali in May 2006.

She continued to work tirelessly in support of charities around the globe, utilizing her fame to boost awareness for a number of humanitarian points. But when the Princess started relationship once more, she turned the focus of relentless paparazzi attention. Following stories of Diana’s relationships with Hasnat Khan and Dodi Al-Fayed, this media buzz reached new heights in the course of the summer time of 1997.

March 1983: charles, diana, and prince william arrived in australia for the couple’s first official royal tour.

On August 30, 1997, Diana and Fayed arrived in Paris recent off of a trip to the French Riviera. That night, they visited the private Imperial Suite at the Hôtel Ritz for dinner. Close to midnight, the couple snuck out of the lodge to avoid the paparazzi waiting out front.