This Day in History: , Princess Diana
Dies in a Car Crash.
August 31, 1997.
Diana, Princess of Wales,
was 36 when she was killed as
the result of a car crash in Paris.
Both the car's driver, Henri Paul, and
her boyfriend, Dodi Fayed, were also killed. Diana's
bodyguard, Trevor Rees-Jones, survived the crash.
The crash occurred approximately three minutes after
leaving the Ritz Paris. A number of paparazzi
on motorcycles were tailing the car when Paul lost control.
It was determined that
Paul had been under the
influence while he was driving.
Known as "The People's Princess," news of Diana's death
plunged the world into mourning. Her sons, Prince William
and Prince Harry, were 15 and 12 years old at the time.
At Kensington and Buckingham Palaces,
mourners left piles of flower bouquets. More
than two billion people watched her funeral on Sept. 6
