This Day in History: 31 August 2020
31 August 1997
23 years ago, today, Princess Diana died in a car crash in Paris, along with her boyfriend, the Egyptian socialite Dodi Fayed, and the driver of the car, Henri Paul. Diana and Dodi, who had been on holiday in Paris, departed the hotel they had been staying at just after midnight. A swarm of paparazzi on motorbikes began to aggressively follow the car. Three minutes later, the driver lost control and crashed into a pillar at the entrance of the Pont de l'Alma tunnel. Diana's former husband, Prince Charles, and other members of the royal family, arrived in Paris that morning, and Diana's body was taken back to London.
Similar to much of her life, her death was made into a full-blown media sensation, as well as the subject of many conspiracy theories. The public reacted to her death with a massive outpouring of grief, and mourners began to visit Kensington Palace immediately. Piles of flowers at the palace's gate reached around 30 feet. At first, the paparazzi tailing the car were blamed for the crash, but later it was revealed that the driver was under the influence of alcohol and prescription drugs. On September 6, Diana's funeral in London was watched by over 2 billion people.
Want to find out more about the life and death of Princess Diana? Click here for more information, or here for more about her legacy.
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