The Verdict of the Diana Inquest, April 2008, and Aftermath

[Baroness of Books]

I had never heard that they were drunk, only Henri Paul, and there were never any reports of high levels of alcohol found in Diana or Dodi.

 

[Katrianna]

That's right, the only person in the car that was legally intoxicated was Henri Paul. It's really a shame that Mr. al-Fayed will carry out allegations of cover ups and murder theories until his death. He's a man who has made up in his mind that the ultimate responsibility for this accident doesn't lie with him and his deceased son and their inept actions that particular night.

 

[Tyger]

Diana was famously a teetotaler, so no.

Well, it was an idea as to why they did not snap on the seat belts. I shouldn't comment here - I know next to nothing. But I prove my point - the results of the inquest were simply not front page news. Not in the US.

 

[cinrit]

I understood you and IMO it would not have led the news. It simply is not that significant to a world. It probably would have led the news in the UK and its Dominions - but not elsewhere. She just was not that significant.

Diana was not that significant?!?? It's been nearly 15 years since her death and we're still talking about her .....

 

[Zonk]

Well, it was an idea as to why they did not snap on the seat belts. I shouldn't comment here - I know next to nothing. But I prove my point - the results of the inquest were simply not front page news. Not in the US.

Actually the results of the inquest where on the front page of the Washington Post. Was it the headline? No. But I guess it depends on the format of the newspaper. For example, the New York Post/Daily News open like a book, so I wouldn't think it would be front page news but most likely it was in the front of the paper.

I guess it depends on the size of the paper as well as the scope of the news that day. The A section of the Post focuses a lot on international and national news but it is the Post. But to say that the results of the inquest were not front page news is an assumption, unless one of course, has read every paper the day the results were released, or have a survey that completed the research.

 

[Tyger]

Diana was not that significant?!?? It's been nearly 15 years since her death and we're still talking about her .....

I am. You are. The people on this Board are. But most people (in the world - outside of Britain) aren't. Diana is a narrow field of interest. All of Royalty is. There is no one in my milieu with whom I can have a conversation about Royalty - and were I to bring the subject up there would be dead air.

Depends on what one means by significant, too. Significant in what area? Don't take my comment so much to heart. She wasn't significant in a political way, or economic way, or artistic way. She was not significant in the realm of ideas like a Christopher Hitchins, say, or a scientific way like an Einstein. She was simply part of a celebrity machine the media runs. She was their creature/creation from start to finish - and as a social phenomenon Diana was for sure significant. But no more than that. Saying that does not make her less - just puts her in the proper context.

Actually the results of the inquest where on the front page of the Washington Post. Was it the headline? No. But I guess it depends on the format of the newspaper. For example, the New York Post/Daily News open like a book, so I wouldn't think it would be front page news but most likely it was in the front of the paper.

I guess it depends on the size of the paper as well as the scope of the news that day. The A section of the Post focuses a lot on international and national news but it is the Post. But to say that the results of the inquest were not front page news is an assumption, unless one of course, has read every paper the day the results were released, or have a survey that completed the research.

I believe I was living in D.C. during that time and have no memory of seeing any headlines in the Washington papers about Diana's Inquest results.

Anyway, the point of the conversation was fairly narrow - I simply said that this idea of no seat belts would not have been front page headlines across the English-speaking world. Not that it wouldn't be noted in some way, of course, some where - only that it wouldn't be as stated. It is a hypothetical. That's it.

 

[cinrit]

I am. You are. The people on this Board are. But most people (in the world - outside of Britain) aren't. Diana is a narrow field of interest. All of Royalty is. There is no one in my milieu with whom I can have a conversation about Royalty - and were I to bring the subject up there would be dead air.

That could be said about any subject, with the possible exception of a third world war, since everyone has their own area of interest. You're right in that Diana is particularly significant only to a certain population, but she's generally significant in that a large percentage of certain parts of the world know who she was and how she died. So in the general sense, yes, Diana is significant. If it were a fact that there were no seat belts in the back seat of the Mercedes, it would have been major news. It would also have been news at the time of the accident, I would think.

 

[Mermaid1962]

She was significant in my country because we expected her to be our Queen Consort some day, and we loved her for herself as well. My husband met her in 1983 and was struck by how interested she was in the crowds of people whom she and the Prince were meeting and how strong her handshake was.

 

[MARG]

We too expected that Diana would be our next Queen and were immensely proud of the Prince and Princess of Wales. Yes we were disappointed with the War of the Wales and the divorce, but she was still someone who played a large part of our collective lives.

Her death was a shock and finding out how she died, shocking.

 

[Mermaid1962]

Yes. She was so much more than a celebrity. The UK and the Commonwealth lost someone who could have done so much good had things not turned out the way they did.

 

[ghost_night554]

I know I say this everytime but really when is this going to end when are people just going to stop. When are these types of books going to stop coming out.
The Talking Clock: Diana: Authoritative research author says Blair knew of assassination in advance

 

[Artemisia]

Oh, for God's sake, not again!
Why wouldn't those people just let Diana rest in peace?!

 

[NGalitzine]

Not as long as someone can still make $$$$$ off her dead body because there are people who will still buy into conspiracies.
The same people who believe JFK and Marilyn Monroe are living together on some tropical island.

 

[Baroness of Books]

She's too good a topic to allow to rest in peace; her name alone causes people's ears to perk up and money to spend on anything regarding the latest tidbit and innuendo about her. She died too young and too suddenly with so much potential ahead of her, and it's hard for people to let her go.

 

[Mermaid1962]

Scratch a Diana Conspiracy Theory, and you'll find Mohammed al Fayed.

 

[Iluvbertie]

This will end when time ends. She was an iconic figure within her own lifetime and she died too early. Therefore books etc will be written about her for the rest of time - like they are with Anne Boleyn, Mary, Queen of Scots etc.

 

[bethaliz6894]

i too dont think people will ever let her rest in peace, it has been almost 40 years that elvis has died, people are still spotting him different places across the world.

 

[Warren]

It's the third or fourth chapter in the grand conspiracy written (or woven) by the Australian John Morgan, who is no doubt Mohammed Al Fayed's favourite author of fiction.

These are what the author describes as the main "shocking revelations":

- " evidence that the royal Way Ahead Group – chaired by the Queen – played a significant role in the assassination of Princess Diana."
- " evidence revealing that British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, had prior knowledge of the assassination."
- " evidence exposing Rosa Monckton – wife of former newspaper editor, Dominic Lawson – as an MI6 agent who spied on Princess Diana."
- " the royal private secretaries – Robert Fellowes for the Queen and Miles Hunt-Davis for Prince Philip – lied to cover up the role of the senior members of the royal family in the assassinations.”
- " Lord Justice Scott [who presided over the 2007-2008 Inquest] went to great lengths to prevent the jury from being able to piece together all the evidence that could have allowed them to understand the roles played by MI6 and the royal family in the deaths”.

After the lack of impact his previous "shocking revelations" relating to the Diana Inquest achieved, he's had to up the ante to gain some attention this time round.

 

[Chestern]

What really happened the night Princess Diana died

Can you believe it is fifteen years since the death of Princess Diana (or at least it will be on August 31)? Conspiracy theories have all but disappeared since the London inquest delivered its “unlawful killing by grossly negligent driving” verdict four years ago. But despite the thoroughness of that inquiry, many intriguing questions remain unanswered – questions such as why was driver Henri Paul driving so fast? He had been drinking and was being followed by the paparazzi but was there another reason why he was so frantic to take a route which was taking him away from Dodi’s apartment? Where had he been for three hours that evening? Who gave him the $2,000 cash later found in his pocket, and what for? Who were the two men caught on security cameras hanging around outside the Ritz Hotel for hours that afternoon and evening? They have never come forward despite many public appeals. What was the true extent of Henri Paul’s involvement with the British and French security services? What was the connection between chief paparazzo James Andanson and the British, French and American security services? What were the spooks really up to on the fateful night? We know that the Americans had been bugging Diana in the months leading up to her death. We know that the British had been bugging Diana and playing dirty tricks on her for most of her married life and beyond. Could it be that she became inadvertently embroiled in something bigger and even more sinister that was going on in Paris that night? For a possible explanation read my ‘faction’ thriller ‘The Decoy’ which is available now on Kindle – a kind of JFK meets The Da Vinci Code approach. The background to the book is explained more fully on my website Chester Stern.

 

[Baroness of Books]

Now that's news to me; I never heard of the Americans eavesdropping on Diana. To what purpose?

 

[Mermaid1962]

She was under surveillance because she was a VIP. She made several trips to the USA. I'd think that any person of her stature would have been watched as a matter of course. It doesn't mean that they were spying on her for a malicious reason. This information has been in the public domain for some time. Just Google it.

 

[KittyAtlanta]

Of course, the U.S. had a file on Diana. They have a file on the Queen, Philip, Charles, William, Kate and other members of the BRF who have visited the United States. Diana's calls were picked up in sweeps along with calls she was not a party to, but the conversants talked about her. The last call of Diana's picked up was from a restaurant in London before the accident. I don't know about calls made after the accident in regard to her death. I would imagine if anything concrete had been swept, it would surely have come out by now.

 

[Baroness of Books]

Okay, you learn something new every day here. I was never into the Diana conspiracy nor had enough interest to find out what agencies were surveilling her, although I knew those located in Britain were doing so and the newspapers were tapping in on her calls. As far as other countries, I didn't know this so thank you, ladies.

 

[ghost_night554]

It's the third or fourth chapter in the grand conspiracy written (or woven) by the Australian John Morgan, who is no doubt Mohammed Al Fayed's favourite author of fiction.

These are what the author describes as the main "shocking revelations":

Oh god please pass the barf bucket where do these people get these ideas. Thanks for the info Warren good to know i"m not missing much by not reading those books. And Chestern alot of your questions have been answered by Operation Pagat and the Inquest just look it up on google.

 

[Tsaritsa]

If you want conspiracy, how about it wasn't Diana who was the target, but Dodi? Just a suggestion, please don't throw eggs at me.

 

[sirhon11234]

If you want conspiracy, how about it wasn't Diana who was the target, but Dodi? Just a suggestion, please don't throw eggs at me.

I've always found that theory worth my attention. Some theories have suggested that he was involved in something shady and sadly Diana was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.

 

[Mermaid1962]

Had the deceased occupants of the Mercedes been poisoned, shot, stabbed, electrocuted, or caught an exotic disease overnight, I think that a conspiracy might make more sense regardless of the target. However, there are so many variables with a moving vehicle--particularly in a city--that I think that it's a highly unlikely way to assassinate someone. IMO an assassination requires that the killer or killers can control the situation; but in the case of that accident, things were truly chaotic.

If you want conspiracy, how about it wasn't Diana who was the target, but Dodi? Just a suggestion, please don't throw eggs at me.

 

[Baroness of Books]

Drunk driver at the wheel whose judgment was impaired, no seat belts worn, aggressive paparazzi - this is why I can't get into the conspiracy theories.

 

[XeniaCasaraghi]

Guys I haven't heard about the bodyguard since around 1998, I was watching a documentary on the night on youtube and it stated that he has amnesia about the actual crash and what lead up to the crash; has this situation changed at all?
Also I have never brought into the conspiracy theories especially after I heard that she wasn't wearing a seat belt, I always joke that the assassins must have paid her a considerable sum to convince her not to put on her seat belt thereby resulting in her internal injuries.

 

[Baroness of Books]

Not the most recent story, but one published at the time of the inquest about Trevor Rees Jones, the bodyguard. I can't find anything more current. He apparently lives a very low-key life nowadays:

After 10 years, has Diana's bodyguard finally remembered what happened that night? | Mail Online