Princess Diana was assassinated
Operation Paget, a three-year British police inquiry, and a formal 2008 inquest jury both concluded there was no conspiracy or cover-up in Diana's death. The 2008 inquest jury found the crash was an unlawful killing due to grossly negligent driving and the paparazzi, not assassination.
What we know
Diana, Princess of Wales died on August 31, 1997 following a car crash in the Pont de l'Alma tunnel in Paris. Her companion Dodi Al Fayed and driver Henri Paul also died. Metropolitan Police Commissioner Lord Stevens led Operation Paget, a 33-month investigation examining 175 witnesses and producing an 832-page report published in December 2006. The report concluded there was 'no conspiracy and no cover-up.'
The formal inquest at the Royal Courts of Justice in London concluded in April 2008 after six months of evidence. The jury, which heard from hundreds of witnesses, returned a verdict of unlawful killing by grossly negligent driving of Henri Paul and the pursuing paparazzi vehicles. The jury explicitly rejected the theory of murder by British intelligence services. The coroner instructed the jury that they had heard no evidence implicating MI6.
Post-mortem toxicology established that Henri Paul's blood alcohol level was 1.75 grams per liter, approximately 3.5 times the French legal limit of 0.5 g/L, and that he had taken prescription drugs including antidepressants and a blood pressure medication. The combination significantly impaired driving. These physical facts were established by independent French and British forensic examination and were not contested by any credible expert witness at the inquest.
Common claims
- British intelligence services (MI6) arranged Diana's assassinationNot supported. Both Operation Paget and the 2008 inquest jury found no evidence of MI6 involvement.
- Henri Paul was sober and the crash was stagedFalse. Forensic toxicology confirmed his blood alcohol was 3.5 times the legal limit; crash investigation confirmed driver error.
- Operation Paget was a whitewash to protect the establishmentNot supported. The inquiry was independent, lasted three years, and examined 175 witnesses; no contradicting evidence has emerged.