Diana, Princess of Wales attends a service commemorating the 70th anniversary of the armistice, at the Arc de Triomph on November 11, 1988 in Paris, France.Photo:Anwar Hussein/Getty
Anwar Hussein/Getty
Countless conspiracy theories emerged afterPrincess Diana’s tragic death in 1997 — and it was Operation Paget’s job to investigate them all.
Mohamed Al Fayed, Dodi’s father, was one of the most vocal supporters of that allegation. The Egyptian businessman, who owned the British department store Harrods and the Ritz Paris at the time, alleged that the British royal family orchestrated the death of his son and the People’s Princess. He claimed thatPrince Philip, Diana’s former father-in-law, ordered British security services to assassinate the royal to stop her frommarrying Dodi, who was Muslim.
To investigate this theory (and other allegations), Operation Paget was formed in January 2004 at the request of the royal coroner Michael Burgess. The group of investigators — which included over a dozen senior British Metropolitan Police officers — spent three years and millions of dollars to determine the cause of Princess Diana’s death, per theBBC. In the end, their findings concluded that the car accident that killed Diana, Dodi and Paul was the result of “grossly negligent driving” — and not a royal conspiracy.
He added, “It’s my absolute total beliefit was a terrible, tragic accidentin which three people lost their lives and one other person had their life turned upside down."
But how did Operation Paget determine the car crash that killed Diana was accidental? Here’s everything to know about the exhaustive British investigation into Princess Diana’s death and its findings.
What was Operation Paget?
Senior investigating officer, Detective Chief Superindendent David Douglas; the former Commissioner of London’s Metropolitan Police, Lord Stevens; Deputy Commissioner Paul Stephenson and Dick Fedorcio, Director of Public Affairs attend a press conference after an official British police inquiry into the Paris car crash which killed Princess Diana and Dodi Al Fayed on December 14, 2006 in London, England.Scott Barbour/Getty
Scott Barbour/Getty
Why was Operation Paget established?
Princess Diana and Mohammed Al Fayed attending a charity dinner for the Harefield Heart Unit held at Harrods London in February 1996.Jayne Fincher/Getty
Jayne Fincher/Getty
Operation Paget was established as a result of Mohamed Al Fayed’s insistence that the deaths of his son, Dodi, and Princess Diana were not accidental.
“I believe in my heart 99.9% that it was not an accident,” Al Fayed toldThe Mirrorin February 1998. “That car didn’t accidentally crash. There was a conspiracy. I will not rest until I have established exactly what happened.”
What did Operation Paget involve?
Operation Paget expanded to not only investigate Al Fayed’s claims, but also any allegations that were made in the media, legal submissions and formal correspondence since the crash occurred in 1997. The extensive investigation involved a dozen experienced police officers, took nearly three years to complete and cost millions, according toThe New York Times.
Why was King Charles interviewed for Operation Paget?
Prince Charles, Prince of Wales with his fiance Lady Diana Spencer during a photocall before their wedding while staying at Craigowan Lodge on the Balmoral Estate in Scotland.Tim Graham Photo Library/Getty
Tim Graham Photo Library/Getty
British investigators interviewed more than 300 individuals for Operation Paget — including the futureKing Charles.
“At the end of the day he was incredibly cooperative because he had nothing to hide,” Stevens told theDaily Mailin 2021 about the interview.
What did Operation Paget conclude?
A Memorial for Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed.John Harper/Getty
John Harper/Getty
After nearly three years, Operation Paget concluded its inquiry and publishedan 871-page reportwith its findings. The report, which was made public on Dec. 14, 2006, ultimately concluded that Princess Diana’s death was an accident and there was no validity to the various conspiracy theories that had surfaced over the years.
“Our conclusion is that, on the evidence available at this time, there was no conspiracy to murder any of the occupants of the car,” Stevens said as he presented his findings, perThe New York Times. “This was a tragic accident."
“A crash of this nature is similar to a major crash of an airliner,” he said, perThe New York Times. “There is a long chain of events. Take out any link of that chain and this would not have happened.”
What was the reaction to Operation Paget’s findings?
Prince William and Prince Harry with Prince Charles at Westminster Abbey for the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales.Tim Graham Photo Library/Getty
“It was quite emotional,” Stevens later toldTheDaily Beastabout his meeting with Diana’s two sons, echoing that they were satisfied with the report’s conclusions.
“I’m certain 100 percent that a leading member of the royal family has planned that and that the whole plot was executed on his order with the help of members of MI6,” he told reporters after the report was published in December 2006, perThe New York Times.
But after the completion of the coroner’s inquest in 2008, where 11 jurors found Dodi and Diana’s deaths to be the result of “negligent driving,” Fayed shared he was “disappointed” — but ultimately accepted the verdict.
How did Operation Paget informThe Crownshowrunners?
‘The Crown’.Netflix
Netflix
The sixth and final season of the award-winning Netflix seriesThe Crowndepicts Princess Diana’s death — and took careful consideration with how they would portray the tragic event.
Netflix confirmed in October 2022 that the“exact moment of the crash impact will not be shown,”and in August 2023 the show’s executive producers, Andy Harries and Suzanne Mackie, spoke more about the approach they took with Diana’s death.
Part of that thoughtful recreation involved gathering information from the investigations that were conducted after Princess Diana’s death, including Operation Paget. ThoughThe Crowndoes not address any of the conspiracy theories that developed following the Paris car crash, it does adhere to Operation Paget’s findings that the accident was a result of negligent driving, according to theLos Angeles Times.
“We very much followed the given facts,” Christian Schwochow, who directed two episodes of season 6, told theLos Angeles Times.
The Crown’sresearch team also referred to Operation Paget to understand more about Diana and Dodi’s romance in the weeks leading up to the accident andhow the events unfolded that summer.
“We needed to understand not only the timeline of the events that summer but also Dodi and Diana’s emotional states and the evolving nature of their short relationship,” Annie Sulzberger, head of research on the series, told the outlet.
source: people.com
