26 years have passed since the car accident where Princess Diana died, but the memory does not fade. As if by some unwritten rule, on the eve of the anniversary of her death, a new testimony appears in the media about the tragedy that happened in Paris on August 31, 1997.
Although Princess Diana has been gone for more than two decades, she is still one of the most beloved members of the royal family. Much speculation still swirls around her, from the fact that her death was a tragic accident, to the fact that everything was planned and arranged.
In the past years, different versions have been heard about how the accident resulted in the death, while recently the statements of eyewitnesses from the place of the event have also come to the public. All of them have given statements to the police before, but they have never spoken to the press.
In the car in which they were trying to escape the paparazzi and then hit the underpass, the driver Henry Paul and Diana's partner at the time, Dodi Fayed, died on the spot. They were accompanied by bodyguard Trevor Reese-Jones, who was the only survivor of the accident, while Diana died four hours later in hospital.
Diana died of internal bleeding caused by severe injuries to her chest, lungs and head. In the minutes after the crash, semi-conscious in the back seat, her head and chest crushed, Diana, Jones says.
A team of firefighters arrived first at the scene and one of them approached Princess Diana, who was still conscious.
"Except for the damaged shoulder, everything seemed to be fine with the woman in the car. She was breathing and talking," recalled fire chief Xavier Gurmelo, who at the time did not know he was helping the British princess.
Dr. Frederick Maley, who was at the scene of the accident on his way home from a party, had a similar experience.
"I immediately saw that two people were dead. Diana and her bodyguard were seriously injured, but still alive - Mayley said at the time. The doctor first helped the princess, who was sitting on the floor of the Mercedes. At first, she seemed fine , so I spoke to him in English. I told him I was a doctor and everything would be fine. Even when the ambulance took him, I had no idea who was in front of me. I only found out later," he added.
The news that a beloved British princess had died in Paris seemed so unbelievable that the head of the hospital where she died refused to come on several occasions, convinced it was a prank.