21 Facts About Princess Diana's Final Days And Death (And What "The Crown" Gets Right And Wrong)

Prince Harry said he's heard the story about Princess Diana buying him a birthday gift shortly before her death in 1997, and he apparently did receive it, but he "has no idea if it's true."

If you've been on Netflix in the past few weeks, you've probably noticed that The Crown Season 6, Part 1 just started streaming, and it's arguably one of the most high profile sections of the British Royal Family's history.

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The first four episodes of the final season of the Emmy Award-winning series center heavily on Princess Diana (Elizabeth Debicki), her relationship with Dodi Fayed (Khalid Abdalla), and their deaths in 1997.

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Like previous seasons of The Crown, while the series depicts historical events, it's also a dramatic retelling of the Royal Family's lives, so there are bound to be pieces that are over dramatized and/or changed slightly for the sake of a TV show.

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So, here are 21 real-life facts about the events that transpired before and after Princess Diana and Dodi's deaths in 1997:

1. First, the photos of Princess Diana and Dodi kissing were captured by Mario Brenna, who said that The Crown depicting that he was hired by Mohamed Al-Fayed was "absurd and completely invented." He told the New York Times that coming across Diana and Dodi was a "giant stroke of luck," and he claimed to not know what the yacht they were on looked like.

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Annie Sulzberger, the head of research for The Crown, told the New York Times, "There are a few theories about how Brenna managed to find the Jonikal moored somewhere in the Mediterranean Sea," but reportedly, the one the team found "most credible" was Al-Fayed's employees leaking the location.

2. The photos of Princess Diana and Dodi kissing were eventually published on the front page of the Sunday Mirror, and reportedly attracted bids of £500,000, which is roughly around $630,000. Mario Brenna reportedly "made about £1.7 million, or $2.1 million, from the photos of the couple."

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British photographer Jason Fraser, who helped Mario sell the images, revealed that after they were published, reportedly "over 2,000 photographers arrived in the Mediterranean" hoping to capture photos of Diana and Dodi.

3. The famous diving board photo of Princess Diana, which is depicted in The Crown, was taken a week before her death in Paris. The moment came after the Sunday Mirror published photos of Diana and Dodi kissing. What was reportedly supposed to be a quiet holiday aboard Mohamed Al-Fayed's private yacht in Portofino turned into a "media circus."

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This photo of Princess Diana has become so memorable that it inspired SZA's album artwork for her album SOS.

4. Before her death, Princess Diana was a major advocate against landmines, and she did visit Bosnia and Angola, where she was pictured walking through minefields. Following her death, the Ottawa Mine Ban Treaty was signed by 133 countries and prohibited the use, stockpiling, production, and transfer of landmines.

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Twenty years after Princess Diana's death, Prince Harry notably returned to Angola and continued working with The Halo Trust, the organization who helped clear the minefields Diana walked through in 1997.

5. One of the events before Princess Diana's death that The Crown doesn't show is her and Mother Teresa together in NYC in June 1997. This was the second time they were together, reportedly having developed a friendship after Diana visited Mother Teresa in 1992. Princess Diana and Mother Teresa died within days of each other, with Mother Teresa dying the day before Diana's funeral on Sept. 5, 1997.

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Princess Diana is reportedly buried with a string of rosary beads gifted to her by Mother Teresa.

6. While The Crown shows Princess Diana and Dodi's relationship as more serious, especially on Dodi's side, one of Diana's friends alleged that it was simply "a summer romance," in their opinion.

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Lucia Flecha de Lima, a friend of Diana's who spoke to her four days before her death, said in an interview for Operation Paget, "I do not know of any planned announcement [of an engagement], but guess it was more for publicity than anything else. She talked of future plans but was confused about her future. Sometimes she said she would love to move to America."

7. The British inquest into Diana's death found that Dodi did purchase a ring, with the inscription Dis-moi oui ("Tell me yes"), and CCTV footage showed Dodi inside a Paris jewelry store. However, the inquest determined that there was "no indication" that Dodi ever gave Diana the ring prior to their deaths.

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Claude Roulet, who was the assistant to the president of the Ritz Paris, where Diana and Dodi stayed before their deaths, said, "As best I can remember, it was kind of a romantic story that Dodi asked for an engagement ring and that they had to choose together the engagement ring, which was not the truth."

8. In the Operation Paget Inquiry Report, which was the title of the British Metropolitan Police inquiry that investigated the conspiracy theories surrounding Princess Diana's death, Prince William and Diana's friends alleged there were no plans for Dodi and Diana to get engaged, with one friend saying, "There was no mention whatsoever of an engagement, nothing to even suggest she might be expecting a proposal, not for a split second."

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Rosa Monckton, who went "on holiday with the Princess of Wales, sailing around the Greek Islands between 15 to 20 August 1997," said, "If Diana had been about to announce that she was getting engaged, she would have told me on the phone when she was away with Dodi. She would not have waited until she got back from her holiday."

9. The Crown shows Princess Diana buying a gift for Prince Harry before her death in 1997, and Prince Harry said that the story has been told so many times he "has no idea if it's true." In his memoir Spare, he wrote how his Aunt Sarah, Diana's sister, apparently brought him the present for his 13th birthday, which was less than a month after Diana's death.

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"I tore at the wrapping paper, the ribbon. I peered inside," Prince Harry wrote. "What…? Mummy bought it for you. Shortly before… You mean in Paris? Yes. Paris. It was an Xbox. I was pleased. I loved video games. That's the story, anyway. It's appeared in many accounts of my life, as gospel, and I have no idea if it’s true." Many noted that the Xbox had not been released at the time, however he could've been gifted a PlayStation, as seen in The Crown.

10. Henri Paul, the chauffeur who died alongside Princess Diana and Dodi, reportedly had "three times the French legal limit of alcohol in his blood" at the time of the fatal Paris car crash. It was also reported that Henri had "drugs used for treating depression" in his system at the time of his death, too.

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In 2008, a British inquest found that Diana and Dodi were "unlawfully killed by the negligent driving of their chauffeur and photographers who pursued the couple's speeding Mercedes."

11. The British inquest into their deaths also found that both Diana and Dodi were not wearing seat belts in the back of the car, which could've contributed to their deaths. Their Mercedes crashed in the Pont de l'Alma underpass at around 60 mph, which is reportedly "twice the speed limit for that section of road."

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The inquest was notably at the insistence of Mohamed Al-Fayed, who alleged for years following the Paris crash that "Diana was murdered" alongside his son. He reportedly wrote, "I have always believed that Prince Philip and the Queen hold valuable evidence that only they know. No one should be above the law."

12. Trevor Rees-Jones, who was hired as a bodyguard for Dodi by his father, revealed that he and Alexander "Kez" Wingfield, another bodyguard, "suggested" that Diana and Dodi leave out the front of the Ritz Paris in "the regular two vehicles" instead of leaving out of the rear of the hotel in a single vehicle with no security, as Dodi suggested.

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In an interview with Larry King Live in 2000, Trevor said, "We had advised both Henri Paul and Dodi that our — our method was to leave from the front of the hotel. There was two vehicles there, and the crowd was pushed back. As to why Dodi wished to leave from the rear of the hotel I don't know."

13. Trevor Rees-Jones, who was the only survivor, stated that he has no memory of the fatal crash. He said in an interview in 2000, "My memory stops after we waited at the rear of the Ritz, getting into the vehicle, and then as the vehicle pulls away, I notice that there was a small, light-colored hatchback vehicle, and a couple of motorbikes or scooters with photographers on them followed us, and that's where my memory stops."

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He continued, saying "I don't remember anything about the journey or anything late — until 12 days later in the hospital." Trevor awoke from a medically-induced coma following the accident where he was reportedly told about the details surrounding the crash and Diana, Dodi, and Henri's deaths.

14. After the fatal car crash, police reportedly seized "20 rolls" of film from seven photographers who were at the site of the crash. In the book Diana: Death of a Goddess, apparently while some people rushed to help the victims of the crash, many took photos, with it being reported that one photographer "was beaten at the scene by horrified witnesses" who spotted them taking photos.

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The police took the 20 rolls of film from the paparazzi pursuing Diana in an attempt to develop the photos "for clues to the crash" that ultimately resulted in the deaths of Diana, Dodi, and Henri.

15. At the time of the accident, six photographers were under a formal investigation related to Princess Diana's death, with the photographers possibly being charged with involuntary manslaughter. While the paparazzi photographers were originally said to be "criminally responsible," charges were eventually dropped in 1999, with blame for the accident being placed on Henri Paul.

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In 2003, three photographers were acquitted of invading the couple's privacy as they reportedly took photos of Princess Diana and Dodi at the site of the fatal car crash.

16. While The Crown only shows Prince Charles accompanying Princess Diana's body from Paris back to the UK following her death, he actually went to Paris alongside Lady Jane Fellowes and Lady Sarah McCorquodale, Diana's two sisters.

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As it's shown in The Crown, Diana's coffin was wrapped in the Royal Standard Flag, which represents the Sovereign and the UK, when it was carried from the airplane at RAF Northolt.

17. Prince Charles reportedly fought for a public funeral for Princess Diana, despite Queen Elizabeth II wishing for a private service. Prince Charles and Prime Minister Tony Blair reportedly insisted that Diana's coffin be placed at St. James's Palace and the funeral held at Westminster Abbey.

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A public funeral was initially in question largely because Diana had lost her status as Her Royal Highness after her divorce from Charles in 1996.

18. The Royal Family was criticized for their strict adherence to protocol in the wake of Princess Diana's death. There was reportedly "angry public response" to the family's initial refusal to lower the flag to half-mast at Buckingham Palace after Diana died. Eventually, the Queen ruled that all flags at royal residences would be lowered to half-mast.

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The Royal Standard traditionally is never flown at half-mast because it's the Sovereign's flag, and there is never a vacancy in the monarchy. The Union Flag was placed at half-mast after the Queen left for Diana's funeral at Westminster Abbey.

19. Prince William and Prince Harry accompanied Prince Philip, Prince Charles, and Charles Spencer in walking behind Princess Diana's coffin during her funeral, however many were opposed to the decision. In his memoir Spare, Harry wrote, "Mummy's brother, Uncle Charles, raised hell. 'You can't make these boys walk behind their mother's coffin! It's barbaric.'"

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Prince Harry also detailed in Spare that it was proposed that Prince William walk behind their mother's coffin, but not Harry. He recalled, "I didn't want Willy to undergo an ordeal like that without me. Had the roles been reversed, he'd never have wanted me — indeed, allowed me — to go it alone."

20. The note on top of Princess Diana's coffin from Prince William and Prince Harry that simply read, "Mummy," is part of a tradition that reportedly started with Prime Minister Winston Churchill writing a note for King George VI after his death. The tradition continued with Queen Elizabeth II penning a note to Churchill that was displayed at his funeral in 1965.

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In 2002, Queen Elizabeth II wrote a note for the Queen Mother, then in 2021, she penned a note for her husband Prince Philip. In 2022, when Queen Elizabeth II died, Prince Charles left a note for his mom in the flowers on top of her casket.

21. And finally, a reported 2.5 billion people worldwide watched Princess Diana's funeral on TV. In the US alone, 33.2 million people tuned in to watch.

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In comparison, Nielsen reported 22.7 million people in the US watched Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding in 2011, and 29 million tuned in for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding in 2018.