Maak kennis met de laatste vriend van prinses Diana, Dodi Al-Fayed

Jan 10, 2022

Prinses Diana was niet alleen geliefd bij het Britse publiek, maar bij mensen over de hele wereld. Ze gebruikte haar status en invloed om positieve dingen te verwezenlijken en besteedde veel van haar tijd aan het voeren van campagne voor humanitaire doelen die het leven van anderen verbeterden. Ze zat bij mensen die ziek waren en hielp het stigma van de toen nieuwe ziekten hiv en aids te doorbreken. Dit zijn maar enkele van de vele redenen waarom Diana herinnerd wordt als de "Prinses van het Volk"."

De vroege dood van Diana op 31 augustus 1997 was een hartverscheurend moment dat mensen over de hele wereld schokte. Sindsdien wordt ze herdacht door haar zonen, prins William en prins Harry. Er zijn in de loop der jaren ook veel eerbetonen en gedenktekens aan haar gewijd in de hoop haar nalatenschap voort te zetten en haar boodschap overal te verspreiden. Tot op de dag van vandaag wordt er nog vaak over Diana gesproken en zelfs in verschillende media aandacht aan haar besteed, zowel om haar liefdadige daden, haar onberispelijke gevoel voor mode, als om hoe ze als moeder was.

Tijdens haar leven was Diana beroemd verbonden met prins Charles, de man met wie ze 15 jaar getrouwd was geweest voor hun huwelijk ten einde kwam na zijn affaire. Het publieke commentaar en de tegenreacties zorgden er uiteindelijk voor dat Diana de koninklijke familie wilde verlaten in de hoop een meer privé leven na te streven. Haar relatie met Charles was echter niet haar enige gepubliceerde relatie. Haar laatste vriendje was Dodi Al-Fayed, die helaas samen met haar in het tragische verkeersongeval omkwam. Lees verder om meer te vernemen over hun relatie.

Diana Spencer, geboren op 1 juli 1961, groeide op in de nabijheid van de koninklijke familie. Terwijl ze in 1981 als kleuterjuf werkte, raakte ze verloofd met Charles, de oudste zoon van koningin Elizabeth II en het duurde niet lang of het koppel officieel trouwde. Hun huwelijk vond later dat jaar plaats in de St. Paul's kathedraal, waardoor ze officieel prinses van Wales werd. Het koppel verwelkomde later twee zonen, William en Harry.

Ondanks het feit dat ze een prinses was, was het leven van Diana allesbehalve een sprookje. Terwijl het grote publiek en het gemenebest de prinses eerst enthousiast verwelkomden, keerden ze zich in latere jaren tegen haar. Tijdens haar tijd als actief lid van de koninklijke familie had Diana het moeilijk. Er waren veel problemen binnen haar huwelijk met Charles, en de twee gingen uiteindelijk vele jaren uit elkaar voordat hun scheiding officieel werd afgerond.

Diana ging van het middelpunt van de belangstelling en een sleutelfiguur in de publieke belangstelling naar het zich terugtrekken uit dat soort levensstijl na haar echtelijke scheiding. Ze bleef haar verantwoordelijkheden bijhouden en verscheen af en toe voor koninklijke verplichtingen, maar haar aanwezigheid was niet meer zo prominent als vroeger.

Tijdens deze moeilijke tijd leken de media aan de kant van Charles te staan, terwijl Diana harde kritiek kreeg op de manier waarop ze zich gedroeg. Terwijl ze tijd nodig had om op zichzelf te groeien, vond Diana haar stem. Volgens iNews had Diana gewerkt aan het vinden van de moed om zich uit te spreken over de problemen die ze had, door de media in haar voordeel te gebruiken.

Het BBC interview van Diana uit 1995 met journalist Martin Bashir liet haar achter met een gevoel van ontoereikendheid, nadat ze haar geestelijke gezondheidsproblemen en huwelijksproblemen onthulde, maar weinig steun kreeg. iNews berichtte dat veel mensen vonden dat de prinses van Wales "medelijden had moeten oogsten als het onschuldige slachtoffer van de vraatzuchtige pers", maar in plaats daarvan kwam ze in opstand en beging ze "misdaden tegen het koningschap."

Door meerdere perioden van hun relatie heen had Diana te kennen gegeven dat er drie mensen in haar relatie waren, daarbij wijzend op de affaire van haar man met Camilla, de hertogin van Cornwall. Zowel Diana als Charles hadden openbare interviews waarin ze deze strijd gedetailleerd beschreven, maar terwijl Charles door de media beschermd werd, werd Diana te schande gemaakt omdat ze zich zo slecht over een lid van de koninklijke familie had uitgelaten.

Nicholas Soames beweerde dat Diana "in een vergevorderd stadium van paranoia was", volgens iNews. Hij was toen minister van de regering. Feministe Bea Campbell zei eens dat "ze de muiterij van Diana voorstelden als waanzin." Tijdens haar BBC interview met Bashir sprak Diana over haar persoonlijke ervaringen en beproevingen, maar ze kreeg vooral kritiek omdat ze zulke zaken aan het licht bracht. Het leek wel of de media heel erg aan de kant van Charles stonden en hem steunden voor het naar buiten komen over zijn affaire. De media hadden zich tegen Diana gekeerd omdat ze haar eigen gedachten en gevoelens over precies hetzelfde onderwerp had geuit.

Tussen 1992 en 1993 huurde de prinses van Wales een stemcoach in, Peter Settlelen, om haar te helpen haar spraakvermogen in het openbaar beter te ontwikkelen. Ze had eraan gewerkt om een betere publieke figuur te worden, terwijl ze zich ook verbitterd had uitgelaten over Charles en de manier waarop hij haar in hun relatie behandeld had.

In December 1993, Diana made the decision to withdraw from the public but partially returned in the following year for the occasional commitment and appearance. The princess continued to work on herself and enlisted the help of voice coach Stewart Pearce. 

“She knew that her voice was not powerful,” Pearce told People in May 2021. “She knew that her voice was a voice of submission, not a voice of triumph. She wanted to find that.” After working on her confidence and sticking with Pearce, Diana found her voice of courage and triumph, especially while giving public speeches.

Although Diana is no longer with us, her attitude, dedication, and hard work have contributed to helping many people across the world overcome their own obstacles. People reported that the speech Harry gave when he left the royal family was extremely similar to his late mother’s, showcasing just how impactful her actions really were.

During her life, Diana always made her children her first priority and frequently included them in her royal outings. The Independent reported that Diana took William with her on her first overseas tour in 1983 when he was only nine months old. In April 1985, Charles and Diana took both of their sons on a 17-day tour of Italy; Harry was only seven months old at the time.

The Princess of Wales also did many normal activities with her sons, such as going to the movies, visiting amusement parks, and enjoying standard day-to-day activities with each other. Harry explained that her motto was: “You can be as naughty as you want, just don’t get caught.”

No matter how many years pass, it’s evident that the Princess of Wales will never be forgotten. Following Diana’s tragic death, many of her family members paid tribute to honor the late princess. On July 1, 2021, William and Harry came together at Kensington Palace to commemorate and unveil a statue of their mother on what would have been her 60th birthday. 

The Spencer family has also done their part to pay tribute to Diana. Charles Spencer, Diana’s brother, took to Instagram to post a photo of the Spencer family home that flew a flag at half-mast in honor of his sister’s passing. Spencer has continued to be quite thoughtful when it comes to remembering his sister on her birthday and death anniversary. 

According to Hello! Magazine, Diana’s brother said:

“I remember my father always used to talk about the day Diana was born actually, the July, 1, 1961, and it was a sweltering hot day and this wonderful daughter appeared and it’s so funny to be of an age now where your slightly older sister is 60 but yes, it will be an emotional day but, you know, I think it will be a tribute to a much missed and much loved sister, mother, whatever.”

Diana’s final resting place is at Althorp House, a place that Spencer visits often. He said:

“I do, and every landmark day, such as birthday, or Mother’s Day I always take flowers, of course, and I do go to a lot and take the children over. It’s an oasis of calm, actually. It’s a lovely place to go.”

In June 2021, a team of medical professionals spoke out to explain what happened in the early hours of the morning on the day that the Princess of Wales died. The Independent reported that the doctors said they tried “everything possible” to revive her. Dr. MonSef Dahman was a general surgeon at the Pitie-Salpetriere Hospital in Paris and was told upon arrival that he would be treating Diana.

“It only took that moment for all this unusual activity to become clear to me,” he said. Dahman continued, “For any doctor, any surgeon, it is of very great importance to be faced with such a young woman who is in this condition. But of course even more so if she is a princess.” After taking an X-ray, the doctor found that Diana was suffering from “very serious internal bleeding,” so he tried to remove the excess fluid from her chest cavity and gave her an external heart massage and emergency surgery to “enable her to breathe.”

The Independent reported that Diana had suffered a significant tear in her pericardium, which protects the heart. Professor Alain Pavie, a heart surgeon, arrived to help save Diana and discovered that she had a tear in her upper left pulmonary vein. Although Pavie was able to stitch up the lesion, Diana’s heart had already stopped and would not restart.

Professors Riou and Pavie, and Dahman did all they could for a good hour to help save the princess, including electric shock, but nothing worked. Dahman revealed that not being able to save the Princess of Wales affected him “very much.”

Another person had been in the tragic car accident that took Diana’s life: her then-boyfriend, Fayed. Fayed was known for being an Egyptian film producer, as well as the son of a billionaire named Mohamed Al-Fayed. 

Fayed and Diana had just started dating a few weeks earlier and spent a total of nine days together on a romantic vacation. The couple actually started their last day together with a relaxed breakfast on Italy’s Emerald Coast, located on the island of Sardinia. The pair had been spotted holding hands and laughing at the time.

Later that day, Diana told a friend named Richard Kay that she was going to completely withdraw from public life within the next 12 months, something that she had already slowly been doing. According to the Washington Post, it was believed that the Princess of Wales wanted to focus on her private life with Fayed, and he had planned to propose to her that coming evening. Sadly, Fayed’s hopes to marry the princess never materialized.

As soon as the couple arrived in Paris that afternoon, they were quickly spotted by paparazzi, who seemingly followed Diana and Fayed’s every move. Growing frustrated with the increase in paparazzi as the day went on, Fayed tried to figure out how to get himself and Diana back to his apartment, where he planned to propose. The couple managed to slip out the back door of the Ritz and entered a car that was driven by Henri Paul, a hotel security officer who was drunk, unbeknownst to Diana and Fayed. 

The paparazzi quickly caught on to the plan and chased the car through the Parisian streets. At 12:23 a.m., the car struck a wall before colliding with a pillar. Fayed died instantly. According to USA Today, Diana was initially alert but later went into cardiac arrest and died a few hours later.

In 2005, a bronze statue was unveiled at Harrods, a department store in London, to honor Diana and Fayed eight years after they died. According to CNN, Mohamed was the owner of Harrods and wanted to create something to remember his son and Diana. Mohamed said:

“Many thousands of people have written to me over the last several years thanking me for remembering the lives of Dodi and Diana with the memorial at Harrods. In the absence of any further official memorial for these two innocent victims… I wanted to keep their spirits alive with a further gesture.”

Unfortunately, not everyone was a fan of the lovers. According to a 2010 article from the Guardian, Tony Blair – the former Prime Minister of the UK who gave Diana the moniker as the “People’s Princess” – had told Diana that her relationship with Fayed was a problem. “It had not been all that easy,” he said, explaining that the Princess of Wales did not like him interfering with her relationship. 

Diana’s good deeds and legacy have continued to live on, as well as her previous dating history and complications within her personal life. Although she and Fayed did not get much time together, it’s clear that they loved each other and will continue to be remembered.

Did you know about Princess Diana’s last relationship? Let us know, and be sure to pass this along to your friends and family, too.