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Inquest opens in Princess Di's death
Associated Press
Mon October 1, 2007
LONDON - Opening an inquest into the death of Princess Diana and her companion, Britain's coroner asked a jury Tuesday to determine exactly how the couple died in a car crash in a Paris tunnel - in an accident or as part of a murder plot.
British and French authorities have concluded the car crash was an accident - but Dodi Fayed's father, tycoon Mohamed al Fayed, has alleged the crash was not an accident but a murder ordered by the queen's husband, Prince Philip, and carried out by British security services.
Six women and five men were chosen for a coroner's jury that will hear up to six months of testimony to determine exactly what happened on Aug. 31, 1997.
But it is unlikely the trial will stamp out the rumors and conspiracy theories about the crash. Neither is it likely that Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles will testify, as al Fayed hopes.
Lord Justice Scott Baker told jurors they must determine what happened that night: "One of the purposes of an inquest is to allay suspicion and rumor."
Justice Baker, who is serving as coroner, explained to the jury how the couple left the Ritz Hotel in Paris by a back entrance and got into a car driven by Henri Paul.
French and British police say the chauffeur, who was drunk, lost control of the speeding Mercedes, which smashed into a pillar in the Pont d'Alma tunnel. Paul, Diana, 36, and Fayed, 42 died; bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones survived.
French courts absolved the paparazzi chasing the couple of responsibility for the crash, and a British investigation concluded there was no substance to claims al Fayed's claims of a royal conspiracy.
That has not satisfied everyone, especially not al Fayed.
"I believe my son and Princess Diana have been murdered by the royal family," al Fayed said outside the courthouse Tuesday.
The coroner, or a coroner's jury, has no authority to blame an individual for a death. Its role in an inquest is to determine who died, when and where, and how.
The inquest has attracted so much attention that court officials built an annex to accommodate the swarms of journalists.
However, the public area was not full Tuesday. Some stalwarts who did come included John Loughrey, 32, who had drawn the slogan "Diana at Last" in blue on his face.
"I'm thinking it is a dream inquest," he said, calling Diana the star of the drama.
In preliminary hearings, Justice Baker has shown some impatience with al Fayed's legal team. But as one of the "interested parties" to the inquest, they will have an opportunity to explore the conspiracy theory over the coming months.
The worldwide fascination with the princess may have ebbed since the grief that immediately followed her death, but this year's 10th anniversary resulted in a new stream of books and documentaries, including the most exhaustive account - the 871-page "The Operation Paget Inquiry Report into the Allegation of Conspiracy to Murder" by former Metropolitan Police Commissioner John Stevens.
Stevens dismisses al Fayed's claims that the couple died a day before they intended to announce their engagement, that she was pregnant with Fayed's child, that some of her family opposed a marriage to a Muslim and that the paparazzi caused the crash.
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