Princess Diana died in Paris on Aug. 31, 1997, at the age of 36
Credit: Terry Fincher/Princess Diana Archive/Getty
NEED TO KNOW
- Princess Diana died following a car crash in Paris on Aug. 31, 1997
- She was in the vehicle with her then-partner, Dodi Fayed
- Dodi and the driver died instantly, while Diana, who was 36, was pronounced dead hours later
Princess Diana’s impact continues to be felt nearly 30 years after her death on Aug. 31, 1997.
Diana was just 36 years old when she died following a car crash in Paris. The late royal was a devoted mother to her sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, and had recently begun a new relationship with Egyptian film producer Dodi Fayed at the time of her death.
That summer, Diana and Dodi had been enjoying time together in France. But in the early hours of Aug. 31, their car was being pursued by paparazzi when it collided with a support column inside Paris’ Pont de l’Alma tunnel.
The impact killed Dodi and their driver, Henri Paul, instantly. Medical workers fought to save Diana, but despite hours of effort, she was pronounced dead at around 4 a.m.
Since then, Diana has continued to be remembered by both her family and the broader public. Most recently, Diana’s brother, Charles Spencer, announced his forthcoming memoir about the late royal, titled Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, to be released on Sept. 22.
Here’s everything to know about Princess Diana’s death 29 years after her fatal car accident.
How did Princess Diana die?
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Diana died from extensive injuries sustained in a car accident in the Pont de l’Alma tunnel in Paris.
The princess was in Paris with Dodi when the paparazzi followed the car they were traveling in, hoping to get a photo of the couple.
Their driver — who was later found to be inebriated — turned into a tunnel that ran next to the Seine River in an attempt to evade the photographers. But the vehicle quickly spun out of control.
“There was this huge, violent, terrifying crash followed by the lone sound of a car horn,” Jerome Laumonier, who was near the crash site, told PEOPLE at the time.
While Dodi and their driver, Paul, were both pronounced dead at the scene, Diana was taken to Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital. Doctors tried to restart her heart for hours by cardiac massage and electric shocks, but after they were unable to stop the internal bleeding, they decided to stop “by common consent,” per Reuters.
The princess was then pronounced dead.
When did Princess Diana die?
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Diana died around 4 a.m. on Aug. 31, 1997.
The news was confirmed by British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook, who commented, “I am greatly shocked by this news. Our first thoughts must be with her children and family at this time of immense loss to them.”
Following Diana’s death, then-Prince Charles was joined by Diana’s sisters, Lady Sarah McCorquodale and Lady Jane Fellowes, on a flight to Paris to bring the late royal’s body back to London. When the trio arrived at the hospital, Diana’s body was alone with her butler, Paul Burrell, and her driver, Colin Tebbutt.
A friend previously told PEOPLE of Burrell, “It was his sad duty to supervise her going into the casket and the way she looked.”
Where did Princess Diana die?
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Diana died in Paris following a vacation with her sons in St. Tropez.
Diana and Dodi traveled to the French city via a jet that belonged to Dodi’s father, and were staying in a $2,000-a-night suite at the Ritz, which was also owned by the Al-Fayed family.
The couple had dinner at the hotel’s restaurant that night, with one hotel employee telling PEOPLE, “They looked like two love-struck teenagers.”
The pair were then notified that nearly 30 photographers were waiting outside the Ritz, and decided to head to Dodi’s apartment off the Champs Élysées instead of staying at the hotel.
Despite a slew of decoy cars, most of the photographers stayed put until Diana and Dodi got into a car with Paul and drove away.
Who else died in the car accident?
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Both Dodi and their driver, Paul, died instantly.
Paul, who was an employee of the Ritz at the time, was later found to be driving with a blood alcohol level that was triple the French legal limit.
Dodi’s bodyguard, Trevor Rees-Jones, was the only survivor of the crash, although he suffered serious injuries.
How old was Princess Diana when she died?
Credit: Tim Graham Photo Library
Princess Diana was 36 years old when she died.
She celebrated her final birthday on July 1, 1997, by attending an event supporting the Tate Gallery’s Centenary in London.
Diana greeted fans and well-wishers who had shown up outside the event to hand her birthday gifts, such as cards and flowers.
What were Princess Diana’s last words?
Credit: Tim Graham Photo Library
In August 2017, firefighter Xavier Gourmelon revealed Diana’s last words in an interview with The Sun. Gourmelon said that Diana momentarily gained consciousness and asked, “My God, what has happened?”
Gourmelon was also one of the people who revived Diana after delivering chest compressions. At the time, he believed Diana would be okay. He said, “It was a relief, of course, because as a first responder you want to save lives — and that’s what I thought I had done.”
He added that finding out she had died the next day was “very upsetting.”
“I know now that there were serious internal injuries, but the whole episode is still very much in my mind,” he said. “The memory of that night will stay with me forever.”
William and Harry, who were at Balmoral Castle in Scotland at the time, last spoke with their mother in a phone call, they said in the 2017 documentary Diana, Our Mother: Her Life and Legacy.
“Harry and I were in a desperate rush to say goodbye, you know, ‘See you later.’ ” William said of the phone call. “If I’d known now obviously what was going to happen, I wouldn’t have been so blasé about it and everything else.”
Harry added, “I can’t really necessarily remember what I said, but all I do remember is probably regretting for the rest of my life how short the phone call was.”
How did the public react to Princess Diana’s death?
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The general public was devastated by the loss of Diana. Thousands of mourners lined the streets outside Buckingham Palace following her death, leaving notes and flowers in honor of the People’s Princess.
Queen Elizabeth initially remained at Balmoral with William and Harry before returning to London on Sept. 6, 1997, one day before Diana’s funeral.
Why was Charles questioned about Princess Diana’s death in 2004?
Credit: Tim Graham Photo Library
Years after Diana died, the British Metropolitan Police opened an inquiry into her death and requested to interview Charles.
An excerpt of a note allegedly written by Diana in 1995 was leaked to the British media by her former butler, which said, “My husband is planning ‘an accident’ in my car, brake failure and serious head injury.”
Nothing came of the investigation, and Charles participated fully. He has never been accused of wrongdoing in connection with Diana’s death by authorities.
What legacy did Princess Diana leave behind?
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William and Harry have both worked to ensure that their mother’s legacy lives on through their lives and the lives of their children.
“I see her legacy in all of you. I see her legacy in a Diana Award community that spans multiple generations,” Harry said at the 2022 Diana Awards. “I see her legacy every time I meet with families, young people, and children from all corners of the world. And, I see my mum’s legacy when I look at my own children every day.”
Harry’s words echoed what William previously told attendees at the Diana Awards in 2019. As Tessy Ojo, the chief executive of the Diana Award charity, told PEOPLE, “He asked me, ‘How did you find these young people? These are truly world changers.’ And the other thing he said to the group was, ‘My mother would be so proud of you.’ ”
The brothers have also continued to honor Diana by carrying on her charity work. William, for example, is the patron of the homelessness charity Centrepoint, just like his late mother. Harry, meanwhile, has adopted the landmine clearance organization Halo Trust, for which Diana made an iconic walk through a minefield in Angola, Africa in 1997.
Both brothers also attended the unveiling of the Princess Diana statue on the 20th anniversary of her death in 2021.
“The world witnessed who she was and witnessed what she did and collectively grieved for her,” Ojo told PEOPLE August 2025. “They are both young men who have families, and from a sense of love and a place of keeping that memory alive, it is a no-brainer that they’d want to keep that memory alive. This is not just for their family but also for the wider world.”
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