Harry-Meghan car chase and the 1997 crash that killed Princess Diana

The “near catastrophic” car chase of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle by photographers in New York on 17 May has evoked memories of a similar incident in 1997 that took the life of his mother Princess Diana.

According to the couple’s spokesperson, the duo, along with Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland, were pursued by the paparazzi for “over two hours” which “resulted in multiple near collisions involving other drivers on the road, pedestrians and two NYPD (New York Police Department) officers”, reported CNN.

The incident occurred after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were leaving the Women of Vision Awards at New York’s Ziegfeld Ballroom. Meghan and Harry were chased by the photographers who were present in several vehicles, including cars, scooters, mopeds and electrical bikes, CNN reported citing two people linked to the pair’s security.

In a statement, the NYPD confirmed the incident, saying “numerous photographers” made the couple’s “transport challenging”. “The Duke and Duchess of Sussex arrived at their destination and there were no reported collisions, summonses, injuries, or arrests in regard,” Julian Phillips, the NYPD’s deputy commissioner for public information, was quoted as saying by CNN.

Let’s take a look at how this incident echoes what happened to Princess Diana over two decades back.

The fatal car crash

Princess Diana and her then-partner Egyptian billionaire Dodi Fayed were killed in a car crash in France.

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The couple arrived in Paris on 30 August 1997 after a 10-day getaway on the French Riviera, as per an Oprah Daily article.

Diana and Fayed dined at the Ritz Paris, which was owned by Fayed’s father, businessman Mohamed Al-Fayed.

Around 12.20 am, to evade the paparazzi, the pair, accompanied by bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones and Ritz security employee Henri Paul, left the hotel through the back entrance and got into a black Mercedes S280 to return to Fayed’s apartment, according to USA Today.

Oprah Daily reported citing eyewitnesses that Diana’s vehicle was chased by the paparazzi in cars and on motorcycles, who were hoping to get a picture of the couple.

Paul, who was behind the wheel, inadvertently collided the vehicle into a concrete pillar in the Pont de l’Alma tunnel while attempting to shake off the paparazzi.

Jerome Laumonier, who was near the crash site, told PEOPLE magazine later, “There was this huge, violent, terrifying crash followed by the lone sound of a car horn.”

Reasons for the ‘People’s Princess’ demise

Fayed and Paul died on the scene. 36-year-old Diana, who was still alive, was rushed to Pitié-Salpétrière Hospital.

As per early reports, Diana, who was known as the ‘People’s Princess’, had a concussion, a broken arm, and a cut to her thigh. She also suffered massive chest injuries from the crash.

The doctors tried to revive her for two hours but failed to get her heart beating properly, as per Oprah Daily.

She was pronounced dead at 4 am on 31 August. “Diana’s body arrived in a condition of serious hemorrhage and shock,” hospital anesthesiologist Dr Bruno Riou told the media an hour later, as per USA Today. “An urgent surgery showed a severe wound to the left pulmonary vein. Despite the closure of this wound and the two-hour external and internal cardiac massage, no official respiratory circulation could be established…”

The sole survivor of the crash was Rees-Jones, who was wearing a seatbelt at the time of the accident.

What did the probes reveal?

As per French authorities, Paul’s blood alcohol level was more than three times the legal limit in the country.

There were several conspiracy theories including one that claimed Diana feared for her life. Diana’s former butler published a note in 2003 which was apparently written by her in 1996, following her divorce from then Prince Charles. “X is planning ‘an accident’ in my car, brake failure and serious head injury in order to make the path clear for Charles to marry”, the note had said, as per Oprah Daily.

The British Metropolitan Police launched an inquiry into her death but nothing came of it.

All conspiracy theories were debunked, with The Diana Chronicles author Tina Brown writing in her book: “The evidence is overwhelming that this was a traffic accident—period”.

Reports also claim that Diana might have survived the car crash with relatively minor injuries if she was wearing a seatbelt.

‘Pack of dogs’

Prince Harry, in an interview with BBC for the documentary Diana, 7 Days, described the paparazzi as “a pack of dogs” who constantly hounded his mother.

“Every single time she went out there’d be a pack of people waiting for her,” he said. “I mean a pack of dogs, followed her, chased her, harassed her, called her names, spat at her, trying to get a reaction, to get that photograph of her lashing out.”

As per an eyewitness, the photographers present at the crash site in 1997 reportedly did not try to help the car’s passengers.

Speaking about the anger he felt about the tragic incident in a 2021 Apple TV+ documentary The Me You Can’t See, Prince Harry recalled, “I was so angry with what happened to her—and the fact that there was no justice at all. Nothing came from that. The same people that chased her into the tunnel, photographed her dying on the backseat of that car”.

With inputs from agencies

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