When news of Princess Diana’s death broke, the world was left shocked. People all over the world mourned the death of the royal who was famously known as the People’s Princess. A firefighter who spent Diana’s last moments with her revealed the last words the princess uttered before drawing her last breath.
Princess Diana passed away on August 30, 1997, and was survived by her two sons, Prince William and Harry. The mother of two was scheduled to fly out of Paris and return home on August 31.
Princess Diana and her then-boyfriend Dodi Al Fayed were returning to his apartment from the Ritz Paris when the tragedy struck. The couple was being driven in a Mercedes S280 car after they left the hotel from the back entrance to avoid the paparazzi. Henri Paul, who served as the head of the Ritz security, was behind the wheel that night.
Trevor Rees-Jones, Diana’s bodyguard, was also present in the car. The car entered the Pont de l’Alma tunnel at 12.55 a.m. at a reportedly high speed. According to an AP report, the car went “out of control” and hit the 13th concrete pillar dividing the tunnel. The vehicle then rolled over and hit the right wall of the tunnel.
Princess Diana pictured in the back of her car on the night of August 31, 1997. Moments after this image was snapped by paparazzi, she was involved in a fatal accident that ended her life. pic.twitter.com/wY8ptoxB66
— Morbid Knowledge (@Morbidful) September 28, 2023
Soon after the tragic accident, firefighters arrived at the scene. Dodi and the driver, Henri Paul, died at the scene soon after the impact. Diana and Dodi’s bodyguard made it out of the car crash but sustained severe injuries. Xavier Gourmelon, who was one of the firefighters present at the scene, revealed exactly what Diana said in her last moments of consciousness.
“Oh my god, what has happened?” was what the Princess asked Xavier after she awoke from unconsciousness. The former firefighter shares how the royal then seemed to be agitated for a few minutes before slipping into unconsciousness again.
23 years ago today Princess Diana lost her life in a controversial car accident. The only survivor Trevor Rees-Jones (the bodyguard) in the accident doesn’t remember anything… pic.twitter.com/jEaByTEyb9
— Yakup Ekmen (Eng) (@Yakup_ekmn) August 31, 2020
“At that moment, the doctor said she was in cardiac arrest. So, we gave her CPR,” Xavier recalled. He mentioned that the Princess regained consciousness after much effort and was transferred into the ambulance. Diana was rushed to the Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital in the hopes of saving her life. The royal passed away at 4.00 a.m. after she suffered a cardiac arrest.
“Ambulance workers managed to revive her at the crash scene, but her heart stopped beating on arrival at the hospital,” a CNN report read. Dr. Bruno Riou, who was the head of the hospital’s intensive care unit, shared how the surgeons relentlessly tried to save the Princess’ life for two hours before she was declared dead.
Scroll below to see pictures of Princess Diana and the accident that killed her.
