Remembering Princess Diana: What TRULY Happened on the Night of Diana's Death

By Alexandria Kim

Years have already passed, but Princess Diana's death still lingers on people's minds and hearts.

After being the People's Princess, Princess Diana started to be referred to as "a great loss" to the monarchy and the country.

On August 31, 1997, then 36-year-old Princess of Wales died in a horrific car crash at the Pont de l'Alma tunnel in Paris.

At the time of her death, she was survived by her two young sons, the then-15-year-old Prince William and then-12-year-old Prince Harry.

In the last hours of her life, Princess Diana spent her time with Dodi Fayed. The pair returned to Paris for one night before the royal princess traveled back to London.

Other than the fact that the two died after the accident, here is the detailed timeline everyone should know about the night Princess Diana perished.

What Happened on the Night Of Princess Diana's Death

After Princess Diana went on a vacation at Fayed's yacht in the South of France, the couple went to the Ritz Hotel in Paris owned by Fayed's father on August 30, 1997.

Paparazzi had been following them throughout their entire vacation at sea, but they chose to be as discreet as possible.

Upon arriving at the Ritz, the Princess of Wales called Princes William and Harry at the Balmoral Castle -- not knowing it would be the last conversation she would ever have with them.

Multiple reports revealed that Fayed planned to propose to Princess Diana that night and ordered something at Repossi jewelers. The two rings he picked were later delivered to their suite.

Later on that evening, the two left the Ritz and drove to Fayed's residence near the Arc de Triomphe. Investigators revealed that they had no initial plans of returning to the Ritz hotel as they already planned on spending time outside before heading to dinner.

However, they had to go back to Ritz due to an alarming number of paparazzi.

British investigator Lord John Stevens, who led the inquiry into Diana's death, said: "Because of the attention of the paparazzi during the journey, Dodi al Fayed instructed his chauffeur to drive instead to the Ritz Hotel."

Soon after they arrived back at Ritz, they headed to L'Espadon restaurant. Still, more photographers showed up, causing Fayed to become suspicious and paranoid about photographers.

They asked for their food to be packed up and sent to the Imperial Suite.

At 12:20 AM on August 31, 1997, they left Ritz again to head back to Fayed's apartment.

Their bodyguard, Trevor Rees-Jones, sat in the front seat. Meanwhile, Ritz's security employee Henri Paul drove the black Mercedes S280.

Five minutes after they left the hotel, the Mercedes collided with a concrete pillar in the Pont de l'Alma tunnel.

Fayed and Paul died on the scene. Meanwhile, Rees-Jones (who was the only one to use a seatbelt) and the princess were still breathing.

Princess Diana's sister, Lady Sarah McCorquodale, told the BBC in a 2017 documentary, "Diana, 7 Days", that the Princess of Wales had always been cautious in putting on her seatbelt except for that night.

Dr. Frederic Maillez, who happened to be driving when the accident occurred, tried to administer first aids until an ambulance arrived. Workers even used an electric chainsaw to recover the princess from the terrible wreckage.

Maillez stayed at the scene for almost an hour while attempting to stabilize Princess Diana's condition.

As she was being transported to Pitie-Salpetriere Hospital, Princess Diana's health suddenly deteriorated. She suffered from a cardiac arrest, and the ambulance had to stop to administer AED and CPR.

An hour and a half after the crash, the ambulance finally arrived at Pitie-Salpetriere Hospital. During that moment, Princess Diana was unconscious but still alive with a heartbeat. Doctors then performed a cardiac massage as surgeons tried to reconnect a ruptured blood vessel near her heart.

Unfortunately, the doctors pronounced Princess Diana's death at 4:00 AM.

"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," hospital anesthesiologist Dr. Bruno Riou said to the media one hour later.

Princess Diana's death anniversary is around the corner, and it will certainly be awesome to celebrate her life and charity works.