Before She Died in August 1997, These Were Princess Diana’s Final Words

The Princess of Wales died tragically after a car crash in a Paris tunnel in 1997, due to a high-speed chase by the paparazzi and what the subsequent inquest described as the “gross negligence” of her driver, Henri Paul, whose blood alcohol was three times over the French legal limit.

Henri Paul and Diana’s boyfriend Dodi Fayed were both killed instantly in the crash, while Diana survived for a few hours before dying at La Pitie Salpetriere Hospital.

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A firefighter who led the response team pulled Diana from the wreckage. He said that the princess asked him, “My God, what has happened?” It was only later that he found out the victim was Princess Diana, and that these would be her final words.

Related: Before She Died in August 1997, These Were Princess Diana’s Final Words

The firefighter Xavier Gourmelon said that he had to massage the princess’s heart after she stopped breathing. When she started breathing again 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.”

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However, Diana’s injuries were too severe and she died in the early hours of August 31.

Xavier said it was “very upsetting” to hear that she didn’t survive.

“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.”

Diana was 36 years old when she died.

Next, how old would Princess Diana be today?