Princess Diana Would Still Be Alive if 3 Particular Things Hadn't Happened, Says Ex-Bodyguard

Princess Diana, dubbed 'People's Princess' died in a tragic car crash in August 1997. Her death was mourned across the globe. The grief of her passing had ripple effects on people who were once associated with her, including Ken Wharfe, her former bodyguard. According to him, Diana's death could've been prevented had these three things been handled differently. 

The late Princess of Wales left her hotel in Paris with her then-boyfriend Dodi Al Fayed. She and Al Fayed were riding in their vehicle and trying to escape the chasing paparazzi when the driver Henri Paul, who was reportedly drunk at the time, lost control of the wheels in the Pont de l'Alma underpass and hit a pillar. The accident killed all three of them except Al Fayed's bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones. 

Though it was in their fate, Wharfe, who served as Diana's personal protection officer between 1987 and 1993, told The Sun that three protective measures could have prevented Diana's death. Firstly, he said, "If they'd kicked out the chauffeur and for Rees-Jones to have driven," Diana wouldn't have lost her life. Wharfe blamed Al Fayed's wrong decision played a key role in the accident. 

Secondly, he said that had Diana and Al Fayed not "goad" the media, the outcomes of August 1997 would've been different. Wharfe's claims have been backed by journalist Andrew Neil who told The Royal Observer that Diana's Egyptian lover made a last-minute decision to take a roundabout route through a tunnel to take Diana to his apartment close to the Champs-Elysées to escape the swarming photographers. 

Wharfe believed that had Diana not refused to keep the Scotland Yard security team post her split with King Charles, she would have been alive. "Had the Queen [Elizabeth II] insisted that Diana retain her Scotland Yard security, Diana would have accepted it," he said. Wharfe even recounted telling Diana, "You're going to need us [Scotland Yard]" in a private meeting. But, she declined. 

In Wharfe's opinion, Diana's untimely demise was a gross negligence of the security detail. "I don't think the paparazzi played a role," he told TODAY co-host Meredith Vieira in a 2007 interview. The photographers that night wanted a glimpse of Diana and her new love interest to be captured. But the security personnel tried to sneak the couple out of the hotel to dodge paparazzi. But a few photographers saw them and set off in pursuit. 

"These games are the sort that never work," Wharfe weighed in on their decision to deceive the paparazzi. "What was wrong was the bodyguards failed to communicate with the paparazzi to strike a deal. All they wanted was a picture." The ex-security officer spoke with experience working for Diana and admitted that although the media "can be a nuisance, when the publicity is good, I don't know any member of the royal family who says, 'We don't want that.'"