On August 31, 1997, Princess Diana died in Paris in a car accident.
She is a commoner princess who is deeply loved by the British people, and even after so many years, people still haven't forgotten her.
Only now, the British royal family will no longer hold public mourning for her with great fanfare...
This is a decision that William and Harry made together in 2017, the 20th anniversary of Princess Diana's death.
At that time, Harry and Meghan had just been engaged, the two brothers were still on a good relationship, and the royal family did not experience the series of scandals that followed...
At the time, they made it clear that this would be the last time the two would publicly mourn her death, and that they would later turn to a more low-key private memorial, sharing only memories of her with their families.
(Picture note: Now that something is wrong, Harry refuses to meet with the royal family even if he returns to England and lives five minutes away from the royal family.) ）
However, even if the royal brothers want to "keep a low profile" and no longer hold public mourning, this year's Concubine Dai's birthday still attracts the attention of many people.
A few days ago, the car that Princess Diana drove in the 1980s sold for 650,000 pounds (about 5.24 million yuan).
Dai Fei, who died in a car accident, is a driving enthusiast and likes to drive by herself.
From 1985 to 1988, she would often drive the car around Chelsea or Kensington neighborhoods, taking care of her personal affairs.
The car was tailor-made for her: it was specially painted black for a 'low profile', and rearview mirrors were installed in a special position to protect the concubine when the bodyguard sat in the passenger position.
The auctioneer said that people were very enthusiastic about the car that Dai Fei had driven before she died.
Their company often auctions celebrity cars and antique cars, but Dai Fei's car is the most competitive in 12 years, and even the auction house itself did not expect:
"I never imagined that a Ford Escort could fetch such a high price."
British media commented:
"This car represents a piece of history. And this is the 'people's car', driven by the princess of the people, which is irreplaceable. ”
It can be said that even after 25 years, people are still chasing the illusion of the past.
The car she's driven, the things she's been through, and the truth of that history...
This year marks the 25th anniversary of Princess Dai's death, and British television channel Channel Channel Channel 4 and Discovery Channel jointly launched the documentary "Investigating Diana: The Death of Paris", which once again brought the suspicious car accident back to people's attention.
The documentary, which interviewed agents in Paris, France, who investigated the crash in 1997, and The London Police, who was in charge of the investigation in 2004, detailed the findings of both sides.
This time, they interviewed a lot of people: police, witnesses, suspects, and Princess Diana's relatives and friends... Many people are interviewed for the first time, and many details have never been made public.
The most widely circulated saying has always been "because of dodging paparazzi car accidents".
In the early morning of August 31, 1997, Dai Fei got into a Mercedes-Benz car with her fiancé and bodyguard at the time, driven by the deputy security supervisor of the Ritz Hotel, and left through the back door together.
However, their itinerary was discovered by the paparazzi.
To escape the paparazzi's frantic chase, Diana's vehicle drove into the tunnel and had a serious car accident, hitting the wall on the right.
Her fiancé and driver died on the spot, and Diana died after being taken to the hospital.
Only the bodyguard survived, but he "lost his memory", saying that he knew nothing and remembered nothing at that time...
London Police Officer Tony Reed, who was in charge of investigating the case, admitted in an interview that the brakes were 'flawed'.
But he doesn't think a brake flaw is what causes the crash:
"We thoroughly inspected the car – the most thorough inspection of all the traffic accidents I've ever experienced, and didn't find any brake failures."
"Some people have accused the brakes of being defective because the brake warning lights were on at the time: but we found that this was because the sensors of the brake pads were loose and short-circuited, causing the brake light alarm to light up... That is, there is no problem with the brakes, just the sensors. ”
It is worth mentioning that the surveillance inside the tunnel happened to be broken that day, so the police spent a lot of time constructing the model and recreating the collision, which Tony, a London police officer, thought was a pure "accident".
"It was a narrow, straight, completely flat road before entering the tunnel. But at the entrance to the tunnel, it not only tilts downwards, but also begins to turn at the same time — the combination of the two makes it an accident-prone section. If you add the factors of alcohol and speeding, it is not surprising that accidents occur. ”
He believes that the real cause of the accident is speeding and alcohol.
Henry Paul, the driver who served Princess Dai that day, died on the spot at the time of the incident.
Afterwards, blood test results showed that his blood alcohol content was as high as 1.8 grams, which exceeded the standard by 4 times.
Paul's side, however, insisted that the blood sample had been replaced.
Relatives and friends believe that he rarely drinks alcohol in life, resolutely resists drunk driving, and has rich experience in receiving VIPs and important people, and his usual work attitude is very rigorous, and it is impossible to do such a thing.
In the surveillance video of the hotel that day, he took an elevator with Dai Fei before driving, behaved normally and walked smoothly, if it was really "drunk driving", wouldn't the companions find anything unusual?
In addition, the emergency physician who arrived at the scene soon after the incident testified that the paparazzi did not behave improperly and did not "force the car".
The first firefighter to arrive at the scene also recalled:
"When I arrived, Diana was still conscious and although there was an injury to her right shoulder, there was no bleeding from other parts of her body. She also asked me: 'Oh my God, what the hell is going on?' ’ ”
In terms of timing, the crash occurred at 0:23 and the ambulance arrived quickly.
Diana was removed from the car at 1:00 a.m. and put into an ambulance at 1:18 a.m., but the ambulance passed through two hospitals and did not enter until 2:06 a.m.
This car accident has been discussed for 25 years, but so far has not received a definitive answer, but with the broadcast of the documentary, it has once again aroused heated discussion.
But everyone knows that even if it is really the British royal family that "shot" the murder, they will certainly not admit that the "justice" that people expect is difficult to come.
The car accident is full of doubts and has become one of the topics that people often talk about when discussing Concubine Dai, second only to the "marriage of three people".
At the time of her death, the British media once again turned over the previous emotional entanglements between Camilla, Diana and Charles.
And this time, anthony of royal writer Andrew Morton, who once wrote Diana's biography "The Real Life of Diana," released some stories about Diana's before marriage.
As early as that time, Camilla's figure had already appeared between Charles Diana.
Diana recalls that she had known Camilla before Charles was engaged to her.
At that time, Camilla would often say to her, "Don't force him to do this, don't do that..."
Camilla knew very well Charles's habits in private, and even what Charles and Diana did when they were alone—at that time, Diana couldn't understand why.
When Charles and Diana were just getting engaged, Camilla offered Diana an offer:
"The news of the engagement was so exciting. After that Charles would go to Australia and New Zealand for three or four weeks, and we would definitely have lunch together, and I wanted to see the ring. ”
Diana wasn't jealous at the time, and she didn't realize it was her love enemy, and even attributed Camilla's lack of friendliness at that lunch to "this is her way of communicating."
Until, charles's attitude, was thoroughly revealed.
While planning the wedding, she gradually realized that something was wrong.
Charles never paid much attention to her, and even when she was chased and blocked by the media, he never gave her support.
Charles once said to Diana on the phone: "Poor Camilla, there's a lot of media out there blocking her, she's having a tough time." ”
Diana asked, "How much media is out there?" ”
He replied, "At least four." ”
At the time, Diana, at least 3/4 of the media outlets outside the door, were frantically trying to inquire about her engagement to the prince.
Another time, while she was talking to Prince Charles, Camilla called.
"At that point I thought: Should I be nice (let them talk alone), or should I just sit here?" I thought I should have done better, so I got up and left. It was heartbreaking. ”
"And once I heard him say to her in the bathroom, 'Whatever happens, I'll always love you.'"
In the process of planning the wedding, they were constantly arguing over Camilla's affairs, and Charles never backed down.
She gradually realized that her future husband was in love with another person completely and utterly.
It was in this mood that they held the grand wedding of the century.
Diana's story, from beginning to end, has a tragic color, and has also made countless people feel sorry for her and shed tears.
However, after twenty-five years of this "three-person marriage" story being chewed up and dissected by the media over and over again, the attitude of the British people has gradually begun to change.
From the very beginning, the whole Uk spurned the "little three" Camilla, to gradually accept the fact that she replaced Diana and was about to become the "future queen" of the United Kingdom.
"Let Diana go!" That's enough! Let her rest in peace, isn't that good? ”
"Let her rest in peace." Like it or not, Camilla is going to be queen. ”
"Even though she knew he had Camilla in mind, she still married."
"Everyone is desperately trying to blame a third person, not the cheating man. Charles should be blamed, and even more responsible. ”
"He could only marry a noble virgin. The two people had only met a dozen times before the wedding, and basically did not know each other. She may have been naïve at the time, but if it wasn't her, it was her sisters.
Thankfully, times are different, at least for now William can choose who he marries. ”
Looking back on this story now, I do feel very sad.
In the hearts of the British people, she is the eternal English rose, the princess loved by the people, always young, always beautiful.
Twenty-five years later, her charm is still undiminished, loved by the people, and sought after by the media.
But now, things have become a foregone conclusion, whether it is the death of Dai Concubine, or Camilla's entry into the royal family, or even the possibility of becoming queen later, it will not change.
People can only slowly accept the status quo and then continue to move forward...