Diana whipped the British tabloids into a frenzy when she began dating Egyptian film producer and playboy Dodi Fayed in 1997. Fayed invited Diana and her family on his yacht in the south of France.
The couple reportedly met at a 1986 polo match when Fayed and Charles played on opposing teams. They reconnected and openly dated over the summer of 1997, spending time together in Sardinia, the south of France and Paris.
Their courtship was widely covered in the tabloids. It was reported that some members of the royal family and former Prime Minister Tony Blair did not approve of their relationship. Diana’s butler and confidant Paul Burrell told the BBC that Fayed was “a rebound” from her relationship with Hasnat Khan.
Death
While visiting Paris, Diana and Dodi Fayed were involved in a car crash after trying to escape from the paparazzi early in the morning of August 31, 1997. Fayed and the driver were pronounced dead at the scene. Diana initially survived the crash but succumbed to her injuries at a Paris hospital a few hours later. She was 36 years old.
News of her s
