It was 31 August 1997 when the world lost Diana, the Princess of Wales at the age of 36.
Nicknamed the “people’s princess”, the entire planet went into mourning alongside her sons, Princes William and Harry and the entire royal family.
Her death as we know it, was the result of injuries sustained in a car crash in the Pont de l’Alma road tunnel in Paris, France, after a high speed chase with the paparazzi, which also killed her boyfriend Dodi Fayed and their driver, Henri Paul.
Now, in a look back at that evening and the subsequent weeks that followed, Aussie paparazzo, Darryn Lyons, who was embroiled in the dramatic events of that fateful night, says “strange things happened” on that fateful evening.
Diana, the Princess of Wales. (Source: Getty)
“I have huge questions about the Princess of Wales death,” he told the Daily Telegraph
“I do think the conspiracy theory will be around forever and will probably grow,” he said, while adding “Everyone says it was a tragic accident… some very strange things happened that night and I was a part of many of the strange things that happened that night.”
“I would say I have many questions still unanswered and I think the world has many questions unanswered as to why a lot of things happened.”
While he says has “no proof that the Princess of Wales was murdered,” he still has a “fear” for what he tells people the incident.
“I don’t think that we will ever get to the bottom of the truth of the story. I don’t even think her sons know … they would have been told the story but it isn’t necessarily the truth.”
Paparazzo Darryn Lyons ran Big Pictures photo agency at the time of Darryn’s death. (Source: Getty)
Last year, Darryn wrote about the events, in his column for the Geelong Advertiser.
The photographer has described it as the “most traumatic” moment in his life, however, he also felt lucky that he wasn’t “killed in all the cloak-and-dagger stuff that was going on at the time.”
In his column, the 53-yer-old revealed that he was sent death threats, his staff were abused on the street and his offices were raided and at the time, he also received graphic images from his Paris photographer of Diana in the car after her death.
The now Paddington gallery owner was accused of selling these photographs, which he denies doing to this day, and even gave evidence at the official inquest into the accident.
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Story continues…
“I had, and I still have, the photographs of Diana dying in the car. I was offered a quarter of a million pounds by The Sun and News of the World and a similar deal by News International for American publication,” Darryn revealed in his column.
“But when I heard Diana was dead I immediately withdrew all the images from the market on moral grounds. No deals were done. It was a huge decision. Ultimately, my decision served my BIG Pictures well. There ended up being a lot of respect in the industry for what I did.”
After Diana’s funeral, Lyons was approached by Mohamed Al-Fayed, Dodi’s father, who offered him cash in exchange for his story.
“He pressed me on the many strange events that followed the crash but I kept my testimony as factual as I could and gave him essentially what I’d given police,” Lyons wrote.
“I declined the cash. He asked me straight: “Do you think those b – – s killed my son? Because I think those b – – s killed my son.”
A Princess Diana memorial following her death. (Source: Getty)
Darryn is “still extremely suspicious about the whole affair. Many aspects of Diana’s death just don’t add up”.
While we will never know the actual events that evening, Darryn believes that these questions will always remain unanswered.
As for Diana’s sons: “I think those boys have done an incredible job for the royal brand. I think they have brought it into the 21st century with great guidance behind them and not really from the old royals. They really have taken her legacy to a different level,” he told the Telegraph.
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