# Diana killed by Royals **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 4, 2004, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diana-killed-by-royals/238250 "2004-04-04T23:17:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Star\_Was](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Star\_Was](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Star_Was)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2004, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diana-killed-by-royals/238250/1 "2004-04-04T23:17:56Z")
How do people who believe Diana was killed by the Royal family explain the accident she died in? Was the driver involved? What is the theory on how the Royal family could pull this off? ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2004, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diana-killed-by-royals/238250/2 "2004-04-04T23:24:13Z")
No one really has a theory–just nagging “someone that famous can’t possibly have died in a stupid avoidable accident!” conspiracy fleas in their ears. Dodi Fayed’s father–I do feel badly for him, as he lost a son, but he’s gone completely off the rails and says the Royal family had them killed because they didn’t want a Muslim as the future King’s stepfather (with all the Muslims in England now, the Royal family actually might have seen it as a coup). There are no theories because it simply makes no sense: a kamikazi driver? Diana tricked into not fastening her seatbelts? While being followed by photographers? In the presence of a bodyguard? In the middle of Paris? _Right._ ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2004, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diana-killed-by-royals/238250/3 "2004-04-05T00:57:35Z")
What bothers me is when people claim that the accident was an obvious setup since it is unlikely that a car would have lost control entering the underpass to the bridge at the speed it was going. I’ve _been_ there, at least 4 times, to that bridge in Paris, as Diana was always a special figure in my mind. Actually, every trip I take I stop there and see it, so it’s possible I’ve been more than that. I would think one could lose control entering the underpass at half the speed they were supposed to be going. I’ll bet my Mustang would briefly be airborne at lower speeds. It’s always odd to read the very virulent anti-UK Government grafitti there. Things like “MI6 Coup Butcher” and “Charles the Bloody” and so forth. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2004, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diana-killed-by-royals/238250/4 "2004-04-05T15:24:34Z")
Trust me when I say that in 1997, the Kansas City Royals were not capable of doing _anything_ right. OK, bad joke. But give me a break…it’s Opening Day (the _real_ Opening Day), someone had to insert a baseball reference. ---
**Author:** ![akrako1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@akrako1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/akrako1)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2004, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diana-killed-by-royals/238250/5 "2004-04-05T18:39:39Z")
I think all these conspiracy-theorist nutjobs are latching on to the fact that Diana predicted her death in the very way that it happened, and put the blame on Charles. What are they thinking? Personally, the only way I’d believe in a crazy conspiracy is if Charles himself predicted that he would kill her in the way she died. Who can believe the victim? They can’t be cross-examined! ---
**Author:** ![Star\_Was](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Star\_Was](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Star_Was)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2004, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diana-killed-by-royals/238250/6 "2004-04-05T19:29:59Z")
> [@](#): > > I think all these conspiracy-theorist nutjobs are latching on to the fact that Diana predicted her death in the very way that it happened, and put the blame on Charles. Diana predicted she would die in a car accident? Cite? ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2004, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diana-killed-by-royals/238250/7 "2004-04-05T19:42:40Z")
That diary entry is only one of many paranoid ramblings, and only recently made public—there have been conspiracy theories from the moment the car hit the tunnel. Besides, if she really thought they were going to kill her in a car accident, why didn’t the silly girl _fasten her damn seatbelts?_ ---
**Author:** ![Celyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@Celyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celyn)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2004, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diana-killed-by-royals/238250/8 "2004-04-05T19:49:43Z")
> [@Eve](#): > > …, why didn’t the \*\*silly girl[/b[ _fasten her damn seatbelts?_ Bolding mine! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Celyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@Celyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celyn)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2004, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diana-killed-by-royals/238250/9 "2004-04-05T20:01:45Z")
oops! Is there some sort of variant of Gaudere’s Law that says “she who casts aspersions of stupidity at others shall herself become unable to use a keyboard”? ☹ Oh well, I _can_ spell my own name, at least. \ ---
**Author:** ![jimmmy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/73ab20/32.png) [@jimmmy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimmmy)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2004, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diana-killed-by-royals/238250/10 "2004-04-05T23:07:53Z")
> [@Star Was](#): > > Diana predicted she would die in a car accident? Cite? Acccording to the Daily Mirror in a letter to her Butler (Burell) Diana is quoted as saying: \*“XXXX is planning ‘an accident’ in my car, brake failure and serious head injury in order to make the path clear for Charles to marry.” \* The newspaper says it knows the identity of the blacked-out name but will not publish it for legal reasons [http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/europe/10/20/diana.letter/](http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/europe/10/20/diana.letter/) ---
**Author:** ![London\_Calling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@London\_Calling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/London_Calling)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2004, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diana-killed-by-royals/238250/11 "2004-04-05T23:26:25Z")
On a linked (still CNN) page to the above cite, there’s a poll: Was Princess Diana’s death an accident? Yes: 40% (8,388 votes) No: 60% (12,397 votes) About that, I don’t know what to say. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2004, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diana-killed-by-royals/238250/12 "2004-04-06T00:14:34Z")
> [@London\_Calling](#): > > On a linked (still CNN) page to the above cite, there’s a poll: Was Princess Diana’s death an accident? > > Yes: 40% (8,388 votes) > > No: 60% (12,397 votes) > About that, I don’t know what to say. Brits are just as big idiots about Diana’s death as we are about JFK’s? ---
**Author:** ![London\_Calling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@London\_Calling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/London_Calling)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2004, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diana-killed-by-royals/238250/13 "2004-04-06T00:21:00Z")
I have to think this was almost entirely a US-centric poll, CNN means next to nothing - or actually nothing - to the general UK web-reading public. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2004, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diana-killed-by-royals/238250/14 "2004-04-06T00:21:53Z")
Isn’t the _Daily Mirror_ sort of the UK equivalent to _The Enquirer_? ---
**Author:** ![Shrinking\_Violet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@Shrinking\_Violet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shrinking_Violet)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2004, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diana-killed-by-royals/238250/15 "2004-04-06T00:29:06Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Isn’t the _Daily Mirror_ sort of the UK equivalent to _The Enquirer_? Er, no … as I understand it the Enquirer is a byword for outlandish, made-up stories … which would be more in line with the UK’s Sunday Sport (“My Son Turned Into A Fish Finger”, or something like that :rolleyes: ). At least the Daily Mirror carries a smattering of _real_ news hidden within its pages … 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![London\_Calling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@London\_Calling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/London_Calling)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2004, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diana-killed-by-royals/238250/16 "2004-04-06T00:29:42Z")
I don’t think anyone has raised doubt about the veracity of the note/letter; it wasn’t detected on the face of the moon, or something. It does seemingly exist and Burrell made lashings more of gravy from it, just as his latest book came out towards the end of last year; he certainly learned how to play that game fairly smartly . . . The fact that it exists, as has been suggested, must speak more to the state of Diana’s mind than anything else; she had a difficult few years and it took its toll. Btw **Eve** , the JFK comparison is particularly apt, in my view.