Until Lord Stevens - the former Met Police Commissioner assigned to re-investigate the circumstances surrounding the death of Princess Diana and Dodi Al Fayed - uttered this intriguing and suspicious admission last February, I harboured no interest at all in the world of Diana myths and conspiracies. But I found his admission so extraordinary that I thought the circumstances of her death warranted a closer look. 

Anthony L. Hall is a descendant of the Turks & Caicos Islands, international lawyer and political consultant - headquartered in Washington DC - who publishes his own Internet Weblog at www.theipinionsjournal.com offering commentaries on current events from a Caribbean perspective

And, based on my review of the public record, I wrote a commentary in which I left no doubt that I suspected the royal family of involvement in her death.   But it was not the bereaved accusations of Mohammad Al Fayed that informed my suspicions. Rather, it was the investigative report by respected journalist and historian Nicholas Davies, the author of many books on the Royals and British intelligence.
 
In his report, which he parlayed into another book entitled “Cover up”, Davies posed the ultimate question for conspiracy buffs as follows:

“Why would MI5 have undertaken the dastardly and indefensible act of killing Diana?”

And he provided the answer as follows:

“...That Diana had, unwittingly, become a potent, powerful political person in her own right; someone who commanded so much love and respect throughout the free world that she could sway voters in the democracies of the West without even trying.”

Yet, as impressed as I was with Davis’s report and a number of other articles implicating the royals, I am now convinced that they amount to nothing more than compelling fiction.  Therefore, I feel obliged to admit that I was wrong to cast aspersions on the royal family.

That said, it’s tempting to blame Lord Stevens for leading me down the primrose path where conspiracy nuts tread.  But I’m acutely aware that I should have waited for his final report before indicting anyone for Diana’s mysterious death.  And, after reading advanced excerpts of the findings of his two-year inquiry, I am satisfied that he has put to rest all suspicions of foul play.

But, trust me, only a masochist (or a penitent person like me) should endure the pain of reading all 50,000 words of his turgid report.  Therefore, I am happy to disclose his conclusions on the seminal questions about this tragedy:

Did the royal family order a hit on Diana?  NO. 

Was Diana pregnant at the time of her death?  NO

Was she engaged to Dodi Al Fayed?  NO

Was there any attempt to cover up the cause of her death? NO.

According to Lord Stevens, on that fateful night, Diana’s chauffeur, Henri Paul was “as drunk as a pig on a combination of booze and tranquilizers” and was driving too fast when he crashed and caused her death. (A crash, he concludes, Diana would have survived had she been wearing her seat belt.)

Alas, there are more intriguing nuggets in his report to keep the embers of conspiracy burning.  (Especially Henri Paul’s affiliation with French intelligence, and U.S. intelligence eavesdropping on conversations which happened to reference Diana’s activities; even though it’s generally known that British intelligence routinely targeted her phone conversations... Remember the “Squiggy” tapes?) 

Meanwhile, Mohammed Al Fayed demonstrated long ago that he’s inconsolably attached to the theory that the royal family murdered Diana and his son Dodi. Therefore, one should expect him to continue his thoroughly discredited rantings.

But here’s my final word:

RIP Diana...

NOTE: It was probably no coincidence that her sons, William and Harry, chose this week to announce their plans for a memorial concert on 1 July 2007 “to mark Diana’s 46th birthday”. (Nonetheless, it would be disingenuous not to regard this event as also a commemoration of the 10th anniversary of her death...)

But I cannot blame the princes for wanting to speak only of celebrating her life at a time when so many of us are still pondering the mysteries of her death.  And, it would appear many Britons are very eager to celebrate with them - since all 80,000 tickets for this concert were sold out in 30 minutes yesterday.

ENDNOTE:  That another Jack the Ripper is currently terrorizing Ipswich in England also provides a timely, if macabre, diversion from any unwelcome focus on Diana’s death.)

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