That day it came out, we were at a motorcross race south of Paris as people ran through the crowd shouting (phoenetically) La Dee Dee. I thought it comical until I realised they meant Lady Di. Immediate reaction and immediate (later censored) news reports left all people we talked with to understand it was an assassination, and a clumsy one at that.
None of us who ever worked with chauffers in Paris would even start to believe the story that Henri Paul was drunk. It did not fit.
As always, it seems, facts changed later and the details and photos changed. Our friends and family there were resigned to the change as just business as usual. Consensus amongst friends was that she was finished off during the very slow ambulance ride to the hospital.
Thank you for your personal account. I thought it was a tragic accident for quite a while. My oldest daughter was quite a fan of Princess Diana(K was stil in HS at the time and you know about princesses and fairy tales-oy vey), and after the funeral, I just banned the subject. Everytime she started crying, I couldn't help starting up again. Our eyes were darn near swollen shut by the time the funeral was done.
No. Professional chauffers who are in charge of delivering dignitaries to a destination, are well scrutinized. Don't forget that Henri Paul wasn't scheduled to drive the Princess. It was a last minute switch, according to records.
That must have been the ultimate bummer of a vacation : (