Theory #3: Al Fayed's enemies did it
Another bogeyman conjured up by those who refuse to accept the official explanation is a group of shadowy figures lumped under the heading "Enemies of Al Fayed." In this version of events, the real target of the assassination plot was Dodi Al Fayed. The motive was revenge against his father. Diana's death was incidental, or a diversion at most.
It stands to reason that a man as wealthy and powerful as Mohamed Al Fayed acquired some equally powerful enemies over the years, but -- who are they? What are their names? Where is the evidence of a cabal? Nothing tangible has ever been put forward. One would think that if there were even a shred of truth to this scenario, Al Fayed himself would have long since demanded an appropriate investigation and punishment of the actual wrongdoers.
Theory #4: Diana herself did it
Without a doubt the oddest conspiracy theory advanced to explain the events of August 31, 1997 revolves around the claim that Princess Diana faked her own death. With the help of Dodi and his family's massive wealth, Diana carefully planned the "accident" as a cover so the couple could slip away, change their identities, and begin a new life far away from public scrutiny. This would mean, of course, that the bodies buried in Princess Diana's and Dodi Al Fayed's graves actually belong to somebody else.
What makes this plausible, supposedly, is the "fact" that there was no postmortem examination of Diana's body — which is patently false. A full postmortem exam was conducted on August 31 by Home Office pathologist Dr. Robert Chapman as soon as Diana's remains were returned to England. If the point of this plot was for Diana to escape into hiding alive and unharmed, something went horribly wrong between the planning and the execution.
Investigators: 'This was a tragic accident'
It's hard to imagine a government inquiry more thorough than the 900-page Operation Paget, supervised by Lord Stevens, the former Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service, at a cost of £4 million. Investigators not only checked each element of the predominant conspiracy theory — the one backed by Mohamed Al Fayed — against all available evidence and testimony, but incorporated Fayed's own research in their output. Their findings were unambiguous:
"Our conclusion is that, on all the evidence available at this time, there was no conspiracy to murder any of the occupants of the car. This was a tragic accident."
There are those who remain unconvinced, of course, because — well, that's what being a conspiracy theorist is all about. Foremost is Mohamed Al Fayed, who has dismissed the report as "garbage" and derided Lord Stevens as "a tool for the establishment and the royal family and intelligence." He continues to insist that pertinent facts were ignored. Other dissenters partake of the general mistrust of government which seems to have become a permanent feature of the post-twentieth-century zeitgeist. How can we believe the results of the inquiry, they ask, when it was conducted by officials of the same government that perpetrated the crime? Still others, unrecovered from the shock of Diana's untimely passing, continue to find it impossible to accept the haphazardness of the event.
It was to all of these factions, and to those who simply grieve the loss of the "people's princess" to this day, that Lord Stevens addressed these final words:
"Three people tragically lost their lives in the accident and one was seriously injured. Many more have suffered from the intense scrutiny, speculation and misinformed judgements in the years that have followed. I very much hope that all the work we have done and the publication of this report will help to bring some closure to all who continue to mourn the deaths of Diana, Princess of Wales, Dodi Al Fayed, and Henri Paul."
For some, it's safe to say, the case will never be closed.
Update: On April 7, 2008 the verdict of the coroner's inquest jury was announced: Diana's "unlawful death" was caused by the recklessness of limo driver Henri Paul and the paparazzi pursuing Diana and Dodi Al Fayed through the streets of Paris.
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