Lady Diana – Top Secret

1997 Saturday, August 30, around 9:45 pm: Some journalists have confirmed the following: «François Tendil, the man in charge of the evening and night security at the Ritz, contacted Henri Paul, who was off duty that night, and asked him to return immediately to the Ritz to join the team of security agents. The reason: Because of the multitude and the aggressiveness of paparazzi and onlookers that hinder every move of the couple, the four bodyguards have difficulty in protecting Princess Diana».

1997 Saturday, August 30, 9:50 pm: In the meantime Diana and Dodi approach the main entrance of Ritz with their car. And even there, the entrance is packed with paparazzi and people who want to touch Diana.

Besides the doorman (piccolò) and François Tendil, the guy in charge of the night security, there is no other agent to welcome and protect the couple escaping from the assault of the crowd. As soon as they get out of the Mercedes, two photographers appear and suddenly rush to Diana, physically sticking to her, annoying, pushing and bothering her, pestering her with their continuous flashes and filming. The situation is way out of control to be able to protect Diana's security, it is a total dangerous chaos. At this point, Dodi snaps in his anger rushing towards the two photographers, pushing them and making them get away from Diana; then, turning to François Tendil he shouts in French: «What are you doing? Not like this, this is shit!».

Then later, Dodi addresses to another bodyguard, Kez Wingfield, who was in the Range Rover driving behind the Mercedes, and, shouting, he scolds him publicly asking: «Why did you not go in front of my Mercedes to clear the passage and to free the way from other vehicles, from the crowds and the sticky paparazzi?»

In fact, Dodi reproaches him for not going ahead, on patrol at the crossroads to clear out the streets, so to identify and prepare the most appropriate areas or lanes that would have permitted the Mercedes to pass freely. «Between saying and doing...» Said Kez Wingfield «None of us agents knew where Dodi intended to go; he was constantly changing direction; we only had the Range Rover to support the Mercedes. There were no other security agents, we were too few».

It was obvious that young Kez Wingfield was very demoralized by the rebuke given by Dodi in front of everyone.

THE RETURN TO THE RITZ HOTEL

Watching the movie that has been broadcast all around the world, filmed by the hotel cameras as they were passing through the revolving door of the main entrance of Ritz, you can respectively glimpse: Dodi, then Diana and finally Trevor Rees-Jones. A sense of distress and irritation is clearly visible on Diana's face, she is annoyed by that Parisian afternoon that she did not even want. They have done all that just to get back to the starting point. Diana does not feel safe with the security service arranged by the young and rich Arabic emir.

Diana probably thought to herself that the protection service was nothing compared to the great safety she could have been provided with the numerous officers of the Parisian police. The Parisian police would have accompanied Diana everywhere and with everyone she would have desired, in the same way they would have acted with Heads of State and Diplomatic Corps.

Diana would have had squadron of armoured cars with several national security agents, policemen and army personnel; these would have initially blocked all intersections of the roads to be crossed with armoured cars, and they would have formed a wall of armed men and armoured vehicles to ensure maximum protection to Diana, both inside and outside of her accommodation. With the police by her side nobody, neither paparazzi nor onlookers would have dared to approach the Princess if she would not have explicitly required.

In reality, the Lady believed and hoped that the Fayeds could offer her enough protection beside wealth, and not only temporarily, but everlasting. The playboy Dodi Al-Fayed, instead, was a young and rich spendthrift, a half junkie with a chaotic temper who loved and practised frivolous and shameless nightlife; therefore he would have not been up to fulfil eventual or controversial tantrums of the Princess. Furthermore Dodi was surrounded by “so called friends” of the late night, dangerous people without any morality or compassion, rich spoiled people wickedly uncontrollable, every wishes of theirs was fulfilled by Dodi.

So Diana found herself in the middle of bad company, she was not even protected morally. Several members of the Ritz personnel stated: «Some of Dodi's alleged business friends were playful, ruthless and without conscience. It is also likely that Diana sensed that they wished to have sex with her, maybe with drugs involved, and that Dodi would have not had any chances nor power to deny and to protect her, so that it would not happen».

Diana was aware of the possible danger, she would have never approved of this sort of free lust and she would absolutely not allow it to happen. From this moment her only goal was to have dinner at the hotel and to go to sleep, fleeing to her luxury suite n° 102, to never get out from Ritz until the day after to leave for London.

Diana was sadly wrong, within two hours unimaginable and uncontrollable things would have happened, strange and ghostly events. The Lady will not even notice of falling into a deadly trap, everything will happen like in a horror demonic thriller bringing only cruelty, pain and violent death.

1997 Saturday, August 30, 9:53 pm: Diana and Dodi are bout to enter in the spacious and elegant lobby of the Ritz. The space of the restaurant is packed full with people, there is not a single table available. Even if Dodi is the owner's son and despite the fact that Diana is the most famous woman in the world, according to what the French maître and the Hotel Ritz Director, Franck Klein, aka Mohamed Al-Fayed's right arm in France, are thinking there is no choice: «If you are not happy to eat standing up or at the bar, you will have to find a different place to eat dinner» (it seemed that Dodi did not have much control in this his hotel). Luckily, a table for the pair was quickly arranged.

Diana goes to one of the many luxurious toilets to rearrange her hair and make up, then she sits on the comfortable chair of her table, in the middle of the bustling and noisy Espadon restaurant. With her eyes looking down, Diana tries to unwind in her own silence.

Between a peek and the other, among the curious customers there are also some children. Sat down right there all alone, Diana shows a terrific body appearence, tanned by the Italian sun, but also very tired and hiding an emotion revealed only by her blue eyes, wet with small tears, drops that are struggling to get out.

1997 Saturday, August 30, 10:00 pm: The Mercedes with darkened windows that was used to pick up the couple from the airport of Paris and to drive them around the capital in that crowded afternoon, is now parked in front of the main entrance of the Ritz.

1997 Saturday, August 30, 10:08 pm: In a video recorded by the surveillance camera of the main entrance, you can see Henri Paul (deputy chief of the security) while he was parking his Austin. He is back to work and enters the Ritz. After briefly joining his colleagues (security guards) located on the ground floor at the “Vendôme” bar of the Ritz, Paul reaches Dodi.

In fact, that day Henri Paul should have had a night off. According to our investigators, the reason for which Paul has returned to work is not just to give support to the team of bodyguards, in order to avoid the same pressure that evolved in the presence of the numerous paparazzi and onlookers that afternoon, but it is for the need to report Dodi a vital message regarding the Princess. The recordings from the cameras of the Hotel Ritz show Henri Paul very peaceful, sober and smiling. His steps, his moves and his appearence seem quite normal.

1997 Saturday, August 30, 10:10 pm: Dodi asks Diana what she would like to eat, however, after placing their order, it becomes noticeable that the eyes of the other customers are fixed upon the couple, and especially upon Diana. She feels embarrassed by those elusive glances of dark nature.

Suddenly Diana expresses Dodi the wish of wanting to retreat in her own room, to have a bit of privacy. Dinner will then be served in their own Imperial suite number 102 of the luxurious Ritz Hotel.

HENRI PAUL'S INFORMATION AND THE TELEPHONE

CALLS THAT CAUSED CONCERN TO DODI

1997 Saturday, August 30, 10:20 pm: Henri Paul approaches Dodi in one of the rooms of suite 102 and, confidentially, reveals to him, face-to-face, a piece of news which will disrupt him. Being very formal, Paul refers Dodi to have been contacted by a character, or one of his representatives, however, this person is a very influential man that in this book we will sometimes call: “The French Puppet Master/Collaborator”, his real name is Jean-Pierre Chevènement, and he was the Interior Minister at the time.

Paul's words are: «This afternoon you rejected our welcome and the presidential security vehicles prepared by French Authorities for the Princess of Wales. Furthermore, you have been repeatedly informed about the agreement set in the past between French Authorities and your father. Parisian Authorities have been disappointed and strongly affected by your denial. Although, even if they nourish a bit of resentment as well as displeasure, they have decided to give you another favourable chance».

Paul adds: “Chevènement's exact words were: «Therefore, in order to prevent something bad from happening to someone, we wisely advise you not to dare to come out from the Ritz Hotel with the Princess and to not use your vehicle with your security guards. If you wish to take Lady Diana somewhere in Paris, you need to ask for our vehicles and our security agents at our Parisian Authorities. We will richly provide you all of our support”.

1997 Saturday, August 30, 10:40 pm: It is the night of a beautiful and warm day in late summer, we are in a fairly quiet and deserted Paris. The Eiffel Tower entirely lit up rises above the Napoleonic city, and with its 324 meters of height it looks like a massive diamond. Restaurants, bars and bistros are open, shops and their windows spread the light.

There are few vehicles circulating on the roads and a low amount of pedestrians, many Parisians are out of town for the holidays. As opposed to that, outside the main entrance of the Ritz Grand Hotel, overlooking the elegant and vast Place Vendôme, there is a lot people and a bustle of cars, motorcycles, photojournalists, onlookers and many tourists armed with cameras and video-cameras. Everyone is hoping for the Princess to appear at the windowsill, to see her, admire and photograph her.

Dodi and Diana are dining on the first floor of the majestic Imperial Suite of the Ritz, one of the most attractive hotels in the world.

They are both unaware that this it will be the last night of their life, the final dinner of their existence. According to wire-tapping and bugs that were placed in their suite and based on reports from eyewitnesses (the staff of the Ritz), journalists have established what follows: «Between a word and the other with Diana, Dodi makes and receives several phone calls, even from his father».

During the first phone call that he receives, someone announces a first message to him. The minute in which Dodi is aware of this message, his attitude changes, he feels disturbed and very concerned. During the second phone calls he gets, someone is talking about an appointment for that same night. Dodi answers to his interlocutor with an uneasy tone: «Let's talk about it face to face in a quiet place».

Did the content of these phone calls have something to do with the message just received by Henry Paul? Did Dodi have to negotiate an important deal, planned for a long time? Or maybe he had to meet with the same people that were waiting for him at Chez Benoît Restaurant, the bistro on Rue Saint Martin, earlier that afternoon? As we shall see following, the topics of these calls are one of the main keys to the solution of the case on the death of Princess Diana Spencer.

WHERE DID THE COUPLE WANT TO GO AT MIDNIGHT?

In an attempt to answer this question and to give a sense to the rest of the events, many journalists-investigators stated and wrote the following, but incomplete, piece of news: «That Saturday night, at the beginning of the first hour of Sunday, August 31, 1997 the couple left the Ritz because Dodi, for work reasons (a big business), was expected at a specific location and they could get there on their own initiative, using a Hotel service car».

Surely the given address referred to the building of the “Residence Passy Kennedy”, in the XVI Arrondissement of Paris. This Palace, built in the '80s is located on Maison de la Radio, on the Avenue du Prèsident-Kennedy, which extends from the Avenue de New-York along the Seine after the Place de l'Alma. This is also the home of a major consultation agency, which has big companies of the defence industry as clients, such as GIAT Industries, Matra and Thalès.

Other journalists, however, asserted that at 12:20 am the couple walked out of the back of the Ritz promising and making paparazzi believe that, upon request and need of Diana, they would head to Dodi's house first. Many have said that in reality things went simply like this: at 12:20 am the couple stepped out of the back of the Ritz, which is located on Rue Cambon, entered the Mercedes and set off towards the house of Dodi, who is in Rue Arsène-Houssaye near the Arc of Triumph.

They would have wanted to spend the entire night in Al-Fayed apartment and the day after Diana would have left for London. However, according to the investigations of our experts, excluding some details, there is little truth in which was stated above. Anyway, almost all journalists said that the path related to the dynamic of the accident involved the following: from Rue Cambon the Mercedes drove towards Champs Elyseès. While Diana's vehicle stopped in front of the traffic light at Place de la Concorde, Dodi noticed an exaggerated fanaticism and a lot of disturbance by paparazzi pursuers towards the Princess that was on board, and he ordered his driver to leave immediately despite the red light.

Driver Henri Paul, attempted to quickly cross the crowded Place de la Concorde to later turn right and drive towards Champs Elyseès, but it was not possible due to the much traffic (others affirmed that the road was closed) so he chose the straight path ahead of him, the one along the Seine, a two-lanes road. For the Mercedes carrying Diana the malfunctioning brakes, the very high speed and the sudden hard braking under the tunnel were the fatal mix of ingredients which caused the onset of the most dramatic and fatal princely event of the twentieth century.

Where did Dodi and Diana want to go at midnight? The only real answer to this question lies within the following: After Henri Paul gave him the shocking news at 10:20 pm, Dodi began to receive phone calls. A first and a second time Dodi answered to his questioner saying: «We will talk about it later, in a quieter place». Immediately after, Dodi called his father Mohamed Al-Fayed in London.

Al-Fayed senior never wanted to reveal to reporters what his son told him and what was the content of the first telephone message received by Dodi at about 10:40 pm, however this is what he claimed to have told him: «You must absolutely not leave the Ritz, stay there tonight, do not go out... But he never listened».

It was obvious that during all these calls: «Dodi was very upset and barely managed to control his movements and his voice. He even tried to hide the subject of his phone conversations to Diana».

1997 Saturday, August 30, 10:45 pm: Some employees of the Ritz reported the following piece of news: «Shortly after Dodi's phone calls, Diana understood very well both the content of those phone messages and the news that Dodi received from Henri Paul at 10:20 pm. Consequently a state of restlessness and anxiety got hold of her. The Princess quickly realized she had fallen in a serious mess. Overwhelmed by the fear of a potential danger, full of concern but with strong persistence and determination, Diana became decidedly stubborn in wanting to leave immediately for London».

YES, DIANA DEMANDED TO GO BACK TO LONDON

Dodi had no choice. The private jet of Al-Fayed, the Gulfstream 4, was still in Paris, at the airport Le Bourget, the only thing needed was to alert the pilot to be ready for take-off. Presumably, Dodi was the person who phone called the pilot. It was necessary to reach the airport as soon as possible, but in complete secret and without revealing the real destination to anyone.

Dodi called François Tendil, security agent at the Ritz, on the phone telling him to bring Henri Paul, Trevor Rees-Jones e Kez Wingfield to him. Dodi then revealed to the four his plan on how to get out of the Ritz anonymously. YES, Diana had instantly forced Dodi to bring her back to London that night, it was an undeniable and very strict order. Apart from obeying, Dodi did not have any choice.

Therefore, Dodi and the four security agents decided to put in place the following deception, called “the trick of the two cars”:

a) The black Mercedes with darkened windows, the same car used to drive the couple around Paris that afternoon, was parked outside of the main entrance of the Ritz, in Place Vendôme. This was going to be used as a deceiving car driven by its habitual driver, Philippe Dourneau. A camouflaged couple with the appearance of Diana and Dodi was going to get on this car, and they were going to leave together with the Range Rover, driven by Kez Wingfield, backing them up.

b) Another Mercedes (very similar, but sadly with transparent windows), that was going to be parked in Rue Cambon, close to the secondary exit at the back of the Ritz, was going to be used for the secret escape. This latter car would carry the real Diana and Dodi.

The three vehicles would have to leave as one. The Mercedes carrying the true Diana and Dodi was then going to drive on the road along the Seine in the direction of the airport, while, from the main entrance of the Ritz, the other Mercedes and the Range Rover were going to go towards Dodi's apartment on Rue Arsene-Houssaye, near the Arc of Triumph, to pick up Diana's luggage and to take it to the airport Le Bourget.

In fact, the trick was in the intention of deceiving the paparazzi, reporters and onlookers making them believe that Diana and Dodi would have entered the Mercedes parked outside the main entrance. In reality it was clearly visible on the videos recorded by cameras at the Ritz (even if the images are dark) that those who got on this Mercedes were different people camouflaged, including a blonde woman.

To make things clear, this decoy Mercedes was going to take the following path: it was going to depart from Ritz, to cross Place Vendôme, towards Rue Saint Honoré and arrive at Rue de Rivoli, then it was going to turn left in the direction of Place de la Concorde, to turn right on Avenue des Champs-Elysèes in the direction of the Arc of Triumph, and finally it was going to go straight until it reached its destination, Dodi's apartment, which is located on Rue Arsene-Houssaye, on the right just before the Arc of Triumph.

On the ground floor at the back of the Ritz there is a door, this is a secondary exit that leads to the dark road of Rue Cambon. After midnight Dodi and Diana together with bodyguards: Henri Paul e Trevor Rees-Jones would exit that door. Both cars, the Mercedes carrying the real Diana and the decoy that was parked in front of the main entrance of the Ritz, were going to leave simultaneously.

The plan was very simple: the paparazzi, that were waiting for the couple to get on the Mercedes located in front of the Ritz, would follow this car instead of the one that was parked in the back. The path that the couple would follow on board of the new Mercedes with clear windows, was not going to be the same one of the Mercedes parked in front of the main entrance of the Ritz.

According to the escape plan, hoping that the two vehicles would not come across each other, the actual path of the Mercedes carrying the real Diana and Dodi was going to be the following: to start from Rue Cambon, to cross Rue Saint Honorè, to arrive at Rue de Rivoli, then on Rue Royale to turn left towards Place de la Concorde, to go straight at the traffic lights and then to turn slightly on the left to take the road Along the Seine (La Seine) on Cours la Reine, adjacent Cours Albert 1er, then to pass the Alma tunnel and to continue on the Avenue de New York and the Avenue du Prèsident Kennedy, and next to enter the Avenue de Versaille in order to reach the entrance of the Périphérique (Périph') of Porte de St-Cloud (the ring road outside the city). At this point on the highway it was going to take the left towards Quai d’Issy and Port d’Ivry up to Port de la Villette. To later exit the Périphérique and merge on Avenue J. Jaurès driving up to Le Bourget airport.

1997 Saturday, August 30, 11:00 pm: Henri Paul calls Etoile Limousine Park to order another Mercedes dark and armoured, this car has to be delivered immediately and to be parked on the street on Rue Cambon, which is located on the back of the Hotel. However, Dodi and Henri Paul certainly make the following huge mistake: they should have not chosen a Mercedes identical to the car they used that afternoon; it would have been better to use a different model, with tinted windows in any case, not to drag any attention to themselves. Not taking into account this important detail, they order a black Mercedes, the same colour of the decoy car that was parked outside the main entrance of the Ritz (identical to the one they used that afternoon with plate: 405 JVJ75).

Furthermore, this backup Mercedes Limousine, with clear windows, was rented many times by the Hotel Ritz and it is the same car that was stolen to a driver several months before. After it was recovered, it was placed for a time in the Parisian parking lot (garage) of Saint-Ouen, at the moment of the call the car had already been in the Etoile Limousine Park of Paris for two months. The deadly car of the crash is therefore a Mercedes Benz, Limousine, 600 series, type Sedan, 12 cylinders, model S-280, colour black, armoured, with clear windows and the plate: 688 LTV 75 (Henri Paul had never driven it).

1997 Saturday, August 30, 11:42 pm: Until 12:06 am Henri Paul showed up many times on the apron of the main entrance of the Ritz, to have a conversation with the many paparazzi that were there. Regardless of all the rumours written by books and gossip magazines about: “What Henri Paul said and revealed to the photographers?” According to the plan of Dodi, Henri simply tried to mislead the paparazzi, telling them: «The Princess will soon exit from the main entrance of the Ritz, so when she will show up, I ask everyone present here not to be too intrusive».

Examining the existing footage of those minutes, and observing Henri Paul's lip-reading, or which consonants he expressed with the movement of his lips, it seems clear that he also expressed the following to the paparazzi: «When we leave I am willing to challenge you in a race, me and this Mercedes which is outside the entrance of the Ritz.».

1997 Sunday, August 31, 12:10 and 13 seconds am: In a video shot inside the cabin of the elevator at Ritz, we can see Diana and Dodi in the background, they are smiling but they do not seem relaxed. The very last radiant smile of Lady Diana can be admired in that film, with her cheerful gaze, maybe a bit forced, but overall satisfied. After having dinner and passing the night in the luxurious Presidential Suite number 102, the lift is now going down from the first floor to the ground floor bringing the couple in the Hotel lobby.

Diana's outfit is the same one she wore that afternoon from 17:40. Together with the couple there are also the two bodyguards, Trevor Rees-Jones and Henri Paul, he will be the driver of the backup Mercedes.

1997 Sunday, August 31, 12:11 and 00 seconds am: We are on the ground floor in the rear wing of the lobby of the Hotel, in the next 14 minutes the worst road chaos of the XX century will happen at the detriment of Diana. Dodi and Diana have reached the workstation of François Tendil, jointly with the two security guards: Trevor Rees-Jones and Kez Wingfield. Henri Paul is at the beginning of the hallway in the back and he is waiting for the couple to arrive. The twosome pass in front of Henri Paul and heads towards the corridor that leads to the back of the Hotel.

It seems that all of a sudden something alarming happens, the agent Trevor appears to detect someone who allegedly touched Diana while she was walking for a moment alone.

Trevor is the only one who has noticed it, he suddenly stops and seeks cover behind an opening in the right wall, which is located between the lobby and the hallway. His gaze remains sharp, without losing sight of Diana for a moment. He puts his left hand on his gun, which he carries inside the holster around the waist of his pants (it is a .38), then he realizes that it is a false alarm and, without saying a word, continues approaching the couple that is about to reach the small and narrow corridor. At the end of it there is a small door, this is one of the secondary exits in the back of the building and leads directly to Rue Cambon. Their new Mercedes is parked on this small street and it will be used as vehicle to avoid the many paparazzi eager to photograph the Princess, located in front of the main entrance of the Ritz.

1997 Sunday, August 31, 12:11 and 53 seconds am : the very last videos from Hotel Ritz are silent, but the movements of the performers on the run appear to want to tell us something, their tension is very high revealing their thoughts and fears. Before exiting from the last door, Dodi and Diana are clinging to each other. Observing this behaviour from a psychological point of view, this type of hug, keeping the fingers of one's hand tight between the fingers of the hand of another person, with one's arm on the lower part of the back, is a tangible sign that the individual, Diana in this case, is unsure of herself, she is not at ease and asks for support and protection, she is anxious, has a great fear and apprehension.

We are unsure of what exactly she was thinking in that precise moment to have led her to that gesture, but one thing is sure, Diana was experiencing a combination of agitation, anxiety and concerns about a possible danger and the worry that something extremely serious could be happening to her. Now the couple is down the hallway, a few meters away from the secondary exit of the Ritz, there are neither armchairs nor benches to sit on, there is only the door that faces the narrow, gloomy and dark street of Rue Cambon.

To the left of this dim corridor there are some windows of one of the many shops of the Ritz, instinctively, Diana does not lose the opportunity to check her silhouette, outlined by her suit, reflected on the glass of the light up window.

Besides Henri Paul there is also Trevor Reese-Jones, often focused on looking at his watch. Henri Paul explains to Diana and Dodi on which side and spot of the side-walk the Mercedes is parked and makes clear how to reach it, after that he will give the couple the green light by inviting them to come out and will show his assistance by preceding them. As expected, Kez Wingfield and Philippe Dourneau are now in their respective vehicles at the front entrance of the Ritz, ready to leave at the exact previously agreed time.

1997 Sunday, August 31, 12:15 and 50 seconds am: Henri Paul leaves the Ritz through the service door which is in the back, goes on the side walk of the Rue Cambon, checks the road and sees three men, probably some photographers stationed on the other side of the street, he nods at them, raising his right hand, or, anyway, he performs some kind of greeting. “Many journalists have asserted that with that act Henri Paul wanted to give to the three a kind of signal to start an activity plan, previously concurred”.

According to other reporters Henri Paul's behaviour is very suspicious, some private investigators and media have connected Henri Paul's gesture to some kind of “sign of agreement”, associating it with the fact that he had sold information about the strategy the couple would have used that night on board of the Mercedes.

In reality, Henri Paul got out of the back of the Ritz simply to verify where, on Rue Cambon, was the backup Mercedes parked, the car he had requested an hour before (this is the vehicle which will be used in a few minutes for the escape plan programmed by Dodi and the man in charge of the security at the Ritz, François Tendil). The three individuals that Henri Paul greeted remotely raising his right arm, could simply have been some paparazzi or maybe some people that he knew.

These three may as well have been the two employees of the Park Etoile Limousine that delivered the keys of the car ordered to them, to a servant of the Ritz, and maybe they were waiting for a verification by Henri Paul.

Let us consider, however, that the information of the presence of a second Mercedes on Rue Cambon was known both to some of the Ritz staff and to the employees of Park Etoile Limousine. As we will see below, there are tangible elements that demonstrate the complete absence of a betrayal by Henri Paul against the famous couple. Contrary to this, Mohamed Al-Fayed claimed that Henri Paul that night betrayed his son by allying and cooperating with the French and British intelligence services.