Princess Diana’s former chauffeur, Steve Davies, believes she would still be alive if he had been driving the night she died. Reflecting on the tragedy nearly 28 years later, Davies said, “If I’d been driving her that night in Paris, she would still be here today… because I would’ve kept her safe.”
On August 31, 1997, Diana, aged 36, was in a car with her partner Dodi Fayed, driver Henri Paul, and bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones. Chased by paparazzi through Paris’s Pont de l’Alma tunnel, Paul—who was four times over the French legal alcohol limit—lost control and crashed. Paul and Fayed died instantly; Diana and Rees-Jones were critically injured. Diana was pronounced dead at 4 a.m.
Davies, who lost his job before the crash, later learned from The Crown that journalist Martin Bashir had falsely accused him of leaking information, possibly to gain Diana’s trust before his infamous Panorama interview.
Ken Wharfe, Diana’s former protection officer, also believes her death was avoidable. He said the tragedy might have been prevented had Rees-Jones driven or if Diana had kept her Scotland Yard security team. Wharfe recalled warning her weeks earlier, but she dismissed the team soon after. He believes that had the Queen insisted, Diana would have listened—and might still be alive today.