"Diana's Last Night": Who is to blame for her death?

On August 31, 1997, just after midnight, Princess Diana's (1961-1997) car crashed into the 13th pillar in Paris' Alma Tunnel.

"Diana's Last Night": Who is to blame for her death?

On August 31, 1997, just after midnight, Princess Diana's (1961-1997) car crashed into the 13th pillar in Paris' Alma Tunnel. She, her boyfriend, Egyptian film producer Dodi Al-Fayed (1955-1997), and French driver Henri Paul (1956-1997) die as a result of the impact. Rumors and speculation about a possible assassination spread rapidly. Above all, businessman Mohamed Al-Fayed (93), the father of the killed Dodi, repeatedly claims that the British establishment had Diana and his son murdered so that Princes William (40) and Harry (37) would not have an Arab stepfather. Many fans also do not want to believe in an accident.

Police and prosecutors in Paris and London have been investigating for almost ten years. At the end of 2006, they refute all lies and legends in an investigation report spanning more than 800 pages. The conclusion: The death of one of the most famous women in the world is due to a traffic accident. The driver of the car was drunk (1.83 per thousand) and was on drugs when he tried to lose the numerous paparazzi at high speed. The photographers initially arrested were acquitted.

In the new documentary "Diana's last night - love, life, legend" (2.8., 8:15 p.m., ZDF) Annika Blendl (41) and Leonie Stade (34) - both script and director - as well as Ulrike Grunewald (64) - Idea, concept, editing - the exciting questions about who informed the paparazzi and what future plans the queen of hearts actually had shortly before her unexpected death. But they also tell particularly impressive stories about the fatal and dramatic hours after the accident. Seeing Diana's body laid out in the hospital bed "was the most emotional moment I've ever had," recalls Diana's British chauffeur Colin Tebbutt.

Employees, bodyguards, journalists, photographers and the emergency doctor who was the first to arrive at the scene of the accident share their memories and personal assessments. Four phone calls that Diana made in her final hours also play a role. In the conversations, Prince Charles' (73) ex-wife told her confidants and friends about her summer experiences, her plans with sons William and Harry, but also about the changes she had gone through since her dirty divorce. The big difference between public life and the private person behind the beautiful rebellious megastar also becomes clear.

The game scenes feature Mareile Blendl (46) as Princess Diana, Patrick Pinheiro (45) as Dodi Al-Fayed and Dirk Ossig (51) as driver Henri Paul.

According to the documentary, the day Diana and Dodi were to die was marked by many spontaneous decisions. One of the driving forces was the lack of personal protection. The film repeatedly emphasizes that the super-rich do not have the same protection as the royal family. "Diana got rid of her security. In the end, this decision cost her her life," believes journalist Katie Nicholl.

Diana and Dodi originally wanted to end their summer vacation in Sardinia with a night in the city of love. The former Queen of Hearts also informed her butler Paul Burrell (64) in London at short notice. "She said: I'm coming home, but via Paris. Tell the boys I'll be a day late. We're only postponing our plans by one night, nothing more," says Burrell in the documentary about the call from the Parisian luxury hotel Ritz .

On the morning of the day of the accident, its employees had prepared for two prominent guests whose names were only mentioned shortly before they arrived at 4:30 p.m. "Actually, the hotel should have been cordoned off extensively," says Dai Davies, who was the head of royal personal security in 1997, but that didn't happen. Instead, paparazzi were waiting for the couple at the airport, although their names were only given five minutes before landing. But who had informed her?

In the film, journalist Richard Kay is certain that the information from Dodi's team had leaked out. "Mohamed Al-Fayed must have recognized the value of these pictures: his son and the Princess of Wales step out of the private jet, which is adorned with the logo of the department store Harrods. A super advertisement," speculates Kay.

However, other eyewitnesses tell in the documentary that Diana is said to have informed the photographers and journalists during the previous two weeks of vacation with Dodi on the Al Fayed yacht. "She wanted to continue to dominate the front pages," it says. On the one hand, she is said to have been concerned with provoking the royal family. On the other hand, she wanted to make her ex-boyfriend, a London heart surgeon, jealous with the famous kissing photo on the ship and the romance with Dodi that was implied. "She knew this photo would be on every front page of the world," said her butler at the time.

She also had phone calls with her fortune teller and friend Rita Rodgers and with journalist Richard Kay - her last phone call. As he reports, she is said to have been concerned because the press had accused her of political interference after a visit to Bosnia. A no-go for royals. Among other things, she is said to have dreamed of living in the United States. "The paparazzi in America are worse than in Europe," Kay warned. She didn't believe it and wanted "a big change"...