Princes William and Harry believe Princess Diana’s death ‘was an accident’, royal expert claims

A royal expert has suggested Princes William and Harry will struggle with details of Princess Diana’s death being ‘brought up again’ in a new documentary exploring the investigations that followed her fatal crash.

The Princess of Wales was 36 when she was killed in a car crash in Paris on August 31 1997 and her death has continued to attract conspiracy theories over the decades. 

Remarking on Channel 4’s Investigating Diana: Death in Paris, Jennie Bond told GB News: ‘It must be awful to be William and Harry, and to be Charles also, and to have these facts, these allegations brought up again, the facts shown on television, the fact of their mother’s death.’

The documentary, which aired its first episode last night, explores the tragic passing of the Princess of Wales and the joint investigation between British and French authorities that followed. 

The Princess of Wales (pictured in April 1997) was 36 when she was killed in a car crash in Paris on August 31 1997 and her death has continued to attract conspiracy theories over the decades

Remarking on Channel 4’s Investigating Diana: Death in Paris, Jennie Bond (pictured) told GB News: ‘It must be awful to be William and Harry, and to be Charles also, and to have these facts, these allegations brought up again, the facts shown on television, the fact of their mother’s death.’ 

Ms Bond continued: ‘Diana was and is to an extent an icon. She died young and in the eyes of so many people she will be forever young and she will forever be a victim, not only of her marriage and of the royal family but of this accident.

‘I personally don’t believe it, her sons do not believe it. They have been told in great detail in later life about what went on there by Lord Stevens, the former head of the of the Met, and he’d sat them down for an hour and a half and talk to them about it.

‘They believe it was an accident. There was a jury inquest… years after the accident. It sat for six months… and at the end, having interviewed 278 People over six months, a jury decided by a majority verdict that it was the grossly negligent driving of Henri Paul and those who followed, the paparazzi, that caused the crash, so I think we have to go with that.’

She added: ‘If I was either of [Prince Harry or Prince William], though, I would be so curious to know every single detail, I probably couldn’t resist watching but if they did watch it would be an extremely emotional and hurtful watch.

‘I think perhaps it is time to accept the jury’s verdict, accept the result of two police investigations, and let her rest in peace.’

Commenting on the documentary, she suggested it was a ‘very measured piece of work, a calm investigation of the account of the investigation’.

She added: ‘You do learn new things and it does shine a new light, particularly on the driver of the car in which Diana died, Henri Paul. The crash scene itself we see the forensic detail of what was found there and some pearls were found.’

It comes after viewers of the documentary Investigating Diana: Death in Paris, which examines conspiracy theories surrounding Diana’s death and follows how the police approached the investigation, claimed they struggled to read the subtitles

However, viewers who tuned in to watch the first episode of Investigating Diana have expressed their annoyance over ‘miniscule’ subtitles – given that much of the programme was in French. 

The documentary interviewed the officers tasked with investigating Diana’s death – many of whom only speak French.

However, while subtitles were added to the bottom of the screen, viewers complained they struggled to read what was being said.

One person tweeted a photo of someone straining to read a tiny piece of paper and said: ‘The microscopic subtitles are really disturbing me.’

The first episode of Investigating Diana interviewed French investigators including Martine Monteil, who was the head of the Brigade Criminelle at the time of the accident

Another Twitter user made a similar joke and posted a photo of a woman squinting as she appeared to use mammoth effort to take a look at something. They wrote: ‘Trying to read the subtitles.’ 

One person suggested the subtitles themselves flashed up on the screen too quickly and could have lingered for longer.

The documentary interviewed Martine Monteil, head of the Brigade Criminelle at the time of the accident.

She said: ‘This might be a traffic accident but it couldn’t be treated as a normal accident.’

Twitter users were quick to point out an issue with the subtitles on the programme as they struggled to read the subtitles

Ms Monteil later revealed her ‘very fine’ investigation at the site of the crash led her to recover several key pieces of evidence.

She recalled: ‘We started to find these little clues. We saw signs of braking. Pieces of red light from another car. On the side of the car were traces of paint.’

She added: ‘I even found some tiny pearls. They belonged to The Princess.’

The film crew also interviewed a paparazzo who was following the car Diana was travelling in on the night she died.

Described as ‘both suspects and witnesses’ by investigator Eric Gigou, he described taking several paparazzi into custody. 

Photographer Jacques Langevin told the programme: ‘Whether photographers chased the car or not, that’s not what caused the accident. It’s not true.’