Princess Diana’s Death Haunted John F. Kennedy Jr.’s Wife Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy
John F. Kennedy Jr. was coined “America’s Prince” by the press as the Kennedy dynasty ruled the political sphere in the 1960s. After his father John Kennedy‘s assassination, John Jr.’s life remained a source of fascination for the American public. Twenty-five years after he, his wife Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, and her sister Lauren Bessette perished in a plane crash, information of how Princess Diana’s death touched the couple is making news.
Carolyn Bessette Kennedy couldn’t shake the news of Princess Diana’s death
According to a new book titled Once Upon a Time: The Captivating Life of Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, John F. Kennedy’s wife, Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, was haunted by the sudden death of Princess Diana. The Princess of Wales died in a car accident in Paris, France in 1997.
Fox News Digital spoke to author, Elizabeth Beller. She explained how shaken Carolyn was by the royal’s death.
Beller told the outlet, “She realized right away that paparazzi were chasing Diana, and that was something Carolyn was struggling with herself daily. Diana’s death left a profound mark on her.”
“[Carolyn] was already terrified, but Diana’s death terrified her even more. I believe it led her to seclude herself at home,” the author believes.
Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy told John F. Kennedy Jr. that he should reach out to Diana’s sons
As part of the deep pain she felt over Princess Diana’s death, Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy told John F. Kennedy Jr. that he should reach out to her sons, Princes William and Harry, to offer his condolences. Author Elizabeth Beller shared details of their conversation.
“She suggested John offer his condolences to William and Harry,” Beller said, per Fox News Digital. “Diana’s death affected John too. He didn’t know them, but it wasn’t an outlandish thing to do.”
Beller continued, “The Kennedys had been around the royal family. There was a monument to JFK in London. There are photos of Little John holding Prince Philip’s hand. The families were very much intertwined, even if John didn’t know William and Harry personally.”
“It sounded like something John would have been quick to do, but I think he, too, was so rattled by Diana’s death and realizing it was because of the paparazzi,” Beller concluded. “He also realized how much it frightened Carolyn. It was too much for him in his life. And seeing someone deal with their parent being mourned in a public way was, I think, overwhelming for him and everything he had been through.”
John reportedly never called Prince William or Prince Harry to share his condolences.
John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy died just 2 years after Diana
Just one month short of the second anniversary of Princess Diana’s death, John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy were scheduled to attend a Kennedy family wedding off of Hyannis Port, Massachusetts.
On the morning of July 16, John planned to fly to Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, via a stop at Martha’s Vineyard to drop off Lauren. The couple would then continue their trip to attend the wedding of Kennedy’s cousin, Rory Kennedy.
John and Lauren left Manhattan to travel to the Essex County Airport in New Jersey. There, John’s plane, a Piper Saratoga, awaited the trio. They arrived at 6:30 p.m., but Carolyn got there at 8 p.m.
The trio took off from the airport, coinciding with sunset. As John was visually trained but hadn’t completed instrument training, he could fly as long as he could see where he was going. However, as night fell and haze set over the coastline, John was ill-equipped to fly the plane visually.
On July 16, 1999, the couple was killed when a plane, piloted by John Jr., crashed into the waters off of Martha’s Vineyard. Her sister Lauren Bessette, who was with them, also died.
It was later found that John was at fault, and pilot error was the probable cause of the crash. John, Carolyn, and Lauren died upon impact when their plane hit the water.
John F. Kennedy, Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, and Lauren Bessette were cremated, and their ashes were scattered at sea off the coast of Massachusetts, where the Kennedy family has lived for decades.
