Princess Diana’s Lover Dodi Fayed Reportedly Wanted to Propose to Her the Night of the Crash
Princess Diana died in a car crash in Paris in August 1997. She was accompanied by a bodyguard, a driver, and her partner at the time, Dodi Fayed.
Many people are fascinated by the stories surrounding Diana’s tragic death. Some have even reported that Fayed was going to propose to Diana that night.
How long had Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed been dating?
Fayed is a film producer and son of Egyptian billionaire Mohamed Al-Fayed. The couple began dating just a couple of months before the fateful crash.
Rumor has it that Diana was only dating Fayed to get back at the man she recently broke up with at the time, Hasnat Khan. Diana and Khan, a British-Pakistani heart surgeon, dated for 18 months. She was reportedly in love with him and very much wanted to marry him. However, it was said Khan broke up with Diana because he did not enjoy the media attention and thought they were too different culturally.
In an inquest into Diana’s death, Khan alleged that it was Diana who broke up with him because she was lured by Fayed’s money. According to the Evening Standard, Khan also said that Diana started seeing Fayed while still in the relationship with him. Khan tried to warn Diana that being associated with Fayed would be bad for her reputation.
Dodi Fayed reportedly wanted to propose to Princess Diana
After Fayed and Diana died, a ring was found in Fayed’s apartment. The ring had the inscription “Dis-moi Oui,” which means “tell me yes” in French. Inside Fayed’s place was also a receipt for an engagement ring.
Author Martyn Gregory wrote in the book Diana: The Last Days that Fayed had been shopping for a ring at the jeweler’s Repossi. Claude Roulet, an executive at the Ritz Hotel, where the couple had been staying, asked Fayed when he would present the ring to Diana. Fayed said, “Perhaps this evening, or tomorrow.”
Fayed’s father also claimed that the couple called him before the crash to share their intention to marry, as reported by The Guardian.
Princess Diana told a friend she did not want to get married
It’s not clear whether Fayed did intend to propose or not. However, Lady Annabel Goldsmith, a friend of Diana’s, said Diana did not want to get married at any point during that summer.
According to Express, Goldsmith recalled asking her friend if she was “rushing off and eloping or getting married.” Diana responded, “I would need marriage like a rash on my face.”
Goldsmith explained Diana’s “rash” comment further, saying, “I took it to mean that she was not serious about marriage to Dodi. She might have been having a wonderful time with him, I’m sure, but I thought her remark that she needed marriage like a rash meant she was not serious about it.”
