Who Was Henri Paul, the Driver in the Car Crash That Killed Princess Diana
Over the course of the nearly three decades since Princess Diana was killed in a tragic car accident in Paris, the details of the night she died have proven a source of ample speculation. Among the most discussed, naturally, has been the driver of the car Diana was in, Henri Paul. An employee of the Ritz hotel, where Diana and her boyfriend Dodi Al Fayed had their last meal, Paul—who died in the accident along with Diana and Fayed—has been the subject of numerous rumors, and multiple investigations in the years since the crash, some of which feature in the final season of The Crown.
Here's what we know about the real life Henri Paul.
Who was Henri Paul?
Born in Lorient, France on July 3, 1956, Paul was one of five boys born to his teacher and municipal worker parents. According to information compiled by Operation Paget, a nearly-three year long investigation into the death of Princess Diana by the British Metropolitan Police, Paul was educated at the Lyon St. Louis School, then served in the French military as a security team leader.
A lover of aviation, Paul received his pilot's licence in 1976 and reportedly flew around once a month at the time of his death, and had logged over 600 hours of flight time. Prior to his work at the Ritz, he held a number of jobs, including as a boat salesman, and attempted to open a private detective agency. Paul was also a practiced driver, having taken at least four driving courses for Mercedes-Benz cars in Germany between 1988 and 1991.
According to Operation Paget, Paul's friends described him as "intelligent with an enquiring mind," as well as "loyal," and "While being good company in the presence of his friends, he appeared to keep personal issues to himself." He was also, evidently, an accomplished pianist.
In 1986, he began working for the security department at the Ritz, which was owned by Mohamed Al Fayed, father of Dodi. Though he was not employed as a driver for the hotel—the hotel's management would later tell investigators that they had no on-staff drivers—he was recruited around midnight on the night of August 31, 1997 to drive Diana and Dodi from the hotel to Dodi's Paris apartment. Paul had reportedly been drinking prior to being called upon to drive for the couple.
During the drive, while attempting to avoid pursuing paparazzi, Paul took the Mercedes S280 into the Pont de l'Alma tunnel, whereupon it struck a concrete pillar then rolled, rebounding into the wall of the tunnel. Paul and Dodi were both reportedly killed instantly, while Diana died at the hospital later that night. Bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones survived the incident despite serious injuries.
Mohamed Al Fayed's Claims Against Paul
After the crash Mohamed Al Fayed put forth a number of theories about what happened on that fateful night, including at least sixteen specific claims about Paul himself.
Fayed alleged that Paul was a working for the Security Services either of France or the UK as a paid informant for them, and that he was involved in a plot to murder Diana and Dodi. He also suggested the information released to the public that Paul had been drinking before the crash was incorrect and was part of a cover-up effort to disguise said plot, and that samples taken from Paul's body for testing has been stolen and replaced to alter the toxicology findings during the inquiry into the crash. He also stated that claims that Paul was an alcoholic were false, and that he did not appear to have been under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time he picked up Dodi and Diana.
Both the French and the British investigations into the accident generally dismissed and/or refuted Fayed's claims, though Operation Paget did agree with Fayed's assertions that some of the procedures on the original French examination were "not to the highest standard."
Was He Drunk When the Car Crashed?
Chemical analysis of samples of Paul's blood, urine, and vitreous humour—a fluid from the eye which Operation Paget noted is generally considered "the most accurate and reliable sample site" all showed the presence of alcohol in Paul's system at the time of his death. The the average figure of the various tests placed him at three times France's legal limit to drive.
Within two hours prior to being asked to drive for Dodi and Diana, evidence shows that Paul consumed two Ricard (an anise-flavored apéritif) drinks in the Bar Vendôme at the Ritz, though Operation Paget's findings stated that those drinks alone wouldn't account for his blood-alcohol content, writing, "To have such an alcohol level at the time of the crash, Henri Paul would have had to have consumed more alcohol than just two Ricards."
Testing also found the presence of prescription drugs in Paul's system, including the SSRI fluoxetine and tiapride, a tranquilizer, which the finding noted should both be issued with warnings against use while driving or operating machinery. It also noted that the effects of tiapride can be exacerbated by alcohol. The investigation also stated that it did not appear that anyone involved with selecting Paul for the drier's position on the night of the crash was aware that he was taking the medications, and that it was also not clear whom, precisely, made the choice for Paul to serve as the driver.
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