A Timeline of Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed’s Relationship Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed were romantically linked before they were killed in a car crash on Aug. 31, 1997
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Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed‘s summer romance captivated the world in the weeks leading up to their tragic deaths on Aug. 31, 1997.
Diana, who was divorced from then-Prince Charles and had just ended a two-year relationship with surgeon Hasnat Khan, was going into the summer as a single woman when she was romantically linked to Dodi, an Egyptian filmmaker, in July 1997. The pair spent time together in the south of France on a yacht owned by Dodi’s father (the billionaire businessman and then-owner of Harrods department store Mohamed Al Fayed) — and kicked off a whirlwind romance that became the obsession of the tabloid press.
“Diana was starting a new life. She had said, ‘I’m spreading my wings,’ ” royal biographer Judy Wade previously told PEOPLE.
As Diana and Dodi continued spending time together in August 1997, from yachting in the Mediterranean to entertaining at Dodi’s residences in London, the press attention surrounding the couple intensified. The heat from the paparazzi reached its peak when Diana and Dodi traveled to Paris on Aug. 30, 1997. In the early hours of Aug. 31, after leaving a romantic dinner at the Ritz Paris, Princess Diana and Dodi were killed in a car crash as they attempted to evade photographers.
From their first encounters to their devastating deaths, here is a complete timeline of Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed’s relationship.
1986: Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed meet at a polo match
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Princess Diana and Dodi reportedly first crossed paths in 1986. According to The Independent, they met at a polo match when Dodi’s team played against Diana’s then-husband King Charles at Windsor Great Park. This interaction was later recreated on season 5 of The Crown, though some details were changed: On The Crown, Dodi’s father, Mohamed, sponsors the polo match in 1990 (not 1986) in an attempt to sit next to Queen Elizabeth. However, he ends up seated next to Diana instead, who smiles at Dodi — though the two do not speak in the episode.The same year, both Diana and Dodi experienced strife in their individual relationships. Charles and Diana each began extramarital affairs in 1986: Charles confirmed in his authorized biography, The Prince of Wales, that he began his affair with Camilla Parker Bowles, while ex-army Major James Hewitt also claimed to have started a five-year affair with Princess Diana around the same time. Dodi, meanwhile, wed model Suzanne Gregard in 1986 — but divorced eight months later
April 7, 1992: Princess Diana attends the London premiere of Dodi Fayed’s film Hook
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In April 1992, Princess Diana attended the London premiere of Hook — which was executive produced by Dodi — with her sons, Prince William and Prince Harry. Jim Hart, a screenwriter for Hook, later told Vanity Fairthat Dodi had noticed Princess Diana at the movie premiere.
He had admired and revered her from afar,” Hart said. “He talked about her, what a great lady she was.”
December 9, 1992: Princess Diana and King Charles separate
Prime Minister John Major announced in December 1992 that Charles and Diana were separating. He read an official statement to the House of Commons, which stated: “It is announced from Buckingham Palace that, with regret, the Prince and Princess of Wales have decided to separate. Their Royal Highnesses have no plans to divorce and their constitutional positions are unaffected. This decision has been reached amicably, and they will both continue to participate fully in the upbringing of their children.”
September 1995: Princess Diana begins a secret relationship with Hasnat Khan
Diana met British-Pakistani heart surgeon Hasnat Khan on Sept. 1, 1995. The people’s princess was comforting her friend Oonagh Toffolo while her husband underwent heart surgery at Royal Brompton Hospital, and Khan was the attending surgeon who provided Toffolo with an update on the triple bypass surgery, Vanity Fair reported. About two weeks later, Diana and Khan found themselves alone in a hospital elevator — and he invited her to visit his aunt and uncle in Stratford-upon-Avon with him.
“I did not think for one minute that she would say yes, but I asked her if she would like to come with me,” Khan told the police in an interview following Diana’s death, per Vanity Fair. “I was very surprised when she said she would. After this, our friendship turned into a relationship.”
August 28, 1996: Princess Diana and King Charles officially divorce
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After years of rumored marital strife and living separately, Diana and Charles finalized their divorce in August 1996. The terms of the divorce allowed for Diana to remain living at Kensington Palace and for the former couple to share custody of their two sons, Prince William and Prince Harry.
July 1997: Mohamed Al Fayed invites Princess Diana to vacation in the south of France
In the summer of 1997, Dodi’s father, Mohamed, extended an invitation to Diana and her sons, Prince William (who was 15 years old at the time) and Prince Harry (who was 12), to vacation at his villa in St. Tropez and cruise on his $32 million yacht, the Jonikal.
Around the same time, Diana and Khan ended their two-year relationship — though there are differing reports over the timing and who called it off. Royal biographer Wade previously told PEOPLE that Diana had “wanted to marry” Khan, but that he ended things because “he didn’t want to be a walker to a famous woman.”
However, Khan told police following Diana’s death that she ended the relationship with him after vacationing on the Jonikal with the Fayeds.
When Diana went to St. Tropez with Mr. Al Fayed, everything was fine between us,” Khan told police investigating her death, according to Vanity Fair. “After a few days, I felt something was wrong.”
Khan told police that, at the end of July 1997, Diana met him at Kensington Palace and told him “that it was all over between us.”
July 14, 1997: Mohamed Al Fayed invites Dodi Fayed to join Princess Diana on the Jonikal
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Days after Princess Diana arrived in St. Tropez, Mohamed called for Dodi to join Diana and her sons on the Jonikal, according to Vanity Fair. At the time, Dodi was reportedly in Paris with his alleged fiancée Kelly Fisher.
days after Dodi and boarded another yacht owned by Mohamed. Dodi allegedly yacht-hopped between the two, spending time with both Fisher and Princess Diana.
July 31, 1997: Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed return to the Jonikal
After spending time together on the Jonikalearlier in the month, Princess Diana and Dodi reportedly began a discreet romance, according to Wade. He started to send lavish gifts to Kensington Palace, including “a huge box of tropical fruit, a roomful of pink roses, a Cartier panther watch,” the royal biographer told PEOPLE.
Dodi became Diana’s distraction,” she added.
So when Prince William and Prince Harry went to spend the month of August at Balmoral, Queen Elizabeth’s Scottish estate, with their father and grandparents, Princess Diana returned to the Jonikal with Dodi.
Diana and Dodi spent the next six days sailing in Sardinia aboard the Jonikal. During their cruise, the new couple were photographed embracing and kissing.
“Diana is besotted,” a source told PEOPLE at the time.
August 7, 1997: Princess Diana visits Dodi Fayed’s Park Lane apartment
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After returning from Sardinia, Princess Diana spent time with Dodi at his lavish Park Lane apartment in London. Diana was spotted stepping out of a limo, wearing a figure-hugging blue dress, and entering the Fayed residence, where dinner was served on silver trays. She stayed at Dodi’s apartment until about 1 a.m. before flying to Bosnia the next day to campaign against landmines.
August 10, 1997: The Sunday Mirror publishes the first photos of Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed kissing
On Aug. 10, 1997, The Sunday Mirror ran one of Mario Brenna’s paparazzi photos of Princess Diana and Dodi embracing aboard the Jonikal — underneath the headline “The Kiss.” It marked the first tabloid photos of the two together and served as the unofficial confirmation of their romance.
You only have to look at the sensual body language to know that they have found physical and spiritual fulfillment in each other,” The Sunday Mirror wrote about Princess Diana’s new relationship with Dodi.
August 15, 1997: Kelly Fisher sues Dodi Fayed for breach of contract
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