The last words of Princess Diana were revealed by a fire sergeant who was one of the first on the scene of the Paris crash in August 1997.

The collision killed Princess Diana, who was just 36 years old at the time.

Boyfriend Dodi Fayed and driver Henri Paul also passed away, but bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones – who was seriously injured – survived.

A report released in 2012 reveals how Princess Diana refused treatment at the crash seen and how authorities destroyed photographs of her dying which were taken by paramedics.
The last words of Princess Diana have been revealed by a first responder on the crash scene (Credit: Splash News)

What happened that night?

Princess Diana was reported to be in a relationship with Dodi Fayed, son of Harrods boss Mohamed Al Fayed. The reports came following her divorce from the then Prince Charles in 1996.

On August 30, they had returned from a trip on Dodi’s yacht in the Mediterranean. As they landed in Paris, rumours were swirling the couple were engaged.

Diana and Dodi were at the Ritz in Paris, but knew paparazzi were positioned at the front of the hotel. They exited via the back entrance at around 11.30pm in an attempt to flee the photographers. They were heading to an apartment off the Champs Elysees. But they never got there.

Sadly, their plan failed, and the paparazzi pursued the royal in the car. Driver Henri Paul, deputy head of security at the Ritz is pursued by photographers and press on motorbikes at around 12.25am on August 31. Their Mercedes had a “glancing collision” with a white Fiat Uno in the Alma tunnel.

This caused the driver to lose control of the car, smashing into the 13th pillar of the tunnel’s central reservation at 65mph.

No one in the car was wearing a seatbelt.
One of the last pictures of Diana, taken on the day she died (Credit: Splash News)

Who was first on the scene of Princess Diana’s crash?

Off-duty doctor Frederic Mailliez was on his way home from a party when he saw smoke in the tunnel as he entered from the other direction.

He said the engine was almost cut in two and the horn was blowing. Mailliez stopped his car and went to help, finding Dodi and Henri “apparently dead”.

He said the other two people in the car were “severely injured by still alive” and said he had no idea that the woman in the car was Princess Diana.

Mailliez said she was “sitting on the floor in the back” of the car and that she was “a most beautiful woman”.

Read more: Prince William’s heartbreaking promise to Princess Diana he couldn’t keep

He added that she didn’t have any serious injuries to her face. Diana wasn’t bleeding but she was almost unconscious and having trouble breathing and he suspected severe internal injuries.

Mailliez called the emergency services and said he was surprised to find people taking pictures of the scene. One of them told them the patient spoke English.

He said he began telling her the ambulance was on its way and “everything was going to be alright”.

Diana was “moving and talking” at this point.
Diana was ‘moving’ when the first responders arrived on the scene (Credit: Splash News)

Police arrive at the scene

French policeman Sebastien Dorzee arrived at the scene with a fellow officer a few minutes later, at 12.30am.

He said: “Blood was coming out of her mouth and nose.

“You could see a deep wound to her forehead…At the same time, she was rubbing her stomach. She must have been in pain.”

He added: “She turned her head towards the front of the car, and saw the driver. She became agitated. Then she put her head down again and closed her eyes.”

The dossier compiled by Lord Steven in 2012 on Princess Diana’s death and crash, revealed photos were taken by emergency services at the scene. Unseen images of the royal receiving medical treatment before being placed in an ambulance were later destroyed by French authorities.
The royal was talking after the crash (Credit: SplashNews.com)

What were Princess Diana’s last words before she died?

Paramedics arrived at the scene, and one of them, Xavier Gourmelon said he stayed with the “female passenger” and “tried to calm her”.

He said: “She spoke in English and said: ‘Oh my God, what’s happened?’ I could understand that, so I tried to calm her. I held her hand. Then others took over.”

Gourmelon said that, physically, little looked wrong with Diana, other than an injury to her shoulder.

However, when she was moved from the car, onto a board and then onto an air mattress, Diana’s heart stopped beating for the first time.

It was restarted, but once in the ambulance her blood pressure began to drop.

Read more: Princess Diana’s ‘honest feelings’ over Camilla becoming Queen Consort revealed

What were Diana’s injuries when she died?

Initial medical reports revealed the royal suffered from concussion, a broken arm and cuts to her thighs.

Later, it emerged that she also suffered severe chest injuries.

At the hospital, she went into further cardiac arrest, was given external cardiac massage and adrenaline, before surgery to stop her internal bleeding was performed.

Her heart never restarted and it was then that a priest was called.

Her death was recorded at 4am.
She was only 36 years old when she died (Credit: Cover Images)

What happened when the priest arrived?

Catholic priest Father Yves-Marie Clochard-Bossuet was asked to sit with Diana’s body and watch over her until an Anglican priest could be found.

He revealed: “I saw her for the first time there. She was completely intact, no mark or stain, or make-up. Completely natural.

“And she was a really beautiful woman and it seemed as if you could almost talk to her,” he said.