Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed: A Relationship Timeline
This article first appeared on Tatler.
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A Close Encounter
There’s some speculation that Princess Diana met Dodi Fayed at a polo match in 1986. The Prince of Wales was supposedly playing against the Egyptian film producer at Windsor Castle around this time. Some believe that Diana met her final love here, though there is no photographic evidence that this was the case nor is it known whether they even exchanged words.
In this photo from 1987, Diana is seen with Charles and Fayed's father, Mohamed, at the Harrods Polo Cup.
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Affairs and Divorce
In 1986 the marriage between the Prince and Princess of Wales was beginning to show cracks. The future king embarked on an extramarital affair with former girlfriend Camilla Parker Bowles, his eventual second wife and the future queen. Diana herself began a five-year-long affair with British military officer James Hewitt.
In 1992, British prime minister John Major announced that the Prince and Princess of Wales had amicably split. Though the two would not finalize their divorce until 1996, the media coverage was relentless, with rampant rumors and gossip being hurled around.
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Dodi’s Hollywood Story
Meanwhile, Fayed was having relationship troubles of his own. He became married for his first and only time to American model Susanne Gregard. The couple would divorce just eight months later.
However, his business and film career was blossoming, having produced Oscar winner Chariots of Fire and Steven Spielberg’s hit film Hook. He had rumored romances with countless starlets including Julia Roberts, Winona Ryder, and Tina Sinatra.
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Mohammed Al-Fayed Enters the Scene
In the mid-1990s, Mohamed Al-Fayed, Dodi’s father, began to integrate himself into the princess’s life more and more. Though they had met many times previously, the two were frequently seen together in public. In a 1995 Vanity Fair profile of the business tycoon, Harrods's director of public affairs commented on their blossoming relationship. “Diana is so easygoing with Mohamed…. Mohamed is not one of those who's overwhelmed by her. They spark off each other very well.”
Michel Dufour5/8St. Tropez Rendezvous
Over a decade after Dodi and the princess allegedly first encountered each other, the elder Fayed invited Diana to a holiday on his yacht in the exotic French commune of St. Tropez in July 1997. The princess was joined by her sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, and they spent time on the luxurious boat Jonikal. At the time, Fayed was in a relationship and allegedly engaged to American model Kelly Fisher. Fisher would sue Fayed for breaking their engagement but would drop the lawsuit shortly after.
Associated Press / Alamy Stock Photo6/8Continued Summer Romance
In August the future Prince of Wales and Duke of Sussex left France to spend time with their father; meanwhile, Diana and Dodi spent more time on the Jonikal. The Sunday Mirror caught the two sharing a kiss. Some, including Fayed's father, believe that Dodi proposed to the princess around this time, though Diana's butler denied this.
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The Devastating End
Later that month, while in Paris together, Diana and Dodi spent dinner together at the Ritz, a hotel owned by Fayed’s father. Later that evening the two would leave the hotel, where they were accompanied by bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones and driver Henri Paul. Paul was believed to have been three times over the legal drinking limit. While attempting to evade paparazzi photographers, the car crashed on the city’s Pont de l'Alma bridge. Fayed and Paul were pronounced dead at the scene, while Diana would die of her injuries just a few hours later. Only Jones would survive the crash.
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Outpouring
Though their relationship was short-lived, the lives of Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed resulted in a huge outpouring from the world. Fayed’s father would pay tribute to the two with the statue Innocent Victims at his department store Harrods. Diana would be buried at her childhood home Althorp in Northamptonshire. Over 31 million people in the UK watched the live broadcast of her funeral. Fayed was initially buried in Brookwood Cemetery near Woking, before being reburied on his father’s Oxted estate.
