Father’s Final Plea Over Diana and Dodi’s Deaths Revealed: ‘Reopen the Case’

Mohamed Al-Fayed reportedly went to his grave still consumed by the deaths of his son Dodi and Princess Diana — and convinced the fatal Paris crash deserved to be investigated all over again.

The former Harrods owner, who died in August 2023 at age 94, publicly addressed the tragedy for what would become one of the final times after being presented with new claims involving a driver whose car was allegedly near Diana’s Mercedes shortly before the deadly collision.

According to a source, the information reopened decades-old wounds for the grieving father and left him wanting authorities to take another look at the case.

“He died wanting it to be reopened,” the source claimed.

Al-Fayed’s final comments came before the publication of Diana: Case Solved, a book that examined lingering questions surrounding the Aug. 31, 1997, crash that killed Diana, Dodi and driver Henri Paul in Paris’ Pont de l’Alma tunnel.

As part of the book’s research, reporters located Le Van Thanh, a French driver whose white Fiat Uno was long suspected of clipping the Mercedes shortly before it crashed.

Thanh claimed in his first interview about the case that authorities had instructed him not to speak publicly about the accident.

When those claims were brought to Al-Fayed, the elderly businessman declined a full interview but responded through a spokesperson.

“First, Mohamed thanks you for giving him this opportunity to speak again on this subject and for couching your invitation in such pleasant and sympathetic terms,” the representative said.

“Second, he hopes he may decline your invitation in a similarly polite way without causing offense.”

The spokesperson explained that Al-Fayed was spending his remaining time with his family and did not want to endure another interview about a subject that remained deeply painful for everyone close to him.

A source later claimed Al-Fayed was too frail to participate in a lengthy sit-down, but was deeply shaken by Thanh’s account.

“Mohamed was too frail to do a big sit-down interview ahead of his death, but he was stunned by the Le Van Thanh claims,” the source said.

“He still thought Dodi and Diana were taken out in a conspiracy, but the Le Van Thanh revelation so late in his life brought back all the pain over the deaths, and he died wanting it to be reopened.”

Al-Fayed’s former spokesman, Michael D. Cole, also argued that Thanh’s claims should be examined by British and French authorities.

Cole, who previously served as Harrods’ director of public affairs, said the information should be formally submitted as part of an effort to reopen the case as a cold-case inquiry.

“As a matter of urgency, this information should be conveyed to an officer of the court,” Cole said.

He warned that simply passing the material to police could risk it being ignored or buried.

“But first of all, Mohamed Al-Fayed needs to know about it, and then the proper authorities need to know about it,” he continued.

Cole said that if Thanh was prepared to provide a sworn affidavit detailing what allegedly happened in the aftermath of the crash, the information could provide grounds for a serious new review.

“It certainly is prima facie cause for a new thoroughgoing look at what went on,” he said. “Because if this was going on, what else was going on?”

Al-Fayed spent years claiming Diana and Dodi were deliberately killed because the British establishment did not want the princess involved with an Egyptian Muslim.

No official investigation found evidence supporting his conspiracy allegations.

British inquest jurors concluded in 2008 that Diana and Dodi were unlawfully killed due to the grossly negligent driving of Henri Paul and the pursuing paparazzi. French investigators had previously determined the crash was an accident.

Since Al-Fayed’s death, more than 200 women have reportedly come forward with allegations of sexual assault, attempted rape and rape against the former businessman.

The women claim the alleged abuse occurred while he controlled Harrods.

Al-Fayed was never criminally convicted over the accusations, many of which became public after his death.

Al-Fayed also unleashed a series of furious attacks on the royal family and British intelligence agencies in actor Keith Allen’s controversial documentary Unlawful Killing.

The film was never officially distributed in Britain and has remained unavailable for public screening there.

In the documentary, Al-Fayed accused MI6, Prince Philip and other members of the royal establishment of being involved in the deaths.

“I challenge these b——- who did this to my son — MI6 — and the royal family,” he raged.

He repeatedly accused Prince Philip of initiating a conspiracy, using a string of crude and insulting descriptions while claiming the late Duke of Edinburgh would never have accepted Dodi into the royal family.

Al-Fayed also attacked Britain’s political establishment, calling it a system run by “gangsters” and racists who would not accept a Muslim man becoming closely connected to the monarchy.

“They would not accept this Muslim at the core,” he alleged.

He claimed Dodi had known Diana for years and said he himself had known her since childhood through her father.

According to Al-Fayed, his own family had once been welcomed by senior royals. He said he had sat beside Queen Elizabeth II and hosted Prince Philip at Harrods.

He claimed everything changed once Diana and Dodi’s relationship became serious.

“Only when they saw that my son was going out with Diana and Diana fell in love with him — they murdered my son and Princess Diana,” Al-Fayed alleged.

He blamed Prince Philip and also accused then-Prince Charles of playing a role, though he offered no verified evidence to support the claims.

Al-Fayed additionally launched a vicious personal insult at Camilla Parker Bowles, now Queen Camilla, asking how Charles could wake up beside “a woman who looks like a crocodile.”

He further claimed Diana had told him she faced threats, humiliation and mistreatment from members of the royal family, particularly Prince Philip.

According to Al-Fayed, Diana warned him that if anything ever happened to her, blame should be directed toward the Duke of Edinburgh.

Those claims were never independently verified.

Al-Fayed also described the moment he received the devastating news that Dodi had been killed.

He said he was in bed around midnight when the head of security at the Ritz hotel contacted him.

“There was a terrible accident,” he recalled being told. “Dodi passed away, and the princess is in a very critical situation.”

Al-Fayed said he immediately asked how the crash had happened, but no one could provide an answer.

He then woke his helicopter pilot and flew to Paris, arriving at approximately 2 a.m.

As he traveled, he claimed, memories of Diana’s alleged warnings came rushing back.

“All what she told me, immediately,” he said. “I know that she knows and she had been threatened that something like this would happen to her, in a car.”

Al-Fayed described Dodi and Diana as “two beautiful, innocent people” whose chance at happiness had been ripped away.

He accused powerful members of the establishment of believing they were above ordinary people and determined to prevent Diana from finding a new life with the man she loved.

“These people work for MI5,” he alleged before once again attacking Prince Philip in deeply personal terms.

Al-Fayed remained convinced until the end of his life that the official explanation for the crash was false.

But despite years of investigations, testimony and legal proceedings, authorities in both Britain and France found no evidence that Diana and Dodi were murdered as part of a royal or intelligence conspiracy.