dodi fayed yacht diana

Inside the Superyacht Princess Diana and Dodi Al-Fayed Spent Their Final Vacation On

A look at the vessel that saw the beloved royal’s last vacation.

T he Crown’s sixth season debuts this week on Netflix, chronicling the final weeks before Princess Diana’s untimely death in a car crash in Paris in August 1997. Amid the heart-wrenching moments that are sure to unfold, there’s one backdrop that will be a refreshing departure from the stately, windowless halls of the queen’s palatial residences : the multimillion-dollar super yacht that Princess Diana spent aboard touring St. Tropez just days before her death.

It was hot gossip, this adventure that the princess took abroad after having finalized her divorce from then Prince Charles less than a year before—something that was hinted at at the end of season 5 of The Crown as Queen Elizabeth is pressed to endorse a vacation a-sea with Fayed and her grandchildren, Prince Harry and Prince William. Diana was famously photographed sitting on the passerelle of this boat. Years later, in real life, Harry described the trip in his memoir, Spare , with fond recollection. “Everything about that trip to St. Tropez was heaven,” he wrote.

While the series was filmed on a lookalike super yacht in Mallorca , the real boat was equally lavish. The 208-foot ship was commissioned by Dodi’s father, former Harrods owner Mohamed Al-Fayed, who brought on naval architect Vincenzo Ruggiero to design it in the late 1980s. It was built by Italian shipyard Codecasa and launched in 1990. The steel and aluminum super yacht boasted nine staterooms that altogether accommodate up to 18 people, in addition to a crew of 26. Amenities included a Jacuzzi, swim platform, sun deck, formal dining room, a bar, and office space. Mohamed had named the yacht Jonikal (it has subsequently been called Sokar and is currently called Bash ) .

Shortly after Diana’s and Dodi’s deaths, Mohamed gave the interior a redesign by H2 Yacht Design and a refit that included extending the hull. He attempted to sell the yacht on a number of occasions, ultimately parting with it in 2014 to an anonymous buyer. The new owner carried out further work, including machinery upgrades, a repaint, and fresh teak decks. In 2021, the yacht came into the hands of Bassim Haidar , the founder of Intercomm and GMT, who gave it a further $9.7 million refit after a reported bridge deck fire—and its current name Bash . It’s now back to turn-key condition after an 18-month remodel completed in April 2023 by marine engineering and management company Capax and boat interior company Bobic Yacht Interiors . It features a beauty salon, massage area, high-tech gym, and a spacious main salon.

In May, Robb Report reported that Bash is available for charter in the Mediterranean starting at $278,000 per week, plus expenses. In June, Haidar listed Bash for $16.8 million, according to Boat International .

There was a second motor yacht named Cujo, which Diana and Fayed also took earlier that summer. It was built in Italy in 1972 for John von Neumann, who commissioned the Italian Baglietto shipyard to build the world's fastest motor yacht. She was given two 18-cylinder engines that allowed it to go as fast as 42 knots. Fayed had bought the boat from his cousin, Saudi businessman and arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi. In August, the Mediterranean Sea reclaimed Cujo, as the 62-foot artifact of Diana’s life hit an unidentified object off Beaulieu-sur-Mer on July 29 and sprang a leak, Vanity Fair reported. The seven people on board were rescued by teams from Antibes and safely returned to shore.

An imitation of Jonikal will feature in The Crown season 6, a set that was intended to visually illuminate the tension between Diana and the royal family. “Diana’s south of France adventure was bright and lovely pastel colors, and her world even in Kensington Palace is optimistic and warm, compared to the queen’s residence at Balmoral, which is very static, with gloomy light and drab colors,” set decorator Alison Harvey tells ELLE DECOR.

Filming on the yacht off the island of Mallorca (a St. Tropez stand-in) required many moving parts with few do-overs. “We brought in the drapes, the artwork, many furnishings,” Harvey explains. “Everything was set in the early ’90s, so we thought hard about the colors and textures that we brought in.” Harvey’s team had just half a day to dress the yacht, and then it was off to sea. “There was no getting on or off after that,” Harvey says, adding that they were “subsumed by the logistics of what we had to achieve and the time we had to do it.”

However painstaking the process, the yacht scenes will offer an intriguing context—though largely fictitious—for the iconic photographs that exist of those final weeks leading up to Diana’s death.

Rachel Silva, the Assistant Digital Editor at ELLE DECOR, covers design, architecture, trends, and anything to do with haute couture. She has previously written for Time, The Wall Street Journal, and Citywire.

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The Crown: The Sad, Strange Details of Princess Diana’s Last Vacation

Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed are lounging on the sundeck of a reportedly £15 million yacht in The Crown ’s season six episode “Two Photographs” when Dodi’s domineering father telephones an onboard employee with an urgent question.

“Are they sleeping together?” Mohamed Al Fayed demands to know.

It’s an audacious question—but Mohamed really was checking in on the couple hourly during this August 1997 cruise, according to Tom Bower , who wrote an unauthorized biography of the billionaire called Fayed. The late princess was aware that these calls were coming in—so much so that she joked to Dodi, “God is calling,” when she heard a ring, according to Dodi’s spiritual healer, Myriah Daniels, who was onboard. In 2007, during the inquest into the 1997 crash that killed the princess, Dodi, and their driver, Henri Paul, Daniels said that this became one of Diana’s inside jokes with Dodi. “They’d both have a giggle,” she said.

Diana had vacationed with Mohamed, as well as Prince William and Prince Harry, aboard the Jonikal earlier that summer. As depicted in The Crown ’s season six episode “Persona Non Grata,” that first Jonikal vacation featured Jet Skis and a flirtation between Diana and the flotilla of press nearby.

“The young princes didn’t like [the trip] much,” Tina Brown writes in The Palace Papers. “The flash and excess of [Mohamed’s] hospitality—the groaning buffets and the palatial bathrooms—embarrassed William in particular.” Dodi, who was asked by his father to join the trip midway, did not help matters by making the “oddly flamboyant gesture of renting a disco for William and Harry to enjoy privately,” according to royal biographer Sally Bedell Smith in Diana in Search of Herself.

Mohamed was a controversial figure who long craved social acceptance by the British elite, and hoped a relationship between his son and the recently-divorced Diana would seal the deal.

During the summer of 1997, the billionaire ordered Dodi to drop everything—including his model fiancée, Kelly Fisher —and romance the late princess. Speaking about Mohamed, Bedell Smith previously told Vanity Fair, “He was really the puppet master behind Dodi and Diana’s very brief, barely more than a month, romance…. Dodi basically did whatever his father told him to do.”

Diana’s association with Mohamed caused serious backlash in the press. “These days, Diana, you are no longer the Teflon Princess,” warned Andrew Morton , the biographer behind her bridge-burning tell-all, Diana: Her True Story, in The Sun. “You might have the run of a £20 million yacht, but your friends and fans see a woman who is drifting on the sea of life, seriously in danger of becoming shipwrecked.” Referring to Diana’s cat-and-mouse game with the paparazzi during that initial trip, columnist Judith Whelan wrote in The Sydney Morning Herald, “Diana has been erratic before. This time, however, she has done it while hosted by one of the most reviled men in Britain.”

Despite the press outrage over her association with Mohamed, Diana agreed to return to the Jonikal for the intimate trip reimagined in “Two Photographs.” “Alone in August and attracted to [Dodi], [a] sympathetic, unthreatening listener, she accepted the invitation for a second trip alone with Dodi to the Jonikal on 31 July,” wrote Bower in Fayed. “Over the next six days…the two frolicked on the sundecks, inside the sumptuous craft and in the sea.”

Dodi indulged Diana with her favorite meals—“which included carrot juice in the morning, fruit at lunch, and fish in the evening, as well as plenty of Champagne, caviar, and pâté de foie gras,” according to Diana in Search of Herself. The music was Diana’s selection as well: George Michael’s 1996 album, Older, the occasional Frank Sinatra tune, and the soundtrack of The English Patient. “Such a marvelous film,” Diana raved to Dodi’s butler, Rene Delorm, according to Fayed. “And you miss the music when you’re watching.”

Mohamed’s staff was so attentive to Diana that the Jonikal ’s chief stewardess, Deborah Gribble, could remember the tiniest detail, like that some of Diana’s birth control packets were half-used. Speaking at the inquest, she also confirmed that Dodi and Diana “were clearly having a relationship and were a couple.”

Dodi lavished Diana with gifts during their six-week courtship, including a pearl bracelet, a diamond-studded wristwatch, a silver photo frame, and a gold-and-diamond ring. When the Jonikal docked in Sardinia’s Porto Cervo, according to Brown’s The Diana Chronicles, Diana and Dodi went shopping and returned with cashmere sweaters for the princess—one in every color.

Mohamed, meanwhile, was busy behind the scenes calling press. News of the relationship between Diana and Dodi broke the first week of August, less than a month before Diana’s death. The Sun ran the news with the headline “Di’s Secret Hol With Harrods Hunk Dodi,” while Mohamed’s publicist touted the relationship as “the romance of the century.”

But by the end of the trip, according to those who knew Diana, she intended their fling to be just that. The late princess suspected that Dodi might propose to her, according to Brown, but she told a friend that an engagement ring would be “going firmly on the fourth finger of my right hand” should it be presented. As recreated in “Two Pictures,” there was “a chaotic evening ashore in Monte Carlo when Dodi suddenly decided to send for the tender and take the princess for a walk.” Rather than going for a romantic stroll, however, Dodi “got her lost after a long pant up a hill trying to evade the paparazzi,” Brown writes.

It was so embarrassing, she continues, that Trevor Rees-Jones, a bodyguard on Mohamed’s payroll, “began to feel sorry for the princess; he believed she deserved better.”

According to Gribble, Dodi also became impatient with the amount of press attention Diana was receiving.

“The tension was noticeable throughout the trip and increasing as time wore on,” Gribble revealed during the inquest. “By the time we went to Paris, there was real tension. It was incredible. It was all so tense.”

Days before her fatal accident, Diana called her sister from the Jonikal, confiding that any love spell cast on her earlier had been broken. While she did not get into specifics, Sarah McCorquodale later told the court, “I just did not think the relationship had much longer to go.”

During that final trip on the Jonikal, Diana was photographed sitting alone on a diving board in an aqua swimsuit. The image remains so iconic that, 26 years after it was taken, Netflix recreated the visual in its promotional materials for The Crown ’s sixth season.

Contrary to what the photo showed, though, Diana was never really alone. By the end of the cruise, the princess suspected that Mohamed was doing more than periodically checking in with the Jonikal staff. As McCorquodale revealed during the inquest, “She thought the boat was being bugged by Mr. Al Fayed Senior.”

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The true story behind Princess Diana's iconic yacht photo

All you need to know about the iconic photo of the late princess of wales that went around the globe.

Princess Diana was always a fashion icon , we can never forget her legendary 'revenge' dress , but one of her best-known looks was snapped when she holidayed on the Jonikal yacht with the al-Fayed family, scenes which were immortalised in the fifth and sixth seasons of The Crown .

The holiday that Diana enjoyed, alongside sons Prince William and Prince Harry , would be her last before she was tragically killed in a car accident in 1997. One of the most memorable photos saw the late Princess of Wales sat on the yacht's diving board looking out over the sea.

Even though the photo of Diana in the teal swimsuit is now one of the most poignant photos of the late royal, how much do you know of the story behind it? Read on to find out all you need to know…

Why was Diana on the yacht?

Princess Diana had become friends with the businessman Mohamed al-Fayed, with the pair reportedly meeting a polo match before becoming friends. Following her divorce from the then Prince Charles and the ending of her relationship with heart surgeon Dr. Hasnat Khan, Mohamed invited Diana to join him and his family on a trip to St Tropez, in southern France.

Ahead of the trip, Diana had been in Milan to attend the funeral of fashion designer and friend Gianna Versace, who had been murdered by Andrew Cunanan. The late royal later travelled to Sarajevo, in Bosnia, to highlight the issue of landmines in the country. During her time in the city, she met with people who had been injured by the mines.

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The trip would end up being Diana's first time meeting Dodi al-Fayed, and the filmmaker's then-girlfriend, Kelly Fisher, was allegedly on the trip.

Who took the photo?

On 10 August, paparazzi photos were published in the Sunday Mirror showing Princess Diana and Dodi sharing a kiss, which intensified media presence around the couple and their holiday. Paparazzi photographers began renting dinghies to try and get new photos of the royal, with some even going for prices up to £1million.

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It's ultimately unknown which photographer grabbed the photo of Diana on the side of the yacht, which was published on 24 August, a week before Diana died. The snap saw the Princess in her teal swimsuit sat at the end of the yacht's diving board, with a life ring floating in the water beneath her.

See below for more images of Diana on the Jonikal…

Diana and Dodi

Diana and Dodi grew close on the trip, and in this photo the pair shared an intimate moment as they relaxed in the sun together.

Diana with the al-Fayed family

The late Princess of Wales had been invited on the trip by Mohamed al-Fayed, and she enjoyed the businessman's company during her time onboard.

Diana in blue

Diana favoured the teal swimsuit during her time in St Tropez.

Diana's paparazzi moment

The royal was aware of the media presence, and she light-heartedly teased photographers in this photo, mimicking a pair of binoculars with her hands.

Diana stretches

The mum-of-two also brought this stunning green and blue one-piece with her on the trip, and in this photo she enjoyed some morning stretches on the yacht's deck.

Diana's family moment

Diana didn't go on the holiday alone, and she also enjoyed time with her sons Prince William and Prince Harry, and a young Harry can be seen here with his mum while she spoke to someone on the phone.

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Diana's last day: Dodi's yacht, a Ritz suite, a diamond ring and relentless photographers

Diana, divorced from Prince Charles after he cheated on her, was the mother of the future king of England and the most photographed woman in the world

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By Michael S. Rosenwald

The last day of Princess Diana’s life began on the top deck of her lover’s yacht, with croissants and fresh jams.

Diana and her beau, Dodi Al Fayed, sipped their coffee marveling at the breathtaking Emerald Coast in Sardinia. Diana took hers with milk. Fayed took his black. There were kiwis, too.

“They were in a good mood,” his butler remembered later. “They were always laughing, holding hands.”

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Their romance was a whirlwind — passionate, thrilling, scandalous. Fayed, the son of Harrod’s department store owner Mohamed Al-Fayed, was a rich playboy. Diana, divorced from Prince Charles after he cheated on her, was the mother of the future king of England and the most photographed woman in the world.

That Saturday — Aug. 30, 1997 — promised to be a moment of change. The princess knew it. She snuck a call to Richard Kay, a friend who covered the Royals for the Daily Mail, and told him, as he later wrote, “she had decided to radically change her life.”

“She was going to complete her obligations to her charities,” Kay continued, “and then, around November, would completely withdraw from her formal public life.” Diana had not told Kay why, but he had a hunch: “They were, to use an old but priceless cliche, blissfully happy. I cannot say for certain that they would have married, but in my view it was likely.”

In the 20 years since she’s been gone, there have been countless revisions to this love story. Her friends and relatives: They weren’t in love! His friends and relatives: They were in love!

Get a dash of perspective along with the trending news of the day in a very readable format.

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Last week, in the Daily Mail, Kay published an article with this headline: “Was Diana about to dump Dodi?” In it, he quoted Diana’s private secretary saying she’d planned to return home after becoming bored with Fayed.

“It’s very much a personal view,” the secretary said, “but I don’t think she would have seen Dodi again once she got back.”

Whatever the case, Fayed wanted to propose that fateful night. It was summer. As they were on holiday, Britain announced plans to invite the Irish Republican Army for peace talks. Conspiracies theories about the suicide of Vincent Foster, President Bill Clinton’s lawyer, were spreading. Israel and Lebanon were sparring with one another.

Fayed’s primary concern was the six-figure diamond ring waiting in Paris. People close to Fayed said the couple picked it out a week earlier even though they had been dating less than a month.

The danger of their relationship wasn’t its brevity. To royal watchers, to Buckingham Palace, and no doubt to the British tabloids whose photographers were hounding them, the threat was something the couple apparently had not yet considered, even as rumours swirled that Diana was already pregnant.

“For the mother of the future king of England to bear the child of a Muslim Arab, a child who would be the half sibling of the heir to the throne, would be embarrassing in the eyes of the royal family and the ruling Establishment,” former Time magazine reporters Tom Sancton and Scott MacLeod wrote in their book, Death of a Princess .

Fayed’s calendar that day had just one entry — at 6:30 p.m., he was to pick up the ring at a store near his father’s hotel in Paris, The Ritz. They left the boat for Fayed’s plane around 11:30 a.m., taking along the butler and a masseuse for Fayed’s painful back.

As soon as they landed in Paris, Fayed saw the paparazzi out his window.

“Dodi did not want this special occasion ruined by a bunch of a shutter-happy cowboys trying to corral them on motorcycles and shoving lenses in their faces,” the ex-Time reporters wrote. “As soon as the door opened, cameras started clicking.”

The aggressiveness of the photographers — and their sheer numbers — would increase as the day progressed.

Diana and Fayed arrived at The Ritz in the late afternoon. She went to the salon for a hair appointment. He went to the jeweler. The couple then rested in the hotel’s Imperial Suite before going to Fayed’s apartment to get dressed for dinner. She checked in with her children, who were in Scotland with Prince Charles and the queen.

“On that Saturday evening, Diana was as happy as I have ever known her,” her friend Kay wrote in the Daily Mail. “For the first time in years, all was well with her world.”

They left for Fayed’s apartment around 7 p.m., trailed by photographers. More were waiting at the building’s front door when they arrived. Fayed fumed. There was an ugly shoving match.

Once inside, Fayed pulled his butler aside, telling him about his plan to propose that night.

“The ring was on the nightstand in his bedroom,” author Christopher Anderson wrote in “The Day Diana Died.” “Dodi had checked to make sure they had several bottles of Dom Pérignon on ice for the big moment.”

But dinner was a bust.

The first restaurant they tried — Chez Benoit, a cozy, casual bistro not far from the city centre – was quickly overrun by photographers. They split and headed for The Ritz, ducking into the dining room hoping to be left alone.

The princess ordered vegetable tempura. Fayed ordered grilled turbot.

“No sooner had they ordered,” the ex-Time reporters wrote, “they began to feel the indiscreet stares of other diners.”

The couple left and had the food delivered to the Imperial Suite. Fayed’s plan was in shambles. They had to get back to the apartment. But how? The hotel was swarming with photographers.

Fayed devised a plan: The couple’s driver and bodyguards would make a big show out front, appearing to get their caravan of Mercedes sedans ready to leave. Meanwhile, the Princess and Fayed would slip out the back door, in a borrowed car driven by a hotel security officer.

What happened next was the subject of lengthy investigations and conspiracy theories that live on today. The couple did get away. But the driver, it turned out, was drunk.

As the couple sped off, the photographers out front got tipped off about the escape, quickly catching up on their motorcycles. Their driver darted in and out of traffic, wrecking spectacularly inside the Pont de l’Alma tunnel near the Eiffel Tower.

Fayed died instantly. Diana died at the hospital.

Her death startled the world.

An up-and-coming anchor named Brian Williams broke into regular coverage on MSNBC to announce the news to Americans in the early morning hours of Aug. 31.

“I’ve just been handed from the Reuters news service what has been marked ‘bulletin,'” Williams said, speaking slowly. “It says, ‘Princess Diana has died.'”

She was 36.

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Inside The Yacht Princess Diana and Dodi Al Fayed Toured the Mediterranean On

The princess and her paramour vacationed on the yacht shortly before their tragic deaths in 1997.

At the start of The Crown 's sixth season, Prince William and Prince Harry join their mother Princess Diana, for a vacation aboard the yacht of Mohamed Al Fayed . Fans have been anticipating what it means for the show's final season , as Diana's trip aboard the yacht would go on to become a major moment for the princess and her relationship with Dodi Al Fayed —the boyfriend with whom she famously died in a car crash in Paris in 1997.

Just a month before their passing, Diana and Dodi—joined for part of the trip by her sons, Prince William and Prince Harry—traveled the South of France aboard a superyacht. Then named the Jonikal (it has subsequently been called the Sokar , and the Bash ), the yacht was owned by Dodi's father, former Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed , when Diana traveled on it. Following the 1997 car crash that led to the couple's deaths, Mohamed attempted to sell the yacht on a number of occasions before ultimately parting with it in 2014.

In 2022, it was announced that the 208-foot yacht, which saw the beloved royal's last vacation, would be going up for sale. According to Boat International , the vessel sold in June of 2023 following a €9 million refit.

The ship, which was first launched in 1990, reportedly has nine staterooms to hold up to 12 guests with amenities including a jacuzzi, swim platform, sun deck, formal dining room, a bar, and office space. Though the ultimate sale price for the vessel has not been revealed, the asking price was reportedly €15,500,000.

Lauren Hubbard is a freelance writer and Town & Country contributor who covers beauty, shopping, entertainment, travel, home decor, wine, and cocktails.

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Princess Diana’s Yacht Saga: Revisiting the Boats She Vacationed on With Dodi Fayed

In the summer of 1997, Dodi Fayed and Princess Diana’s yacht adventures were the infatuation of the tabloids, paparazzi, and public like no other. The pair were captured sailing around the Mediterranean in July, first with both of their families, then again, just them, at the end of the month, spurring nonstop controversy and speculation. Weeks later the couple was killed in a tragic car accident, prompting even greater interest in the brief but impactful relationship. Nearly 30 years later, understanding just what happened on the high seas remains a notable point of interest for many invested in the Royal Family.

The momentous vacation was recently recreated in season six of Netflix’s The Crown and recounted in Prince Harry’s 2023 memoir, Spare . While conversations about the trip often recount what the couple did—and what Diana wore—it’s worth revisiting the stunning vessels where all the escapades took place. Below, AD surveys the two superyachts Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed used during their prominent summer together.

Jonikal, now known as Isabell Princess of the Sea

The sensationalized couple most famously spent time on Jonikal , a 208-foot superyacht. At the time, Mohamed Al-Fayed, Dodi’s father, owned the boat. Reportedly, he originally invited Diana to the yacht in an attempt to play matchmaker between the People’s Princess and his son.

Princess Diana sunbathes on an orange couch aboard Jonikal .

Those who watch The Crown will be unsurprised to learn that the interiors of Jonikal , which has since been renamed Isabell Princess Of The Sea by a new owner, are just as lavish as those depicted in the look-alike on the show. Inside, the ship boasts nine staterooms, a formal dining room, bar, office space, swim platform, sun deck, and Jacuzzi. Designed by navel architect Vincenzo Ruggiero in the 1980s, coffered ceilings and dark wood paneling draw inspiration from the Arts and Crafts movement of the early 1900s.

Princess Diana and Prince Harry on a jet ski near St. Tropez

In his memoir, Prince Harry remembers his experience on the yacht as idyllic. “There was much laughter, horseplay, the norm whenever Mummy and Willy and I were together, though even more so on that holiday,” he writes. “Everything about that trip to St. Tropez was heaven. The weather was sublime, the food was tasty, Mummy was smiling.”

After the original trip with her children, the princess returned to the boat a second time with just the younger Fayed. According to Vanity Fair , Fayed catered to all of Di’s preferences, even letting her pick the music that played. Reportedly, she opted for tunes by George Michael, Frank Sinatra, and the English Patient soundtrack.

A now famous image of Princess Diana on Jonikal ’s passarelle

Nearby, a brigade of press boats captured a number of photos of Princess Diana on the yacht, formally immortalizing the vessel. Most famously, Princess Diana was captured sitting alone on the vessel’s passerelle in a now iconic image. According to Boat International , the yacht most recently sold in 2023.

As Robb Report describes it, Cujo, a 65-foot military-style superyacht was once the most famous in the world thanks to her high-profile passengers. In 1997, Fayed reportedly used this smaller vessel to woo the princess.

Princess Diana and Prince William on Dodi Fayed’s yacht

The impressive yacht was originally launched in 1972, commissioned by its first owner John von Neumann. According to Robb Report, Von Neumann hired Italian shipyard Baglietto to build him a boat that was “faster than any other motoryacht on the water.” During its maiden voyage, Cujo had largely achieved this goal thanks to its twin 54-liter V-18 turbo diesel engines, which provided 2,700 horsepower and allowed it to easily hit 46 miles per hour. Von Neumann eventually sold the boat to arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi, who later passed the boat to Dodi Fayed, his nephew.

Cujo was already halfway underwater when rescuers arrived.

The boat sank quickly after the distress call was made.

However, the boat’s story came to a dramatic end last summer, when it sunk off the coast of France, as reported by The Independent . According to a Facebook post from the Gendarmerie des Alpes-Maritimes, a division of the French military, passengers issued a distress call at around 12:30 local time on July 29, 2023. A little under an hour later, a rescue boat arrived, finding the vessel’s bow already partially submerged. “The cabins of the yacht were already flooded, and only a few suitcases located in the kitchen and on the deck could be retrieved by the gendarmes,” reads the statement. The seven passengers who were on board had already evacuated and were safely on a nearby lifeboat. Rescuers and passengers then quickly left the area, as the boat sank 2,500 feet to the ocean’s floor. The cause of the accident was not shared; however, according to Boat International , sources claimed that the ship hit an unknown object floating near the center of the hull.

At one point, the vessel was among the fastest in the world.

Though Princess Diana was among the most notable guests onboard, other high-profile passengers hosted by Fayed included Clint Eastwood, Tony Curtis, Bruce Willis, and Brooke Shields. Following the passing of Di and Fayed, Cujo fell into disrepair and decommissioned in 1999. After many years in storage, Fayed’s cousin Moody Al-Fayed purchased the vessel and brought it back to life. He later sold the boat to Simon Kidston, a British car collector and restorer and the last-reported owner of the vessel.

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Yacht that Princess Diana spent last summer on with Dodi Al-Fayed sinks to bottom of Mediterranean

Cujo, which made front-page news around the world back in the summer of 1997 when Diana was entertained on board a year after her divorce from Prince Charles, went down in 2500m (8200ft) of water.

Thursday 3 August 2023 17:00, UK

A motor yacht used by Princess Diana and her boyfriend Dodi Al-Fayed on their final summer holiday in the South of France before they died in a Paris car crash has sunk.

The 19m (62ft) Cujo went down 21 miles (35km) off Beaulieu-sur-Mer after sending out a mayday call last Saturday.

The seven people on board the luxury vessel, which was taking on water, were rescued by teams from Antibes before it sank to the bottom of the Mediterranean at a depth of 2500m (8200ft).

They were safely returned to shore.

The area was monitored for pollution as the boat sank with 7,000 litres of diesel in its tanks.

Cujo made front page news around the world back in the summer of 1997 when Al-Fayed entertained Diana onboard, a year after her divorce from Prince Charles, which was finalised in August 1996.

That summer, Diana was also photographed on Sokar, the yacht then owned by al Fayed's billionaire father Mohamed.

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It had previously been named Jonikal.

Cujo was built in Italy in 1972 for businessman John von Neumann who told the Italian Baglietto shipyard that he wanted the world's fastest motor yacht.

She was fitted with two 18-cylinder engines giving her a top speed of 42 knots.

Van Neumann then sold the boat to the son of Saudi businessman and arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi and he sold her on to his cousin, al Fayed.

Cujo was frequently moored off St Tropez, a famous celebrity hangout on the French Riviera, with guests including Clint Eastwood, Tony Curtis and Bruce Willis.

Following the death of Diana and Al-Fayed in central Paris on 31 August 1997, Cujo fell into disrepair.

She was decommissioned in 1999, and spent years in storage, before being restored by new owners.

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Boat of the Week: Meet ‘Cujo,’ the 80-Foot Yacht Where Late Movie Producer Dodi Al-Fayed Once Wooed Princess Diana

The couple spent some of their final summer cruising around saint-tropez aboard this fast, military-looking yacht., howard walker, howard walker's most recent stories.

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For a few brief weeks back in the summer of 1997, Cujo was the most famous boat in the world.

Not because of her intimidating military lines, or blistering 40-knot performance. It’s because Diana, Princess of Wales, hung out aboard in Saint-Tropez with the boat’s owner, and romantic partner Dodi Al-Fayed.

Countless paparazzi shots show the once future Queen of England on Cujo‘s narrow sidedecks, soaking up the Mediterranean sun. By the end of August that year, both Diana and Dodi would be dead after that fatal car wreck in Paris.

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Diana, Princess of Wales and Dodi Fayed spent some of their final summer cruising around Saint-Tropez aboard Cujo .  Courtesy Patrick Bar-Nice Matin/AP Images

Yet this rakish 80-footer was a headliner long before Diana stepped on board. Her first owner was Austrian Johnny Von Neumann, an entrepreneur, playboy and passionate sports-car racer who became the largest Porsche-VW distributor in the US.

In 1972, Von Neumann commissioned the Italian shipyard Baglietto to build him a boat with one goal: It had to go fast—faster than any other motoryacht on the water. To deliver, the shipyard installed twin 54-liter V-18 turbo diesels delivering a combined 2,700 horsepower.

Flat out, Cujo —said to be an ancient Indian word meaning “unstoppable force”—could easily top 40 knots, or 46 mph. Von Neumann blasted up and down the Cote d’Azur for a few years before ordering an even faster Baglietto—this time with jet turbine power. He sold Cujo to arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi who, at the time, was reckoned to be the richest man in the world.

The fast, military exterior gives way to an almost old-fashioned cockpit with wood cabinets and leather seats.  Courtesy Simon Kidston

Khashoggi eventually passed the boat on to his nephew Dodi Al-Fayed, who immediately sent her to the CARM shipyard in Lavagna, Italy, for a full refit.

Back in Saint-Tropez, and moored in her reserved spot on the town’s main quay outside the famed Le Sénéquier restaurant, Fayed would invite many of his Hollywood friends for a cruise. During the summers, everyone from Clint Eastwood, Tony Curtis, Bruce Willis and one-time girlfriend, Brooke Shields, were seen aboard.

Following Dodi and Diana’s death, Cujo quickly fell into disrepair. Decommissioned in 1999, she was hauled out at the CARM yard and spent several years in storage.

The main salon is smaller than many contemporary 80-foot motoryachts, but few other boats its size have the same 40-knots-plus top end.  Courtesy Simon Kidston

The boat was eventually rescued by Dodi’s cousin Moody Al-Fayed, who spent over $1 million bringing her back to life. Part of the work included uprating those massive diesels to deliver 1,650 hp each.

Now fast forward to February last year. After two summers of cruising Cujo around Sardinia and Italy’s Amalfi coast, Moody decided to sell. Strangely, he entered the boat in the Retromobile classic car auction in Paris.

That’s where well-known British car collector, buyer, seller and restorer Simon Kidston appeared. Kidston had spied Cujo in the Retromobile auction catalog, read that it was being sold by his old school-friend Fayed, and decided to bid.

The 1972 Baglietto has innovative features like the amidships helm and social area, and two sunbeds on the foredeck.  Courtesy Simon Kidston

“On the day of the auction, I was tied up with clients so asked a colleague to go down and take a look. I told him that if it was going cheaply, put in a bid for a bit of fun,” Kidston tells Robb Report .

“The bidding opened at just 150,000 Euros—that’s around $165,000. My colleague bid 160,000 Euros,” says Kidston. “Trouble was, no one else bid. The hammer went down and I had bought a boat. The feeling was a mix of excitement, tinged with terror.”

Unfortunately, just as Simon took delivery of Cujo at Lavagna, where she was moored, Europe was starting to lock down with the coronavirus pandemic.

The internal helm station is outfitted with modern electronics, but in a nod to its historic past, the wheel is definitely old school.  Courtesy Simon Kidston

But he did get to take her out during a video shoot in and around Portofino  for his YouTube channel Kidston Productions, where the boat meets up with Simon’s own ’70s Lamborghini Miura supercar. Entitled A Portofino Affair, the footage of Cujo at speed is breathtaking.

“She has immense presence,” said Kidston. “No boat of its size commands that kind of attention when she comes into a harbor.” Especially an Italian harbor when nervous local boat owners think she’s with the financial police.

“As you’d expect, those engines have tons and tons of performance,” Kidston adds. “We’ve seen 41 knots. But they have a very different sound than I was expecting; instead of a roar from the exhausts, there’s this amazing whistle from the turbos.”

The diesel engines were upgraded from the original 2,700 to 3,300 horsepower.  Courtesy Simon Kidston

While Kidston and his family had planned to cruise the Med this summer, the car enthusiast received an offer he couldn’t refuse.

“A young member of a prominent Italian business family—he’s 30 years old—had seen Cujo in Lavagna, fallen in love with her and asked if she was for sale,” he says. “He took delivery last week, just in time for his birthday.”

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The True Story Behind 'The Crown’s Infamous Kiss Photograph

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Editor's note: The below contains spoilers for Season 6 of The Crown.

The Big Picture

• Princess Diana's life was constantly invaded by the paparazzi, who followed her every movement and turned her personal relationships into a public spectacle.
• Mario Brenna's photograph of Diana and Dodi Fayed sharing an intimate moment on a yacht sparked a frenzy in the press and fueled a relentless pursuit for their pictures.
• The paparazzi's obsession with capturing Diana's image ultimately contributed to her tragic death in a car crash, and "The Kiss" photograph played a significant role in these events.

Since the imminent rise of paparazzi culture during the 1990s, candid photographs of celebrities have always held a negative stigma, especially after the tragic death of Princess Diana ( Elizabeth Debicki ). Part 1 of The Crown 's final season, streaming on Netflix, has a major focus on the summer of 1997, when the recently divorced Princess of Wales became the prized jewel of a media frenzy. Without the personal security of the Royal Family, Diana was not afforded the kind of privacy she was given during her marriage to Prince Charles ( Dominic West ). Her every movement was followed through long-lens cameras ( Diana reportedly yelled at a photographer outside a movie theater in London and shouted, “You make my life hell!" ), and the press made her life into a scrutinized fishbowl — even her personal relationships were not her own.

Episode 2, "Two Photographs," revisits the paparazzi's ruthless pursuit of Princess Diana's picture. The start of the show introduces the audience to a real-life character who was responsible for capturing the infamous Sunday Mirror photograph, Italian paparazzo Mario Brenna . The photograph shows "Di" and Dodi Fayed ( Khalid Abdalla ) sharing an intimate moment aboard a yacht on the Mediterranean Sea. Although the latest season of The Crown is a dramatized account of these events , it's no secret that Brenna's successful photograph is shown to have preluded Diana's deathly car chase less than a month later. But there's so much more to the story behind "The Kiss."

Follows the political rivalries and romance of Queen Elizabeth II's reign and the events that shaped the second half of the 20th century.

What's the Truth Behind Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed's Romance?

On July 11, 1997, Diana and her sons, Prince William ( Rufus Kampas ) and Prince Harry ( Fflyn Edwards ), were kindly invited to join Mohamed Al-Fayed ( Salim Daw ), the business owner of Hôtel Ritz Paris and Harrods department store, at his Saint Tropez villa for a summer vacation. Dodi Fayed unexpectedly joined the party aboard Al-Fayed's yacht t he Jonikal, which becomes an integral character of its own seen in the final season of The Crown . Di, Dodi, and the Princes were said to have enjoyed a splendid time aboard the yacht, and Diana and Dodi grew fond of one another during this period.

According to Netflix's Beneath The Crown: The True Story of Diana and Dodi's Last Summer , both Princess Diana and Dodi were involved with other romantic partners before they met. Diana was reportedly dating heart surgeon Hasnat Khan ( Humayun Saeed ), whom she often referred to as "Mr. Wonderful," and clearly had big plans for their future . In the summer of 1997, Dr. Khan was rumored to have broken up with the Princess because of the consistent media attention surrounding them. On the other hand, Dodi, being a successful film producer , had a reputation as a playboy and was seen dating multiple A-list women over the course of his Hollywood career, including actress Brooke Shields, before meeting model Kelly Fisher, whom he was engaged to at the time he met the Princess of Wales.

After the vacation, Diana returned home to an apartment full of roses and an $11,000 gold Cartier watch as a present from Dodi. Diana's friends believe she developed an interest in dating Dodi to make Dr. Khan jealous . Just 11 days later, the Princess returned alone to the Jonikal and embarked on a week-long trip with Al-Fayed's son. The media went crazy, with rumors spreading of a possible romance. Most of the press coverage was heavily negative, which sparked numerous amounts of controversy around the pair. Photographers rose in numbers as the couple's relationship grew truer every day. Per Beneath The Crown , it surfaced that Mohamed Al-Fayed asked renowned publicist Max Clifford to positively endorse their relationship. Photographers were then tipped off to find Diana and Dodi's location, and on August 10, Mario Brenna found them first.

How Did Mario Brenna's "The Kiss" Change Princess Diana's Life Forever?

Per The Independent , Mario Brenna was an official photographer for the Versace fashion house who lived in Monaco in 1997. Brenna happened to discover the yacht on an inflatable boat off of the Sardinian coast (He claims he spent occasional summers around the Mediterranean Sea to catch celebrities vacationing, as stated in the National Post .) He slowly approached the Jonikal when he thought he had seen a former acquaintance. To his shock, it was actually the "People's Princess" in the arms of Dodi Fayed. Captured from 500 yards away, Brenna hurriedly snapped photos of the couple "kissing" onboard and flew straight to London to show fellow celebrity photographer Jason Fraser the historic images.

Brenna recounts finding the couple that day as a “great stroke of luck." Despite the summer haze, the photograph sparked a chaotic bidding war between major publishing companies. Brenna ultimately sold "The Kiss" to the Sunday Mirror for £250,000 . The Sun and The Daily additionally paid him £100,000 each. Fraser, who helped in negotiating the deals, sold the rights internationally, which brought their earnings to over $2.1 million in global sales.

Following Brenna's phenomenon, "The Kiss" fueled an all-out paparazzi hunt for Princess Diana and Dodi's picture. Everywhere they traveled, the paparazzi hounded the couple, with no respect for their privacy. If Brenna could make a fortune out of one photo, other photographers had a chance to do the same. Diana participated in several humanitarian works following the picture, including becoming an advocate for landmine removals in developing countries. However, her efforts were regularly overlooked by her affair with Dodi. The couple also received racist backlash after "The Kiss," with most comments disapproving of Dodi's ethnicity as depicted in The Crown .

Swarms of press, even helicopters, surrounded the yacht in which Dodi and Diana often stayed. As stated in Beneath The Crown, Dodi had encouraged Diana to dabble in Hollywood acting, with talks to co-star alongside Kevin Costner in a sequel to the box-office hit The Bodyguard . These dreams would never come to fruition. On August 31, 1997, Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed were declared dead following a car crash through a tunnel at Place de l’Alma in Paris, France . There are countless conspiracies revolving around their deaths, but it was undeniable that their car was mercilessly tailed by a pack of paparazzi who wanted to snap the couple's picture. Mario Brenna confesses to The New York Times that he couldn't help but think "The Kiss" triggered the horrifying events that led to the death of Princess Diana: "If it hadn’t been me, someone else would certainly have captured those images."

What Does 'The Crown' Get Right and Wrong About "The Kiss"?

The Crown is no stranger to negative criticism when it comes to dramatizing the lives of the Royal Family. Aside from a few historical flaws, Episode 2, "Two Photographs", surprisingly does an adequate job of re-imagining the events that made Princess Diana one of the most photographed persons of all time. What the show changes is Prince Charles's reaction to seeing the picture in the Sunday Mirror. The episode depicts Charles hiring Scottish photographer Duncan Muir, a fictionalized character, to take pictures of him with William and Harry as a ploy to outshine the publicity from Diana's controversial photo. It is later revealed that the Scotland photoshoot dominated the front pages of The Mirror and The Daily Record, but this didn't happen.

According to Business Insider , on August 12, 1997, the young Princes and their father participated in a photo shoot at the royals' annual vacation at Balmoral. A handful of photographers snapped the photos, not one, and the images were featured only on pages eight, nine, and five of the respective newspapers. The failed Scotland pics were still overshadowed by the public's fascination with "The Kiss," and the press made rather unfavorable remarks with subheadings like: "Young princes look embarrassed by dad's Harry Lauder image."

"Two Photographs" also mixes up some facts regarding how Dodi started courting the "People's Princess." In the show, Mohamed Al-Fayed acts as a matchmaker for the couple, endlessly pressuring Dodi to flirt with the Princess in order to prove he is worthy of inheriting his father's wealth. Dodi seems stressed about making a connection with Diana during her vacation onboard the yacht as he is engaged to Kelly Fisher (a fact that is accurate). When the couple does become more intimate, The Crown implies that Al-Fayed tipped off Mario Brenna as to their whereabouts, but Brenna claimed the misconception that Al-Fayed hired him to take "The Kiss" was "absurd and completely invented."

What the final season does right in Part 1 is the portrayal of Diana and Dodi's romantic affair and the paparazzi's relentless invasion of their private lives. Di and Dodi briefly dated for a little over a month, and their relationship was always under the microscope. As shown in The Crown , the pair did develop fond feelings for one another, and a rumored engagement as well, but the press could only imagine what their true relationship entailed. History has proven that Diana was nothing but a cash grab to the paparazzi who sought her out only in hopes of making a fortune overnight. Once she and Dodi became the eye of the world, the media never respected her space, time, or family when it came to capturing "the shot." The Crown ultimately does not sugarcoat the brutal paparazzi culture that led to Princess Diana's final moments .

Per the National Post, Brenna admitted that The Crown never made an effort to contact him about the true story of how he captured "The Kiss" or his feelings following the doomed aftermath. Furthermore, he told the Times he does not agree with how he or the paparazzi are represented in the final season. "Two Photographs," despite its blemishes, urges fans to acknowledge the prestigious drama as a fictionalized chronicle and acts as a time machine to reflect on the unfortunate events that shocked the world into a bitter period of grief. If "The Kiss" was never captured, would the "People's Princess" still be here today?

The Crown is available to stream exclusively on Netflix in the U.S.

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Yacht used by Princess Diana and lover Dodi Fayed on final summer holiday sinks

Seven people on board were rescued following the accident off the coast of france, article bookmarked.

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The world-famous celebrity yacht used by Princess Diana on her final summer holiday in France has sunk to the bottom of the sea.

Cujo, once also a favourite of Hollywood superstars, disappeared below the Mediterranean waves after hitting an unidentified object off Beaulieu-sur-Mer, on the French Riviera, on Saturday.

Seven people on board were rescued following the accident, but the boat ended up at a depth of almost 2500m around 18 nautical miles off the coast.

“The skipper of the Cujo issued a Mayday,” said one officer. “His ship was sinking due to a leak.

“Rescue boats were sent from Antibes, and, after making sure everyone was safe, gendarmes detected a significant water leak at the level of the starboard front hull.

“Her owner had activated the pumps and kept the engines running, but this didn’t stop the boat sinking.”

All of those on board, including the Cujo‘s Italian owner, were placed in a rescue boat, and taken back to shore uninjured.

Reports about Cujo - an Indian word that means ‘Unstoppable Force’ - dominated the media in August 1997, when it was owned by Diana’s boyfriend, Dodi Al-Fayed.

The multi-millionaire film producer had spent some £1m refitting the boat, and wooed Diana on board, as the world’s media looked on.

This was shortly before the couple died in a car crash in central Paris caused by their drunk driver.

That summer, Diana was also photographed on Sokar, the yacht then owned by Al-Fayed’s father, retail billionaire Mohamed Al-Fayed.

Cujo was built in Italy in 1972 for businessman John von Neumann after he told Italy’s Baglietto shipyard that he wanted the world’s fastest motor yacht.

She was fitted with two 18-cylinder engines that ensured she had a top speed of 42 knots.

Van Neumann then sold the boat to the son of Adnan Khashoggi, the world’s richest arms dealer, and he sold her on to his cousin, Dodi Al-Fayed.

Cujo was frequently moored off St Tropez, the most famous celebrity hotspot on the Riviera, with celebrity guests including Clint Eastwood, Tony Curtis and Bruce Willis on board.

Following the death of Princess Diana and Mr Al-Fayed, Cujo fell into disrepair.

She was decommissioned in 1999, and spent years in storage, before being restored by new owners.

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The real story of Kelly Fisher, Dodi al Fayed's alleged fiance before he met Princess Diana

Your need-to-knows about their whirlwind romance.

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Kelly Fisher might not be a name you've come across before, but she's an important part of The Crown 's sixth season . Particularly during episode one, we see Dodi al Fayed, played by Khalid Abdalla, embroiled in a love triangle with two women—Kelly Fisher and the late Princess Diana . 

The Crown  season six landed on screens this week and is largely centred around Diana's untimely death and the events leading up to that fateful day in Paris in 1997. Episode one of the sixth and final season of The Crown explores Dodi al Fayed’s relationship with both Princess Diana, played by Elizabeth Debicki , and his girlfriend before that, Kelly Fisher, played by Erin Richards. Kelly was first introduced as Dodi’s girlfriend in season five of The Crown and returns to the latest season as his fiancée.

While the line between fact and fiction is often blurred in The Crown , it's clear that Dodi and Diana's early days had a murkier undertone than we might have realised, with Dodi accused of "humiliating" his ex Kelly before she sought revenge. There are even claims of overlap between the two women. 

After pictures emerged in the summer of 1996 of Dodi and Diana kissing on the Fayed family yacht, Kelly - with the help of LA lawyer Gloria Allred - sued Dodi for $440,000. The model claimed that these pictures were the only confirmation she got that their relationship was over, according to reporting from the LA Times at the time. 

Cue the damning headlines that read " Diana stole my man, now I want $1 million" from Australia’s  Daily Telegraph , while The Mirror 's splash read, " You’re a Dodi rotten cheat ." According to reporting from society reporter Dominick Dunne in Vanity Fair , Kelly was " devastated and traumatised" by her treatment by Dodi, which included being flown out to St Tropez only to be left alone while Dodi serenaded his new love interest, Diana, on a neighbouring yacht. 

But was Diana aware of what was going on? Apparently not, according to Dominick Dunne, who wrote in Vanity Fair : “I think it is safe to say that Diana didn’t know that Kelly Fisher was on another family yacht, waiting for furtive visits from Dodi, with whom she had been in a relationship for nearly a year. Diana had already played that scene in her marriage to Prince Charles.”

It's safe to say Dodi's relationship history was far from simple, which The Crown creator Peter Morgan explores in the show's final season. Below, we delve into who Dodi's previous girlfriend, Kelly Fisher, was and why she sued the billionaire playboy after the relationship ended. 

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Who was Dodi Fayed's 'fiance' before Diana?

Kelly Fisher met Dodi al Fayed in Paris in the summer of 1997 and the pair reportedly enjoyed a whirlwind romance. Kelly was a successful model, gracing the pages of  Vogue ,  Elle , and  Cosmopolitan , as well as working with major fashion brands including Armani, Victoria’s Secret, and Calvin Klein. Dodi had a reputation as an international playboy, enjoying huge wealth due to his father—Harrods owner Mohammed al Fayed's—successes in business. 

The relationship moved quickly, with Dodi allegedly showering his new girlfriend with affection. “He lavished attention on her and told her that he was in love with her,” a friend told the  Daily Mail  at the time (via Vogue ). “Within a short while, she was convinced she was in love with him too.” 

In February 1997, Dodi allegedly proposed with a $233,000 sapphire and diamond ring. According to Gloria, Kelly's lawyer, they were due to Marry on 9th August 1997 after less than a year of dating. 

Why did Kelly Fisher sue Dodi al Fayed? 

Kelly Fisher claimed that Fayed had jilted her for Princess Diana, and subsequently filed a breach of contract lawsuit against him with Santa Monica Superior Court. A spokesperson for the Fayed family denied that Dodi had ever proposed. Part of the claim, which was filed with the assistance of Kelly's lawyer, Gloria Allred, stated that Dodi wanted the model to "put her career in second place behind him and to spend more time with him and less on her modelling career". 

Reading from a statement at the court, Gloria explained that Dodi had: "Led her [Kelly] emotionally all the way up to the altar and abandoned her when they were almost there. He threw her love away in a callous way with no regard for her whatsoever."

Gloria continued: "To compound matters, Miss Fisher learnt about Mr Fayed's betrayal, not from Mr Fayed but instead from the `kiss photo' that was published and circulated around the world to Miss Fisher's utter dismay, shock and shame."

In 1997, Kelly dropped the lawsuit against Dodi and his family out of respect for the deceased, according to reporting from AP Newsroom . In a statement to journalists, Kelly's lawyer Gloria said: "Out of respect for the tragedy, and tremendous loss the Fayed family has suffered, she [Kelly] has authorised me as her attorney, to dismiss her lawsuit against Mr Fayed. Although she does have the legal right to pursue the lawsuit against his estate after his death, she has voluntarily chosen not to exercise that right."

Gloria went on to explain that Kelly, who kept the $233,000 sapphire and diamond engagement ring that was gifted to her by Dodi during his alleged proposal, "forgives" Dodi for the pain he had caused her. 

She told journalists: "Kelly suffered greatly because of the break up with Mr Fayed. She was engaged to him, and they had planned to marry August 9th 1997. Kelly loved Dodi very much, and she is devastated by his loss, and that of Princess Diana. Nothing is more important than the life of a human being. In the light of this enormous tragedy, Kelly forgives Dodi for all of his past injustices against her."

Where is Kelly Fisher now? 

Kelly, now 55, is currently working as a property developer in South Carolina, where she lives with her husband and child, according to reporting from iNews . Now going by the name of Kelly Movshina, the former model met Mikhail Movshina, a Russian pilot, in 2007 on a safari in the Central African Republic. The couple share a daughter, who was born in 2011. 

When can we watch The Crown's sixth season? 

The Crown  Season 6 part one premiered on Thursday, 16th November 2023 on Netflix, while part two will land shortly after on Thursday, December 14th 2023. 

Lauren is the former Deputy Digital Editor at woman&home and became a journalist mainly because she enjoys being nosy. With a background in features journalism, Lauren has bylines in publications such as Marie Claire UK, Red Magazine, House of Coco, women&home, GoodTo, Woman's Own and Woman magazine.

She started writing for national papers and magazines at Medavia news agency, before landing a job in London working as a lifestyle assistant and covers everything from fashion and celebrity style to beauty and careers.

By Jenny Proudfoot

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Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed’s relationship timeline

P rincess Diana’s whirlwind relationship with Dodi Fayed — and their tragic deaths — are again resurfacing thanks to the sixth and final season of “The Crown” on Netflix.

Fayed, an Egyptian filmmaker, was the Princess of Wales’ last romantic partner before they both died in a Paris car crash in August 1997.

Their time together was full of lavish yacht trips and jet setting around the world.

Diana had just ended a two-year relationship with surgeon Hasnat Khan when she linked up with Fayed in July 1997.

The pair are believed to have met through Fayed’s dad, Mohannad Al-Fayed.

The Egyptian billionaire owned the Ritz Paris — where his son and Diana would spend some of their final hours — as well as Harrods department store and the Fulham Football Club in Britain.

Al-Fayed died at age 94 on Aug. 30, 2023, nearly 26 years to the day that Diana and Dodi passed.

Nowadays, royal experts are criticizing “The Crown’s” portrayal of Al-Fayed, claiming it’s “disrespectful” to paint him as a villain who set his son up with the princess in an effort to help gain his British citizenship.

Here’s a look back at Diana and Fayed’s relationship.

Diana first met Fayed in 1986 when her then-husband King Charles’ polo team played against his at Windsor Great Park.

That was the same year both Diana and Charles entered into extramarital affairs while Fayed would marry model Suzanne Gregard — only for the union to end in divorce eight months later.

Diana and Charles officially divorced in August 1996.

But it wasn’t until years later that things would get romantic between the People’s Princess and Fayed. In fact, Diana dated British-Pakistani heart surgeon Hasnat Khan from 1995 to 1997.

Fayed’s father, billionaire Mohamed Al-Fayed, invited Diana and her sons Prince William, then 15, and Harry, then 12, to vacation at his villa in St. Tropez, France.

Al-Fayed also welcomed the royals aboard his $32 million yacht, which was named the Jonikal.

Model Kelly Fisher claimed that she was engaged to Dodi at the time. Dodi admitted to knowing Fisher, but an Al-Fayed family spokesman denied that Dodi ever promised to wed her.

There have been conflicting reports as to when Diana and Dodi began dating.

Following their deaths, Khan allegedly told police that Diana broke things off with him after she got home from St. Tropez.

Diana and Dodi returned to the Jonikal just a week after vacationing with her kids to enjoy some alone time.

This time, the pair spent six days sailing around the Italian island of Sardinia where paparazzi caught them kissing and enjoying life on the water.

Diana’s ex, Khan, later said of Dodi, “She wanted to be with someone who was happy to be seen with her in public and she could do that with Dodi.”

He added: “I think that Diana finally realized that [Dodi] could give her all the things I could not. He had money and could provide the necessary security for her.”

Diana, 36, and Fayed, 42, flew to Paris in August 1997 where they stayed at the Ritz Paris’ Imperial Suite.

That same day, Dodi went to the Repossi store in the City of Love to pick up a ring the couple had already decided on in Monaco.

Photographers followed the couple throughout their visit. At 7 p.m., they returned to Fayad’s apartment on rue Arsène Houssaye, where their luggage was dropped off. They stayed there until around 9:30 p.m., before deciding to go to the restaurant Chef Benoît for dinner.

Due to the attention they were receiving, however, they left and decided to eat in their hotel room. At 12:20 a.m., the two — alongside driver Henri Paul — left the Ritz Paris with the intention of returning to the rue Arsène Houssaye apartment.

“Once the paparazzi realized that the couple had left by the rear exit they were quickly in pursuit,” London’s Metropolitan Police noted in its 871-page report in 2006. “Indeed a small number of the paparazzi had been covering the rear exit in any event.”

Paul crashed the Mercedes vehicle into a pillar while driving above the speed limit in the Pont d’Alma underpass. While he and Fayed were killed at the scene, Diana and a bodyguard, Trevor Rees-Jones, were taken to the Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital.

The princess was pronounced dead at 4 a.m. local time.

Mohamed Al-Fayed molestò Lady Diana?

Secondo l'ultimo maggiordomo della principessa del Galles, Diana avrebbe subito delle avances dal padre di Dodi

Paul Burrell, l’ex maggiordomo di Diana Spencer , ha parlato ancora. Sai che novità, viene da dire, considerata la mole di dichiarazioni rilasciate a getto continuo dal collaboratore della principessa del Galles nell’ultimo ventennio. Questa volta Burrell, vicino a Diana per 10 anni a partire dal 1987, ha rispolverato un ricordo oscuro: quello per cui la principessa, nel 1995, sarebbe stata molestata da Mohamed Al-Fayed , imprenditore, all’epoca proprietario dei grandi magazzini Harrods e padre di Dodi, flirt di Diana scomparso con lei il 31 agosto 1997. Va detto che il suo racconto, affidato al Mail on Sunday, non arriva dal nulla: Al-Fayed, scomparso nel 2023, è attualmente accusato da decine di sue ex dipendenti di abusi, molestie e violenza sessuale .

A smascherare l’imprenditore egiziano è stata un’indagine della Bbc, condensata nel documentario Al-Fayed: predatore da Harrods , in cui sono state raccolte le testimonianze di 20 presunte vittime. E così, mentre gli inquirenti cercano eventuali complici dei misfatti, Burrell si è imposto nel dibattito svelando una nuova verità su Diana e sul suo rapporto con Al-Fayed, aggiungendo un nuovo tassello a voci già insistenti circa l’ambiguità dei suoi comportamenti. Il giornalista e confidente di Diana Richard Kay, ad esempio, ha ricordato sul Daily Mail di averla avvisata molte volte circa le mire del tycoon. E l’ex bodyguard della principessa Ken Wharfe , tra le pagine del libro Closely Guarded Secret scritto con Robert Jobson, già nel 2002 rivelava dettagli inquietanti sulla sua morte, causata, secondo questa versione, dall’incompetenza della sicurezza al soldo di Al-Fayed (Trevor Rees-Jones, sopravvissuto allo schianto, e l’autista Henri Paul). In questo scenario, l’unico responsabile del decesso della principessa sarebbe proprio Al-Fayed padre .

Le accuse di molestie e cosa c'entra Lady Diana

Tornando al racconto di Burrell circa le mire predatorie del magnate egiziano: "La vidi uscire dai suoi uffici tremante, mi riportò quanto Al-Fayed le aveva detto: 'Voglio che sposi mio figlio perché, secondo una tradizione egiziana, il padre arriva prima'". E poi: "Lei lo trovava inquietante, le metteva le mani addosso, mi diceva disgustata: 'Ti immagini fare l’amore con Yoda?'", soprannome che Diana aveva dato a Fayed in riferimento al personaggio della saga Guerre stellari. "Lui le disse: 'Dormiremo insieme'. Era convinto che ci sarebbe riuscito", complice il fatto che, per la vulnerabile Diana "Mohamed era una figura paterna e Harrods un posto sicuro: usava un tunnel privato per entrare di nascosto, anche di notte. Mohamed ha sfruttato questa vicinanza per conquistare la sua fiducia". Infine: "Mohamed voleva avere un legame con la famiglia reale, per questo ha speso milioni per corteggiarla: ha comprato lo Jonikal, yacht su cui Diana ha passato l’ultima estate con la famiglia di Dodi , solo per impressionarla".

Burrell ha riportato le lamentele della principessa in merito alle avance indesiderate di Al-Fayed, che pure con lei non si è spinto oltre perché "non poteva permettersi di perderla. Così ha usato il figlio Dodi come burattino per raggiungere i suoi scopi". Se Diana fosse viva, ha concluso, "oggi combatterebbe con le altre vittime". Le donne che accusano l’imprenditore di molestie e violenze hanno descritto il clima di terrore perpetrato dal magnate a discapito delle sue collaboratrici con dettagli parecchio crudi: molte di loro, per paura di rappresaglie, hanno trovato il coraggio di parlare solo dopo la sua morte, anche se è dal 1995 che Al-Fayed è inseguito da accuse simili. Stando alla ricostruzione della Bbc, la spirale di violenza iniziò nel periodo dell’acquisizione di Harrods, era il 1985: gli abusi avrebbero avuto luogo negli uffici londinesi dei grandi magazzini, in quelli del Fulham, squadra di calcio di cui è stato proprietario dal 1997 al 2013, sul suo jet privato, all’Hotel Ritz di Parigi, nella casa di Saint-Tropez e persino a Villa Windsor nel Bois de Boulogne, poco fuori la capitale francese. Storica dimora di Edoardo VIII e Wallis Simpson , fu concessa in locazione dal Comune di Parigi all’egiziano nel 1986: secondo una teoria avallata anche dagli sceneggiatori della serie Netflix The Crown , la villa era il perfetto riflesso della sua ossessione per i Windsor.

Dopo la messa in onda del documentario della Bbc, oltre 100 donne si sono esposte raccontando di aver subito molestie da parte di Al-Fayed . Ma, nonostante le numerose testimonianze raccolte, nebulosa rimane quella di Paul Burrell su Diana. In discussione non è tanto la vicenda in sé, quanto la fonte dell’aneddoto: l’autorevolezza del maggiordomo, infatti, è minata dalla ricorrente abitudine a rivelare i segreti della sua datrice di lavoro alla stampa (tutti non verificabili, dato che la diretta interessata non può controbattere), spesso a scopo di lucro. È ancora vivo, inoltre, il ricordo del pasticcio del 2001, quando nella sua casa vennero ritrovati 300 oggetti personali di Diana in arrivo da Kensington Palace dal valore totale di 5 milioni di euro: Paul giurò di averli avuti in dono dalla principessa e venne scagionato dall’accusa di furto grazie alla regina Elisabetta la quale, forse aspettandosi in cambio il silenzio del maggiordomo circa gli affari privati della Spencer, confermò la sua testimonianza. Peccato che quella tacita promessa non sia mai stata mantenuta: Burrell, nei 27 anni dalla sua scomparsa, non ha mai smesso di parlare di Diana. Se anche oggi tirasse fuori dal cilindro memorie plausibili e autentiche, sarebbe difficile credergli: s’è bruciato ogni credibilità già da tempo, per soldi o per sete di popolarità.

Questo articolo è originariamente apparso su GENTE N.40 in edicola dal 4 ottobre 2024

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Lady Diana sur le yacht du puissant Mohamed Al-Fayed où elle a rencontré Dodi : une invitation très intéressée...

Une sordide affaire qui fait couler beaucoup d'encre. Ayant rendu son dernier souffle en août 2023 à l'âge de 94 ans, Mohamed Al-Fayed, l'ex-propriétaire d'Harrods et du Ritz, est à ce jour accusé d'agressions sexuelles par plusieurs femmes depuis la diffusion d'un documentaire choc de la BBC à son sujet. Très ambitieux, l'intéressé de son vivant n'a jamais caché son désir d'intégrer l'élite britannique, comme l'a rappelé Madame Figaro ce jeudi 24 octobre 2024... Sans jamais réellement y parvenir, à son grand dam.

Si son nom a été connu à l'international, c'est avant tout parce que l'un de ses fils, prénommé Dodi, fut le compagnon de Diana Spencer , l'ex-épouse de Charles à la fin des années 90. Le dernier amant de la princesse des coeurs est décédé dans un terrible accident de voiture , sous le pont de l'Alma, à Paris... Durant son hospitalisation, la mère des princes William et Harry décédera à son tour, peu de temps après lui. Un tragique événement qui hantera à tout-jamais le clan Windsor, mais aussi l'homme d'affaires égyptien Mohamed Al-Fayed.

Malgré son immense fortune estimée à 2 milliards de dollars, Mohamed Al-Fayed n'a jamais réussi à séduire l'establishment du Royaume-Uni. Et pourtant, il s'en était donné les moyens, n'hésitant pas à sponsoriser les courses hippiques d'Ascot, que chérissait tant la reine Elizabeth II. Dans les années 90, la houleuse séparation de Charles III et Diana Spencer est une aubaine pour lui.

Pour les vacances, Mohamed Al-Fayed invite alors la mère de famille sur son yacht pour qu'elle puisse faire la rencontre de son fils. Entre eux, la magie opère rapidement pour son plus grand bonheur. Malgré leur romance très médiatisée, les affaires douteuses du businessman lui collent à la peau.

En plus de payer des millions d'impôts, ce dernier s'offusque lorsque son passeport bleu lui est refusé, alors qu'il vit en Outre-Manche avec son clan. Un désamour qu'il n'aurait jamais digéré... Après le décès de Dodi dans la douleur, Mohamed Al-Fayed a soutenu que la couronne anglaise aurait orchestré l'accident, car son ancienne belle-fille était enceinte, ce qui a donné lieu à d'innombrables théories complotistes ...

Twenty years after the death of Lady Di, the father of Dodi al Fayed, has always defended the thesis of the assassination – Gala

Twenty years after the death of Diana, Mohamed Fayed is convinced that his son and princess Diana were on the verge of getting engaged. It is thought that the couple were murdered by british secret services, so that it can only marry a muslim.

Princess Diana died in Paris on 31 August 1997, when the car of his driver, whose condition has aroused controversy, crashed into a column in the tunnel of the Alma bridge. She was in the company of the egyptian Dodi Al Fayed, with whom she had become close and had just spent a vacation in the south, with her children Harry and William. 20 years after the disappearance of the princess of Wales, the father of the deceased, who is now aged 88, is still not convinced of the reports of investigations into the” accident “. He thinks of a murder. A thesis that he defends tooth and nail since came years, without ever budge despite the findings of the investigation.

Mohamed Al Fayed is still confident that the couple would announce soon his engagement, reports The Sun. The announcement was to be made once you return to London. To support his convictions, the man of affairs relies on a letter from Diana to Dodi in which she thanked him for this holiday idyllic.

But this connection, if one is to believe the father of the deceased, would have strongly resented the british secret service. To support his accusations, Mohamed Al Fayed that he was denied british citizenship on two occasions by the conservative government and insists on the fact that he was muslim.

Moreover, the life of Al Fayed, owners of the Ritz or Harrods, would be displeasing to the crown… For the past 20 years, the business man never ceases to pay tribute to the memory of his son, leaves to sell to the media theories a bit crazy, like the idea that Diana was pregnant, an allegation refuted by the autopsy of the princess. Conspiracy mysterious or tragic accident, the old man never gave up, despite the recent changes to the investigation that accuses the state of the car.

Photo credit: Bestimage

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