In just a few months, it will be the anniversary of Princess Diana’s tragic passing.
On 31 August, it will mark 28 years since the beloved mother of two spoke her final words before falling into a coma and sadly dying in 1997.
At the time, 36-year-old Diana had been spending the evening in Paris — the City of Love — with her rumored partner, Dodi Fayed, when disaster struck.
Diana, along with her driver Henri Paul and Dodi’s bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones, were in the car as they drove through the Pont de l’Alma tunnel, pursued by paparazzi.
The high-speed chase led to a devastating crash.
When French firefighters arrived at the crash site, one of them had no idea he was about to hear the final words spoken by a member of the royal family.
Reports say the driver lost control of the car, which slammed into a pillar inside the tunnel, killing both him and Dodi instantly.
Diana and her bodyguard survived the initial impact but were badly injured and rushed to the hospital for emergency treatment.
On the 20th anniversary of Princess Diana’s death in 2017, firefighter Xavier Gourmelon shared his experience on Good Morning Britain, recalling what she said to him that night.
At first, no one on the scene knew Diana was among the victims.
When she briefly regained consciousness in the back seat and spoke to him, she reportedly said: “Oh my god, what’s happened?”
He shared that the late Princess briefly became agitated before slipping back into unconsciousness.
“I tried to calm her down and tell her we’d look after her, and she fell into a coma again,” he recalled.
According to Xavier, her condition worsened quickly as she was being taken out of the car.
“At that moment, the doctor said she was in cardiac arrest. So, we gave her CPR and after 20 seconds, she regained consciousness, and we transferred her to the ambulance.”
Despite doctors’ efforts at Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital in Paris, the Princess passed away at 4:00am the next morning after suffering another cardiac arrest, from which she could not be revived.
While Princess Diana, Dodi Al-Fayed, and their driver Henri Paul lost their lives, Dodi’s bodyguard, Trevor Rees-Jones, was severely injured but survived.