Princess Diana’s Autopsy: What Was the Cause of Death?

Disclaimer: This article contains mentions of death. Reader discretion is advised.

Princess Diana continues to be remembered years after her untimely demise at the age of 36. The former Princess of Wales’ death in 1997 shook the world as she was a beloved public figure. The documentary The Princess also provides an immersive look at Princess Diana’s life through archival audio and video footage. Ed Perkins directed this documentary that chronicles Diana’s life from her fairy-tale wedding to the birth of their sons. Additionally, The Princess depicts Diana’s divorce, followed by her tragic death, which has continued to garner attention over the years. 

What did Princess Diana’s autopsy reveal about her cause of death?

Princess Diana died after succumbing to injuries she sustained in a car accident, reported Parade. In the car were the Princess and her lover, Dodi Fayed. Their bodyguard also accompanied them. On August 31, 1997, Diana’s driver, Henri Paul, reportedly drove at nearly twice the speed limit in the Pont de l’Alma tunnel in Paris in an attempt to evade the paparazzi. After losing control of the vehicle, they crashed into the tunnel’s wall and a support pillar. Fayed and the driver died on the spot, while the emergency services rushed Diana, who was still alive, to a hospital, but she passed away after.

Per Independent, Michael Burgess, deputy to the then royal coroner, Dr John Burton, conducted Princess Diana’s autopsy at Hammersmith and Fulham mortuary. Her body was flown from Paris to London via RAF Northolt that afternoon. After two years of investigation, French investigating magistrates ruled that Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed’s deaths in the tunnel were accidental. 

In the crash, Diana suffered from a broken arm, a concussion, and a cut on her thigh, reported Parade. However, her fatal chest wounds ultimately took her life. Diana’s heart was displaced in her chest, and her pulmonary vein was torn, causing internal bleeding that proved fatal. As the doctors operated, they spent two hours applying heart massage, reported BBC. However, they failed to revive her heart. Dr. Bruno Riou, the head of intensive care at the hospital, said that Diana died from internal bleeding.