SPECIAL: PRINCESS DIANA, 1961-1997

[an error occurred while processing this directive]

SUNDAY-MONDAY, AUGUST 31-SEPTEMBER 1, 1997

SPECIAL REPORT: PRINCESS DIANA, 1961-1997

INVESTIGATING THE TRAGEDY
As thoughts and prayers around the world focused on this past weekend's calamity in Paris, Britain mourned its fallen princess Monday in silent, patient and grieving lines, and received grim revelations from France:

-Diana's driver, Henri Paul, was legally drunk when he roared off for her final ride and, said The (London) Times, allegedly taunted photographers by saying, "Catch me if you can." "The analysis of his blood has revealed that the alcohol level was illegal," said part of a statement issued by the Paris prosecutor's office investigating the fatality. A judicial source said Paul's blood alcohol level was more than three times the French legal limit, at an amount equivalent to drinking to almost 11 ounces of whiskey.

-The black Mercedes-Benz S280 sedan was hurtling along at 121 mph and may have been weaving in and out of traffic when it crashed in the tunnel near the Seine River, killing Princess Diana, millionaire boyfriend Dodi Al Fayed and the driver. The speedometer was frozen in that position by the crash, said police. (The tunnel's speed limit is 30 mph.) The Mercedes-Benz Corp. also confirmed Monday that the sedan in which the couple was riding was an armored vehicle. Because of their extra weight, such vehicles can be difficult for inexperienced drivers to handle.

-Henri Paul reportedly was the No. 2 security man at Paris' Ritz Hotel where Diana, 36, and Al Fayed, 42, had dined before Sunday's crash. He was not a professional chauffeur, said Europe 1 radio, which also reported that Al Fayed's regular driver had left earlier in another vehicle as a decoy to throw photographers off the trail. Al Fayed family spokesman Michael Cole, however, told CNN that Paul was a trained driver who had collected the princess and Al Fayed at the airport when they arrived in Paris. Diana's bodyguard, Trevor Rees-Jones, 29, also involved in the crash, remains in serious but not life-threatening condition. He is not yet able to speak.

U.K. REACTION
In England, the grim news about the chauffeur hit hard a nation already coping with grief over losing its youthful icon so abruptly and with anger at the paparazzi who may have contributed to the tragedy. But outside St. James's Palace, where Diana's coffin lies within a closed chapel, the thoughts of ordinary Britons seemed to focus on the life, not the death, of "the people's princess," as Prime Minister Tony Blair called Diana. "She added the style and the flavor that the monarchy needed," London businessman Christopher Buckmaster -- one of thousands who waited hours to sign books of condolence inside St. James's -- told the Associated Press. "Now the monarchy will be poorer."

THE FUNERAL
Buckingham Palace announced Diana's funeral will be conducted at 11 a.m. (6 a.m. EDT) Saturday at Westminster Abbey -- where kings and queens are christened and crowned, wed and buried. It will be a state event, but not quite a full state funeral, Prime Minister Blair said. It will be a "unique funeral for a unique person," said a Palace spokesperson. Diana, Princess of Wales, lost the full title of Her Royal Highness upon her divorce from Prince Charles last year but retained the title Princess of Wales and many of her privileges. The beloved figure, mother of England's future king, Prince William, will be buried privately in her family's ancestral chapel near Althorp, the family home 60 miles north of London.

REPRESENTING THE U.S.
President Clinton will not attend the funeral for Princess Diana, the White House announced Monday. "Consultations are ongoing to determine the appropriate representation for the president and people of the United States," White House spokesman Joe Lockhart said. AP reports that other White House aides said there was considerable internal discussion about first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton attending, but they emphasized that there was no decision about her participating. While Vice President Al Gore customarily represents the U.S. at the funeral services of foreign dignitaries, Mrs. Clinton enjoyed the closest relationship with Diana, frequently visiting with her on the princess' trips to Washington. The only time that Clinton in his 4 1/2 years as president traveled abroad for a funeral was in November 1995, for the Jerusalem burial of assassinated Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.

GERMANY PUBLISHES CRASH
PHOTO Germany's largest-selling tabloid, Bild, published a photograph on its front page Monday of emergency workers trying to free Princess Diana from the wreckage of the fatal crash. "The wrecked car with Di and Dodi in the tunnel of death," read the caption under the picture. A pictures editor at Bild said the paper's Paris office had bought the picture from a photo agency in the French capital. Seven photographers detained at the scene of the crash were still being questioned by French police. Indictments, if any, will be announced Tuesday.

ANOTHER CHAPTER CLOSES
Kelly Fisher, the jilted model who said Dodi Al Fayed dumped her for Diana, is dropping her breach-of-contract suit against him after the death of the Egyptian-born playboy. Fisher's attorney, Gloria Allred, told reporters in Los Angeles Monday that "in light of the enormous tragedy, Kelly forgives Dodi for all of his past injustices against her." The Al Fayed family continues to deny Fisher's claim that Dodi proposed marriage and offered financial support if Fisher dropped her modeling career.

FERGIE'S REACTION
Diana's former sister-in-law, the Duchess of York ("Fergie"), was traveling in Europe when she learned Diana had died, said the duchess' spokesman Howard Rubinstein. "There are no words strong enough to describe the pain in her heart," he said. "Her thoughts and prayers are with the family, particularly Prince William and Prince Harry."

THE KENNEDY PARALLEL
In many respects, Diana's sudden death has reminded some in Britain and the U.S. of the assassination in 1963 of President Kennedy. Diana's death, like that of J.F.K., has sent shock waves around the world. On Sunday, Sen. Edward Kennedy said through his spokeswoman Melody Miller: "Princess Diana was an extraordinary mother to her two children, and she was remarkable in all that she gave of herself to better the lives of children around the world. This tragedy has stunned us all, and the Kennedy family's thoughts and prayers are with all the families touched by this heartbreaking loss."

-STEVEN M. SILVERMAN
-PEOPLE