Princess Diana’s bodyguard reflects on the night she died: ‘It could have been me in that car’
‘When I learned they were not wearing seatbelts in the crash I understood why they didn’t survive,’ says Lee Sansum
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Princess Diana’s former bodyguard has reflected on the night she died in Paris on 31 August 1997, claiming that he could have been on duty that night.
In an interview with The Sun, Lee Sansum said that he and the other security guards drew straws to see who would accompany Trevor Rees-Jones in the car with Diana.
Rees-Jones survived the car crash but suffered severe injuries.
“It could have been me in that car,” said Sansum, 60.
“We drew straws to see who would be accompanying Trevor that weekend. I pulled a match and it was a long one.
“When I learned they were not wearing seatbelts in the crash I understood why they didn’t survive. That shouldn’t have happened.”
He continued: “It was standard practice for the family to wear seatbelts. It was an order sent down from the boss, Dodi’s dad Mohamed Fayed. Dodi, in particular, hated wearing seatbelts and I always insisted on it.”
Sansum went on to say how he had been close with Diana and how they bonded while staying in St Tropez during July 1997.
“She had been happy on that holiday,” he said. “But I had seen her in tears too, when she learned of the murder of her friend, the fashion designer Gianni Versace. She confided in me her own fears that she might one day be assassinated.
“She asked if I thought his murder outside his home was a professional killing. I thought it was. Then she said something that always stayed with me – ‘Do you think they’ll do that to me?’
Sansum added that the late royal had been “shaking” when she asked him about the assassination.
“It was clear from her tone that she really thought that they might [do that to her], whoever ‘they’ might be,” he added.
“I spent some time reassuring her that no one was going to try to kill her and she was safe with us, but she definitely thought there was a risk that one day she might be assassinated.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments