The former chauffeur of Princess Diana believes the late royal would still be alive today if he had been driving on the fateful night when she lost her life.
28 years on from the tragedy that shook the world, speculation is still rife as to what exactly happened, with conflicting opinions readily available wherever one cares to look.
Aged just 36, the Princess of Wales was traveling in a car with her boyfriend Dodi Fayed, along with her driver, Henri Paul, and Fayed’s bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones in Paris, France in the early hours August 31, 1997.
With the car being pursued by a pack of journalists as it sped through the Pont de l’Alma underpass, Paul – who was four times over the legal alcohol limit for driving in France – reportedly lost control and crashed into a column. Both he and Fayed were killed instantly, while Princess Diana and Trevor Rees-Jones were critically injured.
Diana was rushed to hospital. Despite the best efforts of surgeons to save her life, she was pronounced dead at 4am.
Almost three decades have passed since the crash, but the circumstances surrounding the princess’s demise are still the subject of much debate.
One thing’s for certain, and that’s that Diana’s former chauffeur, Steve Davies, believes she would still be alive had he not lost his job.
“I’d have taken a bullet for Diana. My job was my life,” Davies said, as per The Sun.
“I was always there for her. I went from having the dream job to having to start again from scratch.”
Of the fateful night that claimed her life, he added: “All I know is that if life had taken a different trajectory, if I’d been driving her that night in Paris, she would still be here today… because I would’ve kept her safe.”
A former army man, Davies claimed he never knew exactly why he had been dismissed until he watched the Netflix series The Crown.
Apparently, journalist Martin Bashir had spread lies about the driver, telling Diana that he had leaked information about her to the press. Allegedly, Bashir was trying to win Diana’s trust shortly before his controversial Panorama interview with her.
