Before news of her death shocked everyone in late August 1997, Princess Diana was simply enjoying her summer.
She spent her final weeks traveling, spending time on the French Riviera, and slowly building a life on her own terms. Nearly three decades later, those final snapshots remain a poignant reminder of a brief, peaceful season in her life.
The final photos of Diana taken during the summer of 1997 show someone who was genuinely ready to move on from her years as a senior royal family member. She spent her last summer soaking up the sun in the Mediterranean.
Twenty-nine years later, revisiting that brief, peaceful season offers a bittersweet look at her final weeks. Looking at those iconic vacation snapshots, no one could have predicted that her brightest season would be her last.
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On August 17, 1997, Diana was one year divorced from then-Prince Charles. They wed in July 1981 and had two sons, Prince William and Prince Harry.
She was continuing to vacation in St. Tropez with her rumored boyfriend, Dodi Al Fayed. Paparazzi photos taken during that summer showed the Princess of Wales in a multicolored, one-piece bathing suit, as she sunned on Jonikal, a luxury yacht owned by Mohamed Al-Fayed (Fayed’s father).
Princess Diana in St. Tropez/Michel Dufour/WireImageAt this time, Diana’s sons, William and Harry, joined her. It was the first time her children met the man with whom she would spend her final days.
RELATED: ‘He’s Mine’: Princess Diana’s Defiant Wedding Day Showdown With Camilla Parker BowlesAccording to royal editor Robert Jobson in his book William’s Princess, William had definite thoughts about his mother’s final romance, per an excerpt by Express. Jobson shared his thoughts into how the young royal processed his mother’s new relationship at the time.
Princess Diana and Prince Harry in St. Tropez on July 17, 1997/Anwar Hussein/Getty Images“In July 1997, Diana and the boys enjoyed what was to be their last holiday together,” Jobson began. “They spent it in the South of France. They stayed at the villa Castel Ste Therese, set high on the cliffs above St. Tropez, in a 10-acre estate complete with its own private beach and the Conical, a luxury yacht, at their constant disposal.:”
The passage continued, “Diana and her boys had been at the Castel Ste Therese for a few days when Dodi arrived, and it wasn’t long before the chemistry kicked in. If it was William’s blessing for her relationship with Dodi that [Diana] wanted, then she got it.”
RELATED: The Surprising Reason Princess Diana Reportedly Sold Her Clothes for Cash at Local Thrift ShopsJobson concluded, “Dodi made his mother laugh; he seemed to make her genuinely happy…And William, so keen to see his mother happy, witnessed it. It was, according to those close to the young prince, a source of some comfort to him in the dark days that followed.”
As August ended, Diana’s sons returned to Charles, and she and Al Fayed traveled to Paris, per PEOPLE Magazine. They reportedly wished to escape the paparazzi, who had documented their burgeoning romance. Then, Diana was set to head back to London to see her sons.
near the property of her friend Dodi Al-Fayed in Saint Tropez, on the French Riviera/Patrick Hertzog/AFP via Getty ImagesAround 12:15 a.m. on Aug. 31, 1997, the couple left Paris’s Ritz hotel to head to Al Fayed’s apartment. They were driven by Henri Paul, the Ritz’s assistant director of security. Trevor Rees-Jones, Dodi’s bodyguard, sat alongside Paul in the front passenger seat.
The duo were again relentlessly pursed by paparazzi. Paul raced to outrun photographers, but ultimately crashed into a concrete support column in the Place de l’Alma tunnel.
Fayed and Paul were instantly killed. Diana was still alive when paramedics arrived. Reese Jones survived the accident.
The Princess of Wales was taken to Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital. She ultimately went into cardiac arrest and was pronounced dead at 3 a.m. at the age of 36.
Related: 45 Years Ago Today: Princess Diana Refused to Wear Prince Charles’s Gift on Their Wedding Day
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