In the letter Princess Di expressed concerns that someone was plotting to kill her and specifically mentioned the possibility of it happening in what would appear to be an automobile accident. She suspected someone would tamper with the brakes on her car.
The Daily Mirror, a British tabloid, released excerpts from Burrell's forthcoming book A Royal Duty in it's Monday's edition. The paper printed a photograph of part of the letter.
The revelation brought an immediate demand from Fayed's father, Mohammed al Fayed, for a full and independent, public investigation into the incident. Fayed has long contended that the crash was no accident, but part of a plot to kill the couple.
Because the crash occurred in Paris, a French inquiry was conducted into the cause, but no British inquiry has ever been conducted, although it is required by law. A Surrey county coroner said in August this year he would conduct an inquest into Dodi Fayed's death, but no date has been set.
Burrell told The Daily Mirror when the Princess gave him the letter she told him, "I'm going to date this and I want you to keep it ... just in case." The book quoted the princess as writing to Burrell that "this particular phase in my life is the most dangerous."
She wrote that someone was planning "an accident in my car, brake failure and serious head injury in order to make the path clear for Charles to marry." Diana named the person she believed was plotting against her, but the newspaper would not reveal the identity for fear of a lawsuit. In the photo of the letter published in the paper the name was blacked out.
Mohamed al Fayed blasted Burrell for not revealing the existence of the letter earlier and told reporters the letter "confirms the suspicions I have so often voiced... and which have thus far been ignored. The prime minister must now accept that the time is right for a full public inquiry. Further delay will look as though he is colluding in a cover-up and the people of this country will not tolerate that."
The French inquiry into the crash focused on driver Henry Paul, who was not Fayed's regular driver. When the couple prepared to leave the Ritz hotel near midnight Aug. 31, 1997, a crowd was gathered outside the entrance that included paparazzi. Ritz staff members suggest it was Paul who persuaded Fayed to let him drive because he thought he could best shield them from the photographers.
French police, however, said it was Fayed's bodyguard, Trevor Rees-Jones, who decided to switch drivers, with Fayed's regular chauffeur, Philippe Dourneau, now driving a Range Rover following the Mercedes, which would leave from the back entrance driven by Paul. But Rees-Jones said later it was Dodi Fayed himself who requested Paul as the driver.
According to autopsy reports Paul had an alcohol level measuring about 1.70 grams per liter of blood. The legal limit of alcohol in a driver's blood in France is 0.5 grams per liter of blood, the equivalent of two glasses of beer or one glass of wine. After more extensive blood tests were conducted, prosecutors said Paul's blood-alcohol level was 1.75 grams and that he was taking antidepressants. That level would be the equivalent of a blood-alcohol reading of .175 percent under the U.S. system.
