The inquiry into Princess Diana’s death is the focus of season 6 episode 9, Hope Street.
The final six episodes of The Crown are now available to stream on Netflix, and while Diana’s story ended in the first part of this sixth season, the aftermath of her death of course lingers on.
In season 6 part 2, this is particularly prominent in two episodes – Willsmania, which sees William feuding with Charles and struggling to come to terms with his mother’s passing, and Hope Street, which sees the Royal Family being questioned in an inquiry called Operation Paget.
The inquiry came after a host of allegations were made by Mohamed Al-Fayed, who suggested that Princess Diana and his son Dodi Fayed had in fact been murdered. But what was Operation Paget, what did it find, and did it take place as in the series?
Read on for everything you need to know about Operation Paget.
What was Operation Paget, as seen in The Crown season 6 episode 9?
Operation Paget, as seen in The Crown season 6 episode 9, was a criminal investigation which took place into an allegation made by Mohamed Al-Fayed of a conspiracy to murder Princess Diana and his son Dodi Fayed.
Following the deaths of Diana and Dodi in a car crash in Paris, Al-Fayed alleged that the British ‘security services’, acting at the behest of Prince Philip, had arranged for or carried out their murder. He alleged that the motive for this was that Diana was pregnant with Dodi’s child and they were about to announce their engagement.
Al-Fayed also alleged that there was a cover-up by the ‘Establishment’ to prevent the conspiracy and murders from coming to light.
The investigation followed a previous investigation into their deaths by the French authorities, and was conducted by Metropolitan Police commissioner Lord Stevens.
In The Crown, it is presented as having delivered its findings in 2002, ahead of the Queen’s Golden Jubilee. However, there has been some altering of the timeline here.
In actual fact the operation wasn’t established until 2004, and its first report presented in 2006. The inquiry was wound up in 2008.
What did Operation Paget find?
In its first report, published in 2006, every chapter concluded that the allegations made by Al-Fayed were unfounded, with all evidence pointing towards Diana and Dodi’s deaths being the result of an accident.
Amongst other findings, the report concluded that Diana and Dodi’s driver, Henri Paul, had been drinking alcohol before he drove them that night, and that Diana had not been pregnant at the time of the crash.
Lord Stevens said: “Our conclusion is that, on all the evidence available at this time, there was no conspiracy to murder any of the occupants of the car. This was a tragic accident… There was no conspiracy and there was no cover-up.”
The report concluded: “Three people tragically lost their lives in the accident and one (the bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones) was seriously injured. Many more have suffered from the intense scrutiny, speculation and misinformed judgments in the years that have followed.
“I very much hope that all the work… will help to bring some closure to all who continue to mourn the deaths of Diana, Princess of Wales, Dodi Al Fayed and Henri Paul.”
As in The Crown, Al-Fayed did react angrily to the initial report from Operation Paget, although in 2008 he announced that he accepted the findings of the inquiry at that he would be ending his legal cases.
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