So, the first part of The Crown‘s final season really focused on Princess Diana and her relationship with Dodi Al Fayed, who was the son of Mohammed Al Fayed. Elizabeth Debicki portrayed Diana, while Khalid Abdalla played the role of Dodi. It was interesting because they showed their brief romance in the first few episodes of season six.
What’s funny is that most people tend to focus on the crash, you know? And because of that, they miss out on this amazing summer that Dodi and Diana had together. As an actor, it was a real challenge to explore their love story while knowing what happened afterwards. But it was also a joy because they were genuinely falling in love, and if you look at the pictures of Diana during that time, she was really happy. So, playing Dodi, who made Diana happy, and having those scenes with a happy Diana, it was a real pleasure.
Now, the final season of The Crown is fully streaming, and part two just dropped today. If you’re interested, here’s the complete timeline of Princess Diana and Dodi Al Fayed’s brief relationship. Enjoy!
Sometime in the late ’80s: Princess Diana meets Mohammed Al Fayed
After Mohammed, an Egyptian businessman, bought the iconic Harrods department store in 1985, he became connected with the British royal family, including Princess Diana. They met several times over the years, and even went to a charity dinner together at Harrods in 1996. Apparently, during this period, Diana met Dodi for the first time at a polo match in Windsor in 1986.
August 1996: Prince Charles and Diana formally divorce
So, Prince Charles and Princess Diana actually separated in 1992, but they didn’t officially get divorced until August 1996. Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip were in favor of the divorce, and it was all sorted out in less than a year.
Buckingham Palace released a statement in December 1995, saying that after considering the situation, both the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh thought it would be best to get the divorce done sooner rather than later. Prince Charles agreed with this too, and he let Princess Diana know about it in the letter.
During this difficult time, the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh were there to support both Prince Charles and Princess Diana, especially their children. And as for the kids, Charles and Diana shared custody of them.
July 1997: Diana and Dodi’s romance begins
In the summer of 1997, Mohammed invites Princess Diana and her sons, Princes William and Harry, to join his family for a vacation in the south of France. Diana happily accepts the invitation, and in the season five finale of The Crown, we get a glimpse of her packing for this trip. By that time, Diana is no longer dating Hasnat Khan, a British Pakistani surgeon. Khan mentions that Diana wanted to be with someone who was comfortable being seen with her in public, and she found that with Dodi. He goes on to say that Diana realized Dodi Al Fayed could provide her with the things he couldn’t, including financial security. Diana and her sons join the Fayed family on their yacht and at their villa, Castle St. Therese, for a trip from July 11 to 20. Prince Harry later writes in his memoir, Spare, that the trip to St. Tropez was like heaven. He recalls that they were with their mom when she first met Dodi in St. Tropez, and they had a wonderful time together, staying at a villa. At the time, Dodi was dating (and possibly engaged to) American model Kelly Fisher, but soon a romance blossoms between Dodi and Diana.
August 1997: Diana continues seeing Dodi
After Princes William and Harry head to Balmoral in Scotland for their summer vacation with Prince Charles, Diana continues to keep busy with engagements. She flies back to the South of France, where she and Dodi spend some quality time together aboard the Jonikal in early August. Paparazzi photographer Mario Brenna captures their moments and sells the pictures to the Sunday Mirror for record-breaking prices. These pictures are first published on August 10, 1997, with the headline “THE KISS” while Diana is traveling to Bosnia to highlight her work around landmines.
Despite all the press attention, Diana returns to Saint Tropez to enjoy another vacation with Dodi on August 21, 1997, after a trip to Greece with Rosa Monckton. It is on August 24, 1997, when the iconic photograph of Diana sitting at the end of the yacht’s diving board is taken.
During this trip, Diana and Dodi also visit Monaco, where they make an unexpected stop at the Repossi boutique. According to the *Washington Post*, Alberto Repossi later reveals that the couple spent only a few minutes in the store because they already knew which ring they wanted. They had seen it in a Repossi advertisement in the September edition of a fashion magazine, L’Officiel de la Couture et de la Mode de Paris.
August 30 and 31, 1997
On August 30, 1997, Diana and Dodi flew to Paris. They went to the Ritz Paris, which is owned by Mohammed Al Fayed. That same day, Dodi also went to the Repossi store in Paris to pick up the ring they reportedly chose in Monaco.
According to the Associated Press, the day was quite tense. The couple had been dealing with paparazzi problems since their arrival in Paris. First, they were trailed from Le Bourget Airport to see Villa Windsor – a mansion that once housed the Duke and Duchess of Windsor and that Dodi’s father had bought and renovated. Fortunately, their driver managed to shake off the photographers. They attempted to have dinner at Chez Benoit but ended up eating at the Ritz Paris, in the Imperial Suite.
After dinner, they decided to go to an apartment Dodi owned off the Champs-Elysees. Around 20 minutes after midnight, they left the hotel. Unfortunately, with paparazzi in pursuit, their car crashed in the Pont d’Alma tunnel in Paris. Dodi died instantly, and early that morning, on August 31, Diana was declared dead at Hospital La Pitié Salpêtrière.
Dodi was buried that evening, following Muslim tradition, after a funeral at the Central London mosque. Princess Diana’s funeral took place on September 6, 1997.
