A fire chief who was one of the first to help Princess Diana after her fatal road crash in Paris has spoken for the first time of how she turned to him and asked, “Oh my God, what’s happened?”
Sgt. Xavier Gourmelon told the Daily Mail that when he arrived at the devastating crash scene in August 1997, Diana was still “moving and talking.”
“She spoke in English and said, ‘Oh my God, what’s happened?’ I could understand that, so I tried to calm her. I held her hand,” said Gourmelon, who gave statements to police but has never before spoken to the press.
The impact of the crash into an underpass — estimated to have been at around 65 mph — had already instantly killed driver Henri Paul as well as Diana’s new boyfriend, Dodi Fayed.
Diana, however, seemed physically OK apart from an injured shoulder, recalled Gourmelon — who had no idea that he was trying to save a princess.
A French medic named Dr. Mailliez and a firefighter named Xavier Gourmelon at the scene of Princess Diana’s crash on August 31, 1997.Shutterstock
Only after he helped load Lady Di into an ambulance did he find out who she was from a captain at the scene. “He tells me who she is and then, yes, I recognize her, but in the moment I didn’t,” he told the outlet.
That was also true for the very first person to try to help her, off-duty doctor Frederic Mailliez, who stumbled across the crash scene while driving home from a party.
He saw “two [victims] were already apparently dead” and two others — including Diana’s bodyguard — “were severely injured but still alive.”
A woman reads the news of Princess Diana’s death.DAVE GAYWOOD/AFP via Getty Images
He first helped Diana, who was “sitting on the floor in the back” of the Mercedes.
“I discovered then she was a most beautiful woman and she didn’t have any [serious] injuries to her face. She was not bleeding [then] but she was almost unconscious and was having difficulty breathing,” he said. “She looked fine for the first minutes,” he recalled.
“So I began to speak English to her, saying that I was a doctor and that the ambulance was on its way and everything is going to be all right,” he said.
Princess Diana with Dodi Fayed in the elevator of the Ritz hotel in Paris before the fatal crash.Scottbaker-Inquests/Shutterstock
He left as soon as emergency workers took over. “And so I left the scene without knowing who I had been treating,” he told the Mail.
News that it was actually Diana was so shocking, however, that the hospital’s duty chaplain, Father Yves-Marie Clochard-Bossuet, repeatedly hung up the phone when asked to attend, assuming it was a prank.
He finally rushed over, however, recalling seeing her after she was covered by a sheet, having been pronounced dead.
A mourner lays a bouquet of flowers for Princess Diana after her death.PA Images via Getty Images
“I saw her for the first time there,” he told the Mail.
“She was completely intact, no mark or stain, or makeup. Completely natural. And she was a really beautiful woman and it seemed as if … you could almost talk to her,” he said.
He immediately thought of her two young sons, Princes Harry and William, he said.
Prince Charles, Prince Harry and Prince William attending the funeral of Princess Diana on September 6, 1997.Reuters
“They are going to have to wake them up and tell them, ‘It’s over’ … It is the worst thing,” he recalled.
News
Prince William needs ‘handling with kid gloves’ during his clashes with King Charles: Royal insider
Tensions arise between King Charles and Prince William despite Kate Middleton’s attempts to help. When the Prince of Wales gets angry, he often raises his voice. Prince William needs ‘handling with kid gloves’ during his clashes with King Charles: Royal…
The risky hobby of Prince William that the royal family does not like
King Charles III is very displeased with the attitude of the Prince of Wales Prince William reappears after the controversy surrounding the latest images of Kate Middleton Prince William is going through a tough time. A few months ago, it…
Kate Middleton nearly refused Princess of Wales title to avoid Princess Diana comparisons: report
9 Kate Middleton reportedly once considered “refusing” the title of Princess of Wales.SplashNews.com Kate Middleton once debated refusing the Princess of Wales title to avoid “stressful” comparisons to her late mother-in-law, Princess Diana. In Robert Jobson’s new book, “Catherine, The Princess…
Prince William cuts Queen Camilla’s sister from royal payroll after two decades
Prince William has cut Queen Camilla’s sister from the royal payroll after two decades of service, according to The Telegraph. Annabel Elliot, 75, has been paid hundreds of thousands of dollars over the past 20 years for her services as an…
Prince William ‘clashed’ with King Charles, late Queen Elizabeth over flying family in helicopter: report
Prince William’s annual salary revealed after receiving title changePrince William’s annual salary revealed after receiving title change Prince William reportedly “clashed” with King Charles III and Queen Elizabeth II over flying his family around the UK in a helicopter. The…
Princes William and Harry’s uncle Lord Robert Fellowes dead at 82
7 Lord Robert Fellowes, pictured above in 2013, died Monday.Getty Images Prince William and Prince Harry’s uncle Lord Robert Fellowes died Monday. He was 82. The cause of death is “undisclosed,” according to his obituary published in the London Times Wednesday. Fellowes became…
End of content
No more pages to load