Diana pictures outrage British press

After nearly 9 years, controversy continues to surround the death of Princess Diana. The car crash on 31 August 1997 has been blamed on the paparazzi who were alleged to have ‘chased her to her death’, the fault of a Henry Paul whom it has been alleged was drunk, and even a deliberate assassination by British secret service. There has been no definitive proof of any of the above, but the publication of pictures taken on the night are proving too much to bear for many. The Italian magazine Chi, this week went to press with a large reproduction of a black and white photograph showing Diana in the car as she lay dying [BBC]
The banner read ‘World Exclusive’ [Exclusiva Mondiale] and described it as the Ultimate Photo [L’Ultima Foto]. It is not the first time photographs from the crash have been published. Soon after the crash, a German magazine also published a series of pictures, prompting many UK stores to pull the magazines from the shelves. And many British newspapers have demanded similar action after Chi hit Italian news-stands this week.
Mohammed Al Fayed, whose son Dodi was also killed in the crash, described the publication of the photograph as ‘vile’, whilst the editor of Chi magazine, Umberto Brindani, described it as ‘tender’ and ‘touching’. He said he published the picture simply because it had not been seen before. "In my opinion it is not a picture which is offensive to the memory of Princess Diana," he said, "She is not dead in the picture but looks as if she is a sleeping princess." The Italian newspaper Corriere Della Sera also reproduced the front cover of the magazine in its coverage of the story, and the Spanish magazine Interviu also published the picture, though not on its website. The Diana Memorial Fund said the photograph’s publication was “in very poor taste." The photo and autopsy are lifted from a new French book, out this year. Even its author Jean Michel Caradec'h admitted snaps from the 1997 Paris crash were "shocking pictures that should not have ended in the public domain". Three paparazzi who photographed the dying princess were convicted in France of breaching her privacy. They were each fined €1. Former Met chief Lord Stevens has carried out an inquiry into her death with his initial findings expected later in summer [BBC]