'It could have been me in that car': Princess Diana's former bodyguard speaks out 25 years after her death
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Lee Sansum, who worked as a bodyguard for the late Princess Diana, made a shocking revelation concerning the events surrounding the princess's untimely death on August 31, 1997.
Lee, who is now 60 years old, claimed in an interview with The Sun that he believes Princess Diana would still be alive today if he had been riding in the car with her at the time of the accident.
In August 1997, the Princess of Wales, her boyfriend Dodi Fayed, and their driver Henri Paul were killed in a car accident in Paris. Her bodyguard at the time, Trevor Rees-Jones, was badly hurt.
But Mr Sansum, who the princess called 'Rambo', thinks that if he had been in the car, he would have made sure that the couple was wearing their seatbelts, which would have made a life-changing difference.
Lee Sansum, Princess Diana's bodyguard, says she would still be alive if he were in the car with her. Credit: Getty.
'It could have been me in that car,' said the ex-Royal Military Policeman in the interview.
'We drew straws to see who would be accompanying Trevor that weekend. I pulled a match, and it was a long one.'
'When I learned they were not wearing seatbelts in the crash, I understood why they didn't survive. That shouldn't have happened.'
'It was standard practice for the family to wear seatbelts. It was an order sent down from the boss, Dodi's dad Mohamed Fayed. Dodi, in particular, hated wearing seatbelts, and I always insisted on it,' he went on to say.
Lee worked for Dodi's father, Mohamed Al-Fayed, and was assigned to care after the couple while they were staying at the former Harrods boss' villa in St. Tropez in July 1997, where Diana confided in him of her concerns about being killed one day.
'She had been happy on that holiday,' Lee recalled. 'But I had seen her in tears too when she learned of the murder of her friend, the fashion designer Gianni Versace. She confided in me her own fears that she might one day be assassinated.'
He was once asked at the time by the late royal if he believed that the designer's murder outside his home had been committed by a professional killer, and he said, 'Yes, I think it was.'
After that question, Princess Diana said something that the bodyguard described as something that will always stay with him: 'Do you think they'll do that to me?'
According to him, the princess was visibly trembling as she said it, and it was obvious from her tone that she genuinely believed that 'they,' whoever 'they' might be, might pull it off.
'I spent some time reassuring her that no one was going to try to kill her and she was safe with us, but she definitely thought there was a risk that one day she might be assassinated,' added Lee.
Princess Diana and Dodi Al Fayed were seen together on a boat not long before they died in a car crash. Credit: Getty.
Lee does not believe Diana was murdered, but he does think intelligence agencies may have had a hand in the tragic incident.
He talked about how, before the trip to St. Tropez, one of his guards was doing counter-surveillance in Surrey and saw a former SAS colleague who was now with the Special Reconnaissance Unit working on a construction site.
He said: 'We were generally followed by MI5, but this was the first time we had seen a Special Forces guy. We thought, "They've upped their game".'
'A witness driving a car travelling in front of the Mercedes in Paris on the night of the crash told the inquest that he saw a high-powered motorbike overtake the car just seconds before the crash.'
'Another witness travelling in the opposite direction saw a second motorbike swerve to avoid smoke and wreckage and then carry on out of the tunnel without stopping. The riders of those bikes were never found — and that is no coincidence,' Lee went on to say.
'I believe that security officers following Diana, possibly British or a combined British–French team, may have either inadvertently caused the crash or were in close proximity to the car when it happened.'
'If it were known that MI6 operatives were right by the Mercedes at the critical moment, a lot of people would have blamed them for it, and that would have been a huge scandal.'
Princess Diana and her two sons, Prince William and Prince Harry. Credit: Getty Images.
This revelation from Mr Sansum comes on the heels of an emotional speech given by Prince Harry, Diana's son, in which he paid tribute to his mother.
In July, while speaking to young recipients of the Diana Awards, Prince Harry said that he continues to think of his mother 'every day’.
'There isn't a day during the past two-and-a-half decades where I haven't thought about the mark she left, not only on my brother and me but on all of our lives,' said the prince.
'I see her legacy in all of you. I see her legacy in a Diana Award community that spans multiple generations. I see her legacy every time I meet with families, young people, and children from all corners of the world.'
'And I see my mum's legacy when I look at my own children every single day.'
Prince William, on the other hand, did not attend the ceremony but instead wrote letters to the winners, telling them that his mother would have been 'so proud' of them.
The Diana Awards recognise and celebrate the achievements of young people (ages 9 to 25) who have made significant contributions to the nation's communities.
What are your thoughts, folks? Do you think Mr Sansum could have really saved Princess Diana's life? Let us know in the comments!
Lee, who is now 60 years old, claimed in an interview with The Sun that he believes Princess Diana would still be alive today if he had been riding in the car with her at the time of the accident.
In August 1997, the Princess of Wales, her boyfriend Dodi Fayed, and their driver Henri Paul were killed in a car accident in Paris. Her bodyguard at the time, Trevor Rees-Jones, was badly hurt.
But Mr Sansum, who the princess called 'Rambo', thinks that if he had been in the car, he would have made sure that the couple was wearing their seatbelts, which would have made a life-changing difference.
Lee Sansum, Princess Diana's bodyguard, says she would still be alive if he were in the car with her. Credit: Getty.
'It could have been me in that car,' said the ex-Royal Military Policeman in the interview.
'We drew straws to see who would be accompanying Trevor that weekend. I pulled a match, and it was a long one.'
'When I learned they were not wearing seatbelts in the crash, I understood why they didn't survive. That shouldn't have happened.'
'It was standard practice for the family to wear seatbelts. It was an order sent down from the boss, Dodi's dad Mohamed Fayed. Dodi, in particular, hated wearing seatbelts, and I always insisted on it,' he went on to say.
Lee worked for Dodi's father, Mohamed Al-Fayed, and was assigned to care after the couple while they were staying at the former Harrods boss' villa in St. Tropez in July 1997, where Diana confided in him of her concerns about being killed one day.
'She had been happy on that holiday,' Lee recalled. 'But I had seen her in tears too when she learned of the murder of her friend, the fashion designer Gianni Versace. She confided in me her own fears that she might one day be assassinated.'
He was once asked at the time by the late royal if he believed that the designer's murder outside his home had been committed by a professional killer, and he said, 'Yes, I think it was.'
After that question, Princess Diana said something that the bodyguard described as something that will always stay with him: 'Do you think they'll do that to me?'
According to him, the princess was visibly trembling as she said it, and it was obvious from her tone that she genuinely believed that 'they,' whoever 'they' might be, might pull it off.
'I spent some time reassuring her that no one was going to try to kill her and she was safe with us, but she definitely thought there was a risk that one day she might be assassinated,' added Lee.
Princess Diana and Dodi Al Fayed were seen together on a boat not long before they died in a car crash. Credit: Getty.
Lee does not believe Diana was murdered, but he does think intelligence agencies may have had a hand in the tragic incident.
He talked about how, before the trip to St. Tropez, one of his guards was doing counter-surveillance in Surrey and saw a former SAS colleague who was now with the Special Reconnaissance Unit working on a construction site.
He said: 'We were generally followed by MI5, but this was the first time we had seen a Special Forces guy. We thought, "They've upped their game".'
'A witness driving a car travelling in front of the Mercedes in Paris on the night of the crash told the inquest that he saw a high-powered motorbike overtake the car just seconds before the crash.'
'Another witness travelling in the opposite direction saw a second motorbike swerve to avoid smoke and wreckage and then carry on out of the tunnel without stopping. The riders of those bikes were never found — and that is no coincidence,' Lee went on to say.
'I believe that security officers following Diana, possibly British or a combined British–French team, may have either inadvertently caused the crash or were in close proximity to the car when it happened.'
'If it were known that MI6 operatives were right by the Mercedes at the critical moment, a lot of people would have blamed them for it, and that would have been a huge scandal.'
Princess Diana and her two sons, Prince William and Prince Harry. Credit: Getty Images.
This revelation from Mr Sansum comes on the heels of an emotional speech given by Prince Harry, Diana's son, in which he paid tribute to his mother.
In July, while speaking to young recipients of the Diana Awards, Prince Harry said that he continues to think of his mother 'every day’.
'There isn't a day during the past two-and-a-half decades where I haven't thought about the mark she left, not only on my brother and me but on all of our lives,' said the prince.
'I see her legacy in all of you. I see her legacy in a Diana Award community that spans multiple generations. I see her legacy every time I meet with families, young people, and children from all corners of the world.'
'And I see my mum's legacy when I look at my own children every single day.'
Prince William, on the other hand, did not attend the ceremony but instead wrote letters to the winners, telling them that his mother would have been 'so proud' of them.
The Diana Awards recognise and celebrate the achievements of young people (ages 9 to 25) who have made significant contributions to the nation's communities.
What are your thoughts, folks? Do you think Mr Sansum could have really saved Princess Diana's life? Let us know in the comments!