Diana’s bodyguard is now head of safety at AstraZeneca after constructing a profitable new life for himself 1 / 4 of a century after he was left the only survivor of a crash that killed the princess and her lover, Dodi Al-Fayed.
Trevor Rees-Jones, 54, who has been noticed for the primary time in 5 years on a household buying journey, lives along with his spouse, Ann, a instructor, two kids and their canine in a £500,000 indifferent home in Oswestry, Shropshire that he purchased 4 years in the past.
The marks that stay on his face are reminders of the automobile crash on August 31, 1997, which additionally killed Al-Fayed’s chauffeur, Henri Paul.
Mr Rees-Jones suffered extreme head and chest accidents, spent ten days in a coma, and had his face reconstructed with 150 titanium components by surgeons working off an previous photograph of him.
After the incident the twice-married former Paratrooper suffered ‘profound’ amnesia and will solely talk by whispering and writing issues down.
Astonishingly, he was again working for Mohammed Al-Fayed six months after the crash, earlier than ultimately resigning out of a want to ‘transfer on’.
He returned to his residence county of Shropshire and for some time labored in an area sports activities store.
After briefly working in a safety position for the United Nations he earned a ‘fortune’ working for oil providers big Halliburton, which included serving because the Texan agency’s head of safety for Iraq through the Iraq Struggle.
He got here again to to Shropshire 5 years in the past earlier than beginning his present job as international head of safety at AstraZeneca, the agency behind the Oxford College Covid vaccine.
His LinkedIn entry describes him as being primarily based in Shrewsbury and having expertise in worldwide operations.
A supply instructed The Solar: ‘His life is quiet and uneventful now. He actually doesn’t courtroom publicity or communicate a lot about it. He’s tried to maneuver on and get on along with his life.’
Mr Rees-Jones was the front-seat passenger within the Mercedes through the August 1997 crash in Paris.
Then 29, he broke each bone in his face and suffered severe chest accidents. Though his face was fully flattened, an airbag saved his life.
Regardless of spending a month in hospital and being initially unable to talk, inside a 12 months he was again taking part in rugby – as a French surgeon had promised – as he recalled in his biography.
After the crash, Mr Rees-Jones stated he had just about no recollection of what had occurred and the very last thing he remembered was getting right into a ready Mercedes exterior the Paris Ritz.
He additionally remembered that the Princess had referred to as out Dodi Fayed’s identify, {that a} white Fiat Uno had been in pursuit and that the Fayed-employed driver of the deadly automobile, Henri Paul, had not been visibly drunk.
Trevor Rees-Jones, 54, was noticed in his BMW as he waited for his household whereas they shopped at a Morrisons in Shropshire
Mr Rees-Jones, 54, was the only survivor of the crash. He’s seen within the automobile on the night time. After the incident he suffered ‘profound’ amnesia and will solely talk by whispering and writing issues down
Mr Rees-Jones (center, within the blue shirt) guarding Diana throughout a vacation in Saint Tropez, within the south of France, in 1997 – the identical 12 months because the deadly crash
Mr Rees-Jones remarried on February 15, 2003, to Ann Scott, a instructor at Belvidere College, Shrewsbury. He was beforehand married to Sue Jones, who he met at college in Oswestry
‘I wished to know what occurred,’ he stated in an interview shortly earlier than his guide, The Bodyguard’s Story, was revealed in 2000: ‘I wished to know what occurred.’
Addressing wild conspiracy theories that he was masking up a plot to kill Diana by the UK safety providers, he stated: ‘I’m the one one who can inform individuals for actual, and I can’t keep in mind.
‘It will likely be really easy if I do keep in mind. I can inform individuals and all this c**p will end.’
Mr Rees-Jones returned to work for Mohammed Al-Fayed for months following the accident earlier than resigning.
In an announcement, he stated he wished to ‘transfer on’ along with his life and can be leaving Mr Al-Fayed’s service ‘with remorse’.
In response, the Egyptian tycoon stated: ‘I perceive that Trevor should do every thing doable with a view to make a full restoration and finally to place the tragic occasions of final August behind him.’
For his half, Mr Rees-Jones insisted he felt no anger in the direction of Mr Al-Fayed regardless of his promotion of conspiracy theories in regards to the accident.
After leaving Harrods, Mr Rees-Jones went to America to work for Halliburton. His position overlapped with the Iraq Struggle, throughout which era he was concerned in overseeing the agency’s safety within the nation.
One buddy stated: ‘He had an essential job and so far as I do know they gave him a promotion which meant all of them shifting to America.
‘He has carried out very well for himself and nobody would begrudge him that.’
He has since returned to Shropshire, the place he grew up in Oswestry because the son of British Military surgeon Colin Rees and Gill, a nurse. He has an older brother, Gareth, and youthful brother, John.
In 1987, he enlisted within the 1st Battalion of the Parachute Regiment, served one tour of obligation in Northern Eire and was awarded the Basic Service Medal.
On August 12, 1995, he married his first spouse, Sue Jones, in Oswestry, the place the couple had met at Fitzalan College. He filed for divorce two years later.
He remarried on February 15, 2003, to Ann Scott, a instructor at Belvidere College, Shrewsbury.
In a 2000 interview with the Irish Instances, Mr Rees-Jones stated he had no private emotions about Diana, past describing her as ‘a lady you possibly can take down the pub, and from me, that’s a reasonably excessive praise’.
He additionally – appropriately – accepted no blame for her loss of life, though he stated he nonetheless feels accountable that it occurred ‘on my shift’.
‘I simply contemplate it as an avoidable accident,’ he stated. ‘{That a} mistake was made by Henri Paul to get behind the wheel of the automobile when he knew that he had been consuming.
‘Not declaring both to us or to Dodi that he wasn’t match to drive. That was the error. I’ve accepted the discovering. It was a easy drink-driving accident attributable to velocity. And that’s what it was.’
Requested he returned to work inside six months of the crash, he stated it was for the camaraderie of ‘the lads’.
A French detective instructed Channel 4 how she discovered items from the wrecked automobile, proof of braking and traces of paint
The Princess of Wales is pictured on the Pink Cross headquarters in Washington DC in June 1997
It comes as a brand new documentary marking the twenty fifth anniversary of the fateful night time heard testimony from investigators and raised questions on why a observe detailing Diana’s fears that she can be killed in a automobile accident was stored locked away for years.
The programme heard from French detective Martine Monteil, a former head of the elite Brigade Criminelle police unit, who was on the scene within the Pont de l’Alma tunnel shortly after the crash.
She recalled how she discovered items from the wrecked automobile, proof of braking and traces of paint on the car Diana had been inside.
The officer’s testimony is featured in episode one in all Investigating Diana: Demise In Paris, which started final night time on Channel 4.
‘We began to search out these little clues,’ Monteil stated of the preliminary crash scene, in an unique clip of the interview offered to Mail On-line.
‘We noticed indicators of braking. Items of purple gentle from one other automobile. On the aspect of the automobile had been traces of paint. I used to be obsessive about discovering issues as a result of it’s essential.’
Monteil added: ‘I even discovered some tiny pearls. They belonged to the Princess.’
The four-part raises recent questions over why a observe detailing the princess’s fears that she can be killed in a automobile accident was stored locked in a protected by Scotland Yard for years.
Diana had referred to as a gathering along with her private lawyer Lord Mishcon in October 1995 and instructed him her issues {that a} crash can be staged and made to seem like an accident.
He made a contemporaneous observe of the assembly, which he handed to the Met Police after the crash. It was solely handed over to the inquest into Diana’s loss of life in 2003 after her former butler Paul Burrell produced an identical observe.
Barrister Michael Mansfield stated the choice to sit down on the so-called ‘Mishcon observe’ ‘demonstrated a severe reluctance to have this correctly investigated from the start’.
Mr Mansfield, who represented Fayed’s father Mohamed Fayed, instructed the programme: ‘The observe is essential as a result of it’s equal to someone’s premonition.
‘In the event you had been a police officer investigating it, you’d wish to hand the account over to the French. They didn’t do this.
‘They stick it within the protected they usually don’t reveal it. They sat on it for years to guard a part of the institution, specifically the Royal Household.
‘What it demonstrates is severe reluctance to have this correctly investigated from the start.’
Brigade Criminelle chief Martine Monteil (proper), who was first to reach on the scene, recalled how they discovered ‘tiny pearls’ (left)
The wreckage of Princess Diana’s automobile is lifted on a truck within the Alma tunnel of Paris on August 31, 1997
Diana met along with her lawyer at Kensington Palace. Mr Mansfield stated: ‘It appears to me what she wished to do was go away a marker down with someone linked with the authorized career.’
Former Met chief Lord Stevens of Kirkwhelpington, who headed Operation Paget – which investigated all 104 allegations and conspiracy theories about Diana’s loss of life – stated he was first made conscious of the observe’s existence when he turned commissioner in 2000, taking on from Sir Paul Condon.
On the choice to place it in a protected and never reveal it, Lord Stevens added: ‘That was a choice made by Paul Condon – he mentioned it with Lord Mishcon and he didn’t assume there was something in that.’
The documentary collection, which started final night time, additionally reveals that police contacted Prince Philip after former Harrods boss Mr Fayed made accusations that he was concerned in Diana’s loss of life.
Officers discovered ‘items of purple gentle from one other automobile’ on the scene of the crash. The inquest into Diana’s loss of life dominated in 2008 that she was ‘unlawfully killed’, partly due to the ‘gross negligence’ of the driving force
Investigators discovered traces of paint from one other car on the aspect of the automobile – as proven by this footage from final night time’s documentary
Lord Stevens stated: ‘The allegations about Prince Philip weren’t particular… We contacted him to say do you wish to reply to something that has been stated? However he stated he didn’t have something so as to add.’
Operation Paget dominated that Diana’s loss of life was a ‘tragic accident’. Lord Stevens concluded there was ‘no proof’ of a homicide conspiracy or a cover-up by MI6.
The inquest into Diana’s loss of life dominated in 2008 that she was ‘unlawfully killed’, partly due to the ‘gross negligence’ of the driving force.
Further reporting by Claire Joseph, Claudia Joseph and Sue Reid.
Earl Charles Spencer, the youthful brother of Princess Diana, stands with Prince William, Prince Harry, and Prince Charles at Princess Diana’s funeral on September 6, 1997
‘Couldn’t Channel 4 afford an English voiceover?’ Viewers slam Princess Diana documentary for placing ‘an excessive amount of in French’ – then making the subtitles so small they’re unimaginable to learn
By Jessica Taylor for MailOnline
Viewers who tuned in to observe the primary episode of Investigating Diana have expressed their annoyance over ‘miniscule’ subtitles – on condition that a lot of the programme was in French.
The primary episode of Investigating Diana: Demise in Paris aired at 9pm on Sunday night time on Channel 4.
It explored the tragic loss of life of the Princess of Wales and the joint investigation between British and French authorities that adopted.
The primary episode of Investigating Diana interviewed French investigators together with Martine Monteil, who was the pinnacle of the Brigade Criminelle on the time of the accident
Viewers of the documentary, which examines conspiracy theories surrounding Diana’s loss of life and follows how the police approached the investigation, claimed they struggled to learn the subtitles
The documentary interviewed the officers tasked with investigating Diana’s loss of life – lots of whom solely communicate French.
Nevertheless, whereas subtitles have been added to the underside of the display, viewers complained they struggled to learn what was being stated.
One individual tweeted a photograph of somebody straining to learn a tiny piece of paper and stated: ‘The microscopic subtitles are actually disturbing me.’
One other Twitter consumer made an identical joke and posted a photograph of a lady squinting as she appeared to make use of mammoth effort to check out one thing.
They wrote: ‘Attempting to learn the subtitles.’
One individual steered the subtitles themselves flashed up on the display too shortly and will have lingered for longer.
One viewer stated: ‘I do know Princess Diana died in France, however with a lot of Investigating Diana being in French, with English subtitles, I actually can’t be a****.’
They wrote: ‘Will may have allowed for the subtitles to be bigger and on-screen for just a bit bit longer.’
Nevertheless, some viewers who didn’t battle with subtitles praised the documentary for its interviews, with one saying it was ‘splendidly detailed’.
The documentary interviewed Martine Monteil, head of the Brigade Criminelle on the time of the accident.
She stated: ‘This could be a site visitors accident however it couldn’t be handled as a standard accident.’
Twitter customers had been fast to level out a problem with the subtitles on the programme as they struggled to learn the subtitles
Ms Monteil later revealed her ‘very fantastic’ investigation on the web site of the crash led her to recuperate a number of key items of proof.
She recalled: ‘We began to search out these little clues. We noticed indicators of braking.
‘Items of purple gentle from one other automobile. On the aspect of the automobile had been traces of paint.’
She added: ‘I even discovered some tiny pearls. They belonged to The Princess.’
The movie crew additionally interviewed a paparazzo who was following the automobile Diana was travelling in on the night time she died.
Described as ‘each suspects and witnesses’ by investigator Eric Gigou, he described taking a number of paparazzi into custody.
Photographer Jacques Langevin instructed the programme: ‘Whether or not photographers chased the automobile or not, that’s not what triggered the accident. It’s not true.’
Princes William and Harry didn’t study key particulars of how their mom died for nearly a decade, Channel 4 documentary claims
By Claudia Joseph for the Mail on Sunday
Princes William and Harry didn’t study key particulars of how their mom died for nearly a decade, the Channel 4 documentary claimed.
Former Scotland Yard chief Lord Stevens, whose investigation into her loss of life types the premise of the programme, revealed that the 2 princes had solely ‘restricted data’ of the 1997 accident in Paris.
9 years later, in December 2006, Lord Stevens was invited to Kensington Palace to transient the William and Harry about his report’s detailed findings forward of publication.
It was, he stated, a ‘tough session for them’, which lasted some 90 minutes. He fielded ‘very pertinent questions’ from the Duke of Cambridge, then 24, and Duke of Sussex, 22.
‘I used to be in possession of the info of what had taken place, from the start of the issue exterior the Ritz with the automobile, to the loss of life and bringing again the physique,’ Lord Stevens instructed The Mail on Sunday.
‘I went in and had an hour, an hour and a half, with them, giving them the small print of what came about. Over half the time, I used to be answering their questions.
Former Scotland Yard chief Lord Stevens, whose investigation into her loss of life types the premise of the programme, revealed that the 2 princes had solely ‘restricted data’ of the 1997 accident in Paris (Pictured: William, Diana and Harry at a the Heads of State VE Remembrance Service in Hyde Park in 1995)
‘I sat reverse them they usually sat collectively on the sofa. I do know they believed me.
‘Typically, they wished to know the circumstances of the loss of life, what had occurred to their mom, in each facet.
‘Among the questions had been intimately – which I answered, as a result of they hadn’t been instructed of the circumstances.
‘I feel that was an essential factor to do, for them – and I feel they appreciated that. It was fairly an emotional session.’
‘It was so intense, to be completely sincere, I don’t assume any of us wished a espresso or any drink. That they had very pertinent questions on what occurred to their mom and I used to be there to reply these questions.’
Lord Stevens tells the documentary he’d been in contact with Prince William as a part of his preliminary fact-finding stage of his inquiry,.
‘We exchanged correspondence to inquire about what William knew about his mom and her habits beforehand,’ he stated, ‘and whether or not she stated something about getting married to Dodi, which he didn’t find out about in any respect.’
Lord Stevens additionally reveals that neither of the princes believed any of the allegations made by Mohammed Al Fayed, father of Dodi, who additionally died within the crash, on August 31, 1997.
Through the years after the accident, the previous Harrods proprietor had supplied a litany of untamed theories and barely credible accusations, not least that the princess had been pregnant on the time of her loss of life and that key members of the royal household had been in some way concerned in an extravagant homicide plot.
The next report discovered that every one conspiracy theories – some 104 in complete – had been solely with out basis.
Previous to the report’s publication, Lord Stevens had tried to transient Al Fayed on its contents. However, regardless of having had weekly conferences through the three-year investigation, the Egyptian-born businessman turned him away.
‘I went right down to Harrods, and he refused to see me,’ he stated. ‘We gave him the outcomes of the report by his authorized workforce, and he refused to see me.’
Within the documentary, Lord Stevens additionally particulars how he interviewed Prince Charles at St James’s Palace a few observe written by Diana – and left within the pantry of Kensington Palace for her butler, Paul Burrell, to search out.
In it, she predicted that she would die by ‘brake failure and severe head harm’.
It was later steered that disgraced BBC journalist Martin Bashir – who used bogus papers to con the princess into granting him an interview for Panorama, in 1995 – had exacerbated her sense of paranoia on the time the observe was written.
‘The allegation needed to be investigated,’ Lord Stevens tells the documentary, ‘whether or not it’s the longer term King of England or anybody else. It’s a must to go there. Nobody is above the regulation.
‘I wasn’t fearful of the Institution; the choice was made to see Prince Charles due to the Burrell letter and the allegations made in that letter.
‘Princess Diana had acknowledged that she was going to be murdered by her husband. We needed to see if there was any substance to that, and we needed to have his reply to it.
‘I’m positive nothing like that had ever occurred earlier than, in order that was unprecedented. He didn’t thoughts being concerned in any manner form or kind and that was famous.’
