Mohamed al -Fayed says UK royals wanted to 'get rid' of Diana

Luxury storeowner Mohamed al-Fayed accused the British royal family yesterday of wanting to "get rid" of Princess Diana, who died in a 1997 Paris car crash along with his son.

Giving evidence at an inquest into Dodi's and Diana's death, the owner of London's Harrods store, Mr Fayed directed accusations at the princess's former husband Prince Charles, and at her former father-in-law and husband to the Queen, Prince Philip.

"(Princess Diana) told me personally both before and during the holiday we shared in July 1997 of her fears," Mr Fayed said in a written statement to the court. "She told me that she knew Philip and Prince Charles wanted to get rid of her."

Diana, 36, Dodi, 42, and driver Henri Paul, a Fayed employee, were killed when their Mercedes limousine crashed in a road tunnel in August 1997 as they sped away from the Ritz Hotel in Paris with paparazzi in hot pursuit.

Under British law, an inquest is needed to determine the cause of death when someone dies unnaturally. French and British police investigations both concluded the deaths were tragic accidents caused by their speeding chauffeur who was found to be drunk.

Both police probes rejected Mr Fayed's conspiracy theories.

But he insisted in his statement that French and British security and intelligence services had colluded in the killing of his son and Diana, and in a subsequent cover-up.

"French intelligence helped the British intelligence to execute their murder," he said. "Princess Diana told me she had proof her life was in danger."

Mr Fayed has said in the past he believes Diana's killing was ordered because the royal family did not want the mother of the future king having a child with his son.

He told the inquest yesterday that Diana had confided in him that she was pregnant, and that she and his son were about to announce their engagement.

"Diana told me on the telephone she was pregnant. I am the only person they told. They told me they were engaged and would announce their engagement on Monday morning (three days after the crash)."

Mr Fayed, whose claims have been dismissed by inquiries and contradicted by many other witnesses at the inquest, also alleges that Diana's body was embalmed to cover up evidence she was expecting a baby.

Harrod's owner Mohamed al-Fayed

Early life

He was born on January 27, 1933, in Alexandria, where he founded his own company in 1956. From the 1960s he lived primarily in the UK.

Among the vast holdings he has acquired are London's famous Harrods department store, the magazine Punch, and the Parisian villa of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.

Business dealings

In a rancorous takeover in 1985, he beat mining giant Lonrho to purchase the House of Fraser, the holding company controlling Harrods.

Spurred on by Lonrho's Tiny Rowland, the government accused al-Fayed of having misrepresented his ability to finance the takeover.

Though he proved his solvency, his wealth continued to be suspect in some quarters, and his name did not appear on The Sunday Times annual list of the wealthiest people in Britain until 1997.

His relationship with the establishment was further strained by his involvement in the "cash-for-questions" scandal that arose in 1994, after he said he had paid politicians to table parliamentary questions on his behalf.

The Diana inquest

Two previous investigations by both British and French police ruled that the high-speed crash which killed Diana and Dodi al Fayed was an accident caused by drunken chauffeur Henri Paul, who also died in the crash.

Mr Al-Fayed however says Philip ordered their deaths because the royal family did not want the mother of the future king to have a child with his son.

Mr Al-Fayed alleges that Robert Fellowes, who is married to Diana's sister Jane, was in Paris running the British embassy communications centre and sending messages to the secret services on the night Diana died.

Mr Fellowes says he was in Norfolk at the time.