‘The Crown’: Were Diana and Dodi Fayed really engaged?

The Crown has dropped on Netflix, with the first half of the series focusing on the final weeks of Diana, Princess of Wales, before her death in August 1997. Diana died in an automobile accident in Paris, , alongside her boyfriend Dodi Fayed, and their driver, Henri Paul. As the couple both perished in the same accident, their relationship has been open to several conspiracy theories.

In the days before the accident, Dodi and Diana were subject to much press speculation about their relationship, and were famously photographed being affectionate on a yacht. The photographs prompted scandal over Dodi’s fiancé, American model Kelly Fisher, and the potential reactions of the Royal Family over an Egyptian Muslim being connected to their family – a speculation that was often racist and Islamophobic in nature.

The same speculation alleged in multiple press outlets that a marriage between Dodi and Diana was imminent, and the son of billionaire businessman Mohamed Al-Fayed went from being betrothed from Fisher to the Princess in a matter of days. Al-Fayed, after his son’s death, continuously alleged this rumor (and included an engagement ring he claimed his son had purchased just before he died in the Harrods store memorial), and also claimed that Diana was pregnant at the time of the accident.

Al-Fayed even alleged that the Royal Family played a role in orchestrating the accident, in order to prevent a royal (as Diana still held the Princess of Wales title) from marrying a Muslim and potentially converting to Islam. The businessman’s accusations were even subject to a jury’s verdict, as part of an inquest into the accident by the British Government. This theory has gained ground with many critics of the British Royal Family and their treatment of Princess Diana, and is still pretty popular as conspiracy theories go, even 26 years later.

Were Diana and Dodi Fayed really engaged at the time of their deaths?

We cannot know for sure, as neither Dodi nor Diana are around to set the facts straight about their relationship. However, according to the verdict of the inquest jury in 2008, there was no sufficient evidence to the idea that Diana was pregnant or engaged at the time of her death. Al-Fayed claimed he accepted the ruling, but went on to release a documentary about the theory, titled Unlawful Killing, in 2011. No other party close to Diana or Dodi have made such claims, and the fact that Dodi had been engaged just prior to his untimely death suggests otherwise.

The theory, however, was depicted in The Crown‘s final episodes covering the late Princess’ life. The semi-autobiographical series presents Dodi proposing to Diana, although she rejects the proposal, saying it is much too soon to get engaged. While the series does suggest a proposal may have happened, it comes to the same conclusion – that Diana and Dodi were never engaged.