Sole survivor of crash that killed Princess Diana pictured for first time in five years – still bearing the scars
THE sole survivor of the car crash that killed Princess Diana has been pictured for the first time in five years — still bearing the scars.
Di’s bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones, 54, was spotted in his BMW waiting for his family as they shopped in Morrisons.
The marks on his face are a reminder of the crash which also claimed the lives of Di’s lover Dodi Al Fayed and chauffeur Henri Paul on August 31, 1997.
The Sun on Sunday’s world exclusive pictures show the ex-bodyguard going about his quiet life in Shropshire.
It comes as a new Channel 4 documentary examines the event of that fateful night in Paris 25 years ago.
Former police chiefs talk about their interview with Prince Charles as part of a three-year investigation.
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One revealed that Charles was “flabbergasted” by Diana’s claims that he wanted her dead
Rees-Jones was in a coma for ten days, broke every bone in his face and had brain injuries, with memory loss.
Surgeons reconstructed his face from an old photo and used 150 titanium parts to piece him back together.
After a month in hospital, he returned to Britain.
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At the time he was only able to communicate by whispering and writing down answers.
He now lives with his wife and two children in a large detached house, set in several acres of land.
They bought the ultra-secluded property set behind large gates in 2018.
Since recovering, Trevor has worked abroad for long periods.
He is said to have earned a fortune as security director for oil services giant Halliburton, based in Houston, Texas, who were heavily involved with the Iraq war.
He returned to his home county of Shropshire five years ago and has since landed himself a role as head of security for AstraZeneca, the pharmaceutical giant behind one of the Covid-19 vaccines.
On his trip to the supermarket, he stayed in the car while his family and dog went into the store.
A source said: “Trevor is living a peaceful life. The enormity of what happened that night is still with him and the scars are visible.”
The source added: “His life is quiet and uneventful now. He certainly doesn’t court publicity or speak much about it.
“He’s tried to move on and get on with his life.”
He had profound amnesia for months.
Dr Maurice Lipsedge, an expert psychiatrist commissioned by an inquiry into the death, said he had “very limited recall” of what happened immediately before and after and this was unlikely to ever change.
Meanwhile, Lord John Stevens, a former head of Scotland Yard, and ex-senior detective David Douglas opened up about the secret unprecedented interview they had to conduct at St James’s Palace during the probe into 36-year-old Diana’s death.
It comes after the BBC had to pay damages to the former nanny of Prince William and Prince Harry following the investigation into how Martin Bashir secured his world-famous interview with the princess.
The journalist made “false and malicious” allegations that Tiggy Legge-Bourke, now Alexandra Pettifer, had an affair with Charles, the High Court heard on Thursday.
The BBC gave her a public apology.
Speaking in an explosive new docu-series Investigating Diana: Death in Paris — beginning on Channel 4 tonight at 9pm and marking 25 years since her death — Lord Stevens insists Charles was “only too willing to cooperate.”
Profound amnesia
The Princess had written a letter in 1995 to her former butler Paul Burrell predicting she would die through ‘brake failure and serious head injury’ so Charles could marry Tiggy.
Douglas said Charles could not understand why any of it was written and added: “He was as flabbergasted as anybody else.”
Former police chief Lord Stevens revealed Charles was “charming” during his investigation.
He added “Princess Diana had stated that she was going to be murdered by her husband.
“We had to see if there was any substance to that and we had to have his reply to it.
“I’m sure nothing like that had ever happened before so that was unprecedented.”
It has since been revealed Bashir may have exploited her vulnerability and made her paranoid about her security around the time she wrote it.
Dodi’s father, former Harrods owner Mohammed Al Fayed, did not respond to requests for interview by the filmmakers.
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A 2008 inquest returned a narrative verdict of “unlawful killing [due to the] grossly negligent driving of the following vehicles and of the Mercedes”.
The inquest jury also specified Paul’s drink driving and the lack of wearing of seatbelts.