Former French police chief Martine Monteil opens up about Princess Diana’s deadly crash. This is what she said

Martine Monteil, the chief of Brigade Criminelle, was the first to arrive at the crash scene in the Pont de l’Alma tunnel, which claimed the lives of Princess Diana, her partner Dodi Fayed and Henri Paul, the driver.

She recalled how ‘obsessed’ she was with sourcing evidence, including the pearls, to find out what happened on August 31, 1997 in the tunnel in Paris.

The testimony of the Brigade Criminelle chief is featured in ‘Investigating Diana: Death in Paris'. It’s a four-part documentary series where the testimony is part of the first episode. It was aired on Channel 4 last Sunday at 9 pm.


The documentary will also feature interviews with detectives and emergency response teams, who worked to find answers.

Monteil recalled how they discovered ‘signs of braking,’ ‘pieces of red light’ that belonged to another car and ‘traces of paint on the car side when her team began the investigation after reaching the crash scene.



She also related the ‘tiny pearls’ she discovered, which belonged to Princess Diana.

In the quest to uncover the truth, French police tried to join clues together related to the crash, including the car or motorcycles that had crossed paths, by taking paparazzi into custody and reconstructing the routes.

Eric Gigou, a Brigade Crminelle officer, described how they were in a ‘race against time to find out the truth because of the volatile human memory, which fades with time.

Apart from exploring ‘countless’ conspiratory theories and the handling of a note outlining Princess Diana’s fears of being killed in a staged car accident by the Scotland Yard, it’ll also include interviews with the Metropolitan Police.

Sergeant Xavier Gourmelon, while speaking last year, related how moments after the car crash, the Princess said, ‘Oh my God, what’s happened?’

A forensic pathologist, who examined Diana’s case, said the crash injuries were tiny but in the wrong place.

Last week, another documentary was released that investigated Prince Diana’s complex relationship with the media and her friendship with Prince Charles. This documentary is entirely made up of archive footage of Diana. It’s available on streaming services now and Sky Documentaries.