Editing Mohamed Al-Fayed (section)

==== Background and relationship with Princess Diana ====
[[Lady Diana Spencer]] married [[Charles III|Charles]], Prince of Wales, then [[heir apparent]] to the [[British throne]] in 1981, becoming [[Princess of Wales]]. She was an international celebrity and a frequent visitor to Harrods in the 1980s. Al-Fayed and Dodi first met Diana and Charles in July 1986 when they were introduced at a [[polo]] tournament sponsored by Harrods.<ref name = HighBeam1>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1997/08/31/dianas-life-on-display-sometimes-storybook-sometimes-soap-opera/4398f8d1-48d0-42e5-b815-05be80c240f7/ |title=Diana's Life on Display: Sometimes Storybook, Sometimes Soap Opera |first=David |last=van Drehle |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=31 August 1997 |access-date=11 October 2013}}</ref>

Diana and Charles divorced in 1996. She was hosted by Al-Fayed in the [[south of France]] in mid-1997, with her sons, Princes [[William, Prince of Wales|William]] and [[Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex|Harry]].<ref name = HighBeam2>{{cite news |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-13112834.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924184420/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-13112834.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=24 September 2015 |title=Coroner at Diana inquest dismisses all the conspiracy theories over fatal car crash Mohamed al-Fayed expresses surprise over the tone and content of remarks he says should be left to the jury to consider |first=Stephen |last=McGinty |newspaper=The Scotsman |date=3 October 2007 |access-date=11 October 2013}}</ref> For the holiday, Fayed bought a 195&nbsp;ft yacht, the ''[[Sokar (yacht)|Jonikal]]'' (later renamed the ''Sokar'').<ref name="Vanity Fair 2008-05">{{cite magazine |date=19 May 2010 |url=http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2008/05/dunne200805 |title=Two Ladies, Two Yachts, and a Billionaire |magazine=[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]] |location=New York |first=Dominick |last=Dunne |access-date=11 October 2013 |author-link=Dominick Dunne |archive-date=13 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131013012757/http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2008/05/dunne200805 |url-status=live }}</ref> Dodi and Diana later began a private cruise on the ''Jonikal'' and paparazzi photographs of the couple in an embrace were published. Diana's friend, the journalist Richard Kay, confirmed that Diana was involved in "her first serious romance" since her divorce.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-4409051.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924194339/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-4409051.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=24 September 2015 |title=Di and Dodi's short summer |newspaper=Chicago Sun-Times|date=7 September 1997|access-date=11 October 2013}}</ref>

Dodi and Diana went on a second private cruise on the ''Jonikal'' in the third week of August, and returned from [[Sardinia]] to Paris on 30 August. Later that day, the couple privately dined at the Ritz, after the behaviour of the press caused them to cancel a restaurant reservation. They planned to spend the night at Dodi's apartment near the [[Arc de Triomphe]].<ref name="bbc-final">{{Cite news |date=14 December 2006 |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/6219252.stm |title=Diana and Dodi: Their final hours |work=[[BBC News]] |access-date=13 November 2022 |archive-date=3 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240403043705/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/6219252.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> In an attempt to deceive the [[paparazzi]], a decoy car left the front of the hotel, while Diana and Dodi departed from the rear of the hotel in a Mercedes-Benz S280 driven by concierge Henri Paul.<ref name="bbc-final"/> Five minutes later, the car crashed in the [[Pont de l'Alma]] tunnel. Dodi and Paul were killed; Diana died later in hospital. British bodyguard [[Trevor Rees-Jones (bodyguard)|Trevor Rees-Jones]], who sustained a serious head injury, was the sole survivor of the crash. Fayed arrived in Paris a day later and viewed Dodi's body, which was returned to the United Kingdom for an [[Islamic funeral]].<ref name="bbc-final"/><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-64636402.html |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://archive.today/20131013221726/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-64636402.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=13 October 2013|title=Fayed Is Buried After Quiet Islamic Tribute |newspaper=Seattle Post-Intelligencer |date=1 September 1997 |access-date=11 October 2013}}</ref>