Diana needed a place to take her sons on a vacation, and they were at an age where they wanted action and fun. Prince Charles had many royal residences where he could bring Prince William and Prince Harry, so they enjoyed being outdoors and riding horses (Diana didn’t), swimming, fishing, hiking and shooting. How could Diana compete with that while keeping the boys away from the public?
William and Harry bristled at the paparazzi that constantly followed their
mother around, so Diana was searching for a relatively private place to take
her boys. When Mohamed Al-Fayed invited Diana to bring her sons aboard the
Jonikal for some fun in the waters off St. Tropez, Diana’s prayers were
answered. William and Harry jet-skied, dove off the back of the yacht and
swam while they enjoyed their holiday with their mom.
When it was
time for the two princes to head to Scotland for the rest of their summer
break, Diana decided to remain behind with Mohamed’s son, Dodi, who lavished
attention and gifts on the princess. Diana had always needed quite a lot of
attention, time, and affection from her loves; and she received this and
more from Dodi. Dodi was quite taken with Diana, plus he adored the media
attention being with Diana brought him.
Diana, contrary to public belief, wasn’t in love with Dodi, according to the people closest to her at that time. Those who have spoken about her relationship with Dodi say the Princess of Wales was actually trying to make Hasnat Khan jealous. Hasnat had broken off their relationship recently, and the princess was wounded by that. Diana loved the attention and the pampering Dodi provided, and she wasn’t in a hurry to head home to Kensington Palace, where she thought she was being bugged and followed by the royal family.
Dodi was engaged at the time to an American actress, Kelly Fisher, but he
broke off their engagement over the phone, because he fell in love with
Diana right from the start. Dodi lavished Di with roses, jewelry (including
a ring bought days before their trip ended), a luxurious stay at the Ritz in
Paris, and some freedom from the paps who couldn’t always manage to take
photos of the loved-up pair.
Yes, Diana hoped Hasnat Khan would
see the photos and take Diana back, and Hasnat did call Diana on the night
she died. He had a feeling something was terribly wrong, so Khan called to
check up on the princess, but his call went straight to voice mail. Diana
liked middle-eastern men, and Dodi ticked off all of Diana’s boxes when it
came to romance. Dodi was trying to woo the princess, and it looked like
they were a couple in love.
Looks can be deceiving, and we now
know Diana’s heart wasn’t ready to accept Dodi. In my opinion, I don’t think
the couple would have lasted. They both required ample amounts of adoration,
and neither could give enough in the long run to the other. They were both
needy people looking for a person to lavish attention and devotion on them,
and for a few weeks in the summer of 1997, Dodi and Diana certainly made a
splash in all the news around the world.
