Princess Diana investigator calls late royals death a 'terrible, tragic accident' in first TV interview

We were all shocked 25 years ago when we heard of Princess Diana's death - now the head investigator, who handled the late royals car crash, at the time, has spoken about the accident - in his first ever TV interview. 

• Princess Diana died 25 years ago this year -  on 31st August 1997, during a Paris car crash
• Senior police officer David Douglas spoke about the investigation on Good Morning Britain on Friday morning
• In other royal news, Prince Harry makes surprise trip to Africa before Europe tour with Meghan Markle

25 years after Princess Diana's death, with many conspiracy theories later, as well as numerous films and documentaries, including HBO's recent 'compulsively watchable' new Diana documentary, The Princess, we're still talking about the late royal.

However, senior police officer David Douglas, who was part of the investigation into her death, has spoken for the first time, on TV, about the 'tragic accident'.

Princess Diana died in a car crash in Paris tunnel Pont de l'Alma, along with her partner at the time Dodi Fayed, and her driver Henri Paul. Douglas was part of Operation Paget, the police operation which looked at the different conspiracies around her death.

Both Prince Harry and Prince William have spoken out about how their late mother's death has affected them - with William recalling dark days after she passed away. However, Douglas says he believes her death was just an accident.

Talking on Good Morning Britain he said, "It's my absolute total belief it was a terrible, tragic accident in which three people lost their lives and one other person had their life turned upside down."

"When you look at most incidents, accidents, you find there's a chain of events, and if any one of those chain of events had been different, it might not have led to that happening," Douglas said. "For example, if they'd been wearing seatbelts, our experts tell us it was probably an 80% chance that they would have survived the accident."

The police officer also spoke about interviewing Prince Charles, after it was revealed that Princess Diana wrote a note to her butler in 1995 which said, 'My husband is planning 'an accident' in my car, brake failure and serious head injury.'

However, he denied there was anything in the note, saying, "So it's remarkable… but in actual fact, it was also unremarkable because it was a straightforward witness statement from someone who happened to be the Prince of Wales."

Opening up about finding out about Princess Diana's tragic and sudden death during an emotional speech at the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, last year, Prince William, who 'deliberately' broke this royal rule said, "Scotland is a source of some of my happiest memories but also my saddest. 

"I was in Balmoral when I was told that my mother had died. Still in shock, I found sanctuary in the service at Crathie Kirk that very morning and in the dark days of grief that followed I found comfort and solace in the Scottish outdoors.

“As a result, the connection I feel to Scotland will forever run deep."