Diana shown leaving Ritz
Princess Diana shown leaving Ritz in Paris for final time
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Thursday, 11, Oct 2007 06:10
Dramatic images showing Princess Diana beginning a car journey she would never complete have been shown to jurors at the inquest into her death.
The pictures, taken by photographer Jacques Langevin, show the princess leaving the Ritz Hotel in Paris as she shields her eyes from the gaze of the paparazzi.
Earlier, people who witnessed the crash that claimed the Princess of Wales' life described how paparazzi continued to take photographs in the aftermath of the accident.
Mr Antonio Lopes Borges and his girlfriend Ms Ana Simao told the inquest into the crash that photographers were leaning close to the vehicle after it struck the 13th pillar in the Pont de l'Alma tunnel in Paris.
Princess Diana and Dodi al-Fayed both died as a result of the collision, which occurred ten years ago on August 31st.
Ms Simao said other people at the scene following the accident told her that Princess Diana was in the car and that she was talking.
"I remember that despite the presence of the emergency services, the photographers were still taking photographs as I could see their flashes," she told the inquest.
"As for the photographers I am not sure [if I could recognise them] as they had their cameras in front of their faces. However, one of them was tall as he managed to lean well over the car in order to take his photographs."
Ms Simao added that there were young people trying to give assistance to the occupants of the car who were shouting at the photographers.
Her boyfriend said he saw a photographer "in the tunnel to the left of the crashed car - about one metre away and taking photographs of this vehicle".
Earlier Coroner Lord Justice Scott Baker thanked the French authorities for "the very considerable effort and resources" put into organising the jurors' visit at the start of this week to the crash site in the French capital, which he described as "successful and effective".
The inquest into Princess Diana's death is being held at the Royal Courts of Justice in central London and is expected to last six months.