End these lies about Diana

Does God take photo graphs, Mummy?" asked my five year old daughter gazing at yet another picture of Diana, Princess of Wales in the newspapers. It has been hard enough for her to come to terms with the concept of the death of someone who meant a great deal to her - the person who taught her how to walk backwards like a crab, how to somersault, and who gave her her first precious pair of ballet shoes - but to be constantly exposed to her image has made it all the more difficult. How much more difficult it must be for those who were most loved by her.

One of the problems of Diana's life was that every one wanted a part of it. If someone got so much as a foot through her door, they would try to storm it, almost without exception. People wanted to be part of the inner circle, to claim that they knew her, almost as if they were establishing rights of ownership. It was one of the things she found most frustrating about her public persona, and one of the reasons she led her life in completely isolated compartments.

But at least when she was alive, she was able to deal with it. What is happening now is grotesque in the extreme. The "wanting a part of her" has, if anything, intensified after her death. The press frenzy seems worse than ever, the speculation is now entirely gratuitous, with people expounding absurd conspiracy theories, ringing wedding bells, and announcing her pregnancy.

Since the day of her funeral I have refused to speak to any of the multitude of journalists and broadcasters who have prepared books and films about the life and death of Diana, Princess of Wales. But in the wake of the recent burst of morbid fantasising in the press, I have discussed the matter with some of those who knew her best, and we all agreed on one thing: that Diana would have wanted to have been publicly defended by her friends.

So I am prepared to state now that, having been on a week's holiday with Diana in Greece only 10 days before her fatal accident, I know that it would have been biologically impossible for her to have been pregnant at the time of the crash. As for marriage, there was no question of it. While we were on our little boat in Greece she said of Dodi Fayed to me: "He's given me a bracelet. He's given me a watch.I know that the next thing will be a ring." Then she laughed and said: "Rosa, that's going firmly on the fourth finger of my right hand." She had only known Dodi for six weeks. It is absolutely true that she had found happiness with him. But it was more the fact of having someone there for her 24 hours a day. She was unused to this and rather relished it. She was so emotionally insecure that in all her relationships she demanded constant reassurance. For those who knew her well, there was nothing unusual about this total, rather obsessive, immersion. It had happened before. But now, crucially, she was beginning to be more self-aware and therefore more cautious.

Neither on her holiday with me nor when I spoke to her last, on the Wednesday before her death, did she show any indication of a desire to marry Dodi. But in the wake of the recent speculation I called Annabel Goldsmith who, more than any other close friend, provided a family atmosphere in which Diana could truly relax.

Annabel told me that she telephoned Diana on the afternoon of Friday, August 30, the day before the fatal accident. Annabel was concerned, as I was, about the press coverage of this relationship, and was particularly worried that Diana would be forced into a corner. She asked how things were going and begged her to be careful. "Don't worry, Annabel" came the reply, "I'm having a wonderful time, but the last thing I need is a new marriage. I need it like a bad rash on my face."

The conspiracy theory that Diana and Dodi were murdered is cruel and farcical nonsense. The most famous woman in the world was mortally wounded while being driven at breakneck speed through a Paris tunnel by an inebriated chauffeur. Is this not horror enough? How much more drama does the press need to satisfy its desire for sensations?

Diana's life should not be frozen into those last six weeks. It is simply neither fair nor accurate. Diana's legacy is so much greater. Think of the countless lives she touched and changed, and the causes she represented and fought for, and how as her "rock" Paul Burrell put it to me: "She shone her torch in dark corners". We owe her much, much more. For the sake of her boys, her family and her close friends, she should be allowed now to rest in peace. And no, God doesn't take photographs. But He sees and judges everything.

Rosa Monckton is president of Tiffany & Co and a member of the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Committee.

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