Let’s imagine for a moment that Ken Wharfe, the former bodyguard of Princess Diana, was still overseeing her security on that fateful night in Paris in August 1997. Would things have unfolded differently? According to Ken, who served as Diana’s personal protection officer from 1987 to 1993, the answer is a resounding yes. In a candid interview with Now to Love, Ken pointed out a string of critical security oversights that, in his view, left the princess dangerously unprotected.
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Ken, now 68, laid out the glaring flaws in the security arrangements that night. “The biggest mistake was not asking for help. You can’t go it alone in situations like this, especially when you're in a foreign city trying to protect the most famous person in the world,” he explained. On that tragic evening, Diana and her boyfriend, Dodi Fayed, were accompanied by just two individuals: Henri Paul, the drunk driver of the ill-fated Mercedes S280 and the Deputy Head of Security at the Ritz Hotel in Paris, and Trevor Rees-Jones, the lone survivor of the crash. Was this team enough to ensure their safety? Ken clearly didn’t think so.
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Was Diana Truly Safe That Night?
Ken insists that the resources available to protect Diana were woefully inadequate. “The local police weren’t involved, nor was the British embassy. You had a chauffeur who wasn’t even a professional driver but rather a security adviser at the Ritz hotel—and he was an alcoholic,” he said. When Diana was part of the royal family, her security team meticulously planned every move she made, dedicating hours to ensure her safety. However, during her final holiday, none of these precautions were taken, leaving her in peril from the very start.
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“There was no proper communication with Diana and Dodi Fayed about how they would coordinate their departure. They tried to sneak out through the rear entrance to evade the paparazzi, but no one had spoken to the press. There was no consideration of setting up a photo opportunity for the press or arranging a police escort,” Ken elaborated. “These were the basic security measures we followed daily, and they never failed. Yet, none of these precautions were implemented!”
(Photo Credit: Getty Images)
“When Henri Paul left the hotel that night under the influence of alcohol, driving at seventy-plus miles per hour into a tunnel, it’s no wonder the inevitable happened—a devastating crash into the 13th pillar, costing three lives,” Ken reflected. “If Scotland Yard had been there, this wouldn’t have happened. For one, we wouldn’t have allowed Henri Paul to drive that car. Secondly, we wouldn’t have departed from the rear entrance. Instead, we would have organized a photo opportunity and arranged for a police escort to take us from the hotel to Dodi’s private residence.”
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Putting an End to Conspiracy Theories
In October 2007, an official inquest into Diana’s death began, finally putting to rest many of the wild conspiracy theories that had circulated in the wake of her passing. One of the most outlandish claims suggested she was murdered by the royal family. In April 2008, the final ruling from the inquest concluded that Diana, Dodi, and Henri Paul died due to reckless driving by Henri, exacerbated by the relentless pursuit of the paparazzi. “Even if there had been a conspiracy to harm her, there would have been enough protective measures in place to prevent it,” Ken stated.
