This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/uk/7153765.stm
The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Version 0 | Version 1 |
---|---|
Diana 'rejected Paris home offer' | |
(about 2 hours later) | |
Princess Diana ruled out plans for her and boyfriend Dodi Al Fayed to live in the Paris home of Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson, her inquest has heard. | |
Jurors heard Mr Al Fayed had wanted them to settle at Villa Windsor, where the ex-monarch lived after abdicating. | |
Daily Mail journalist Richard Kay said Diana rejected the idea, using a phrase like "it was full of old ghosts". | |
Earlier, the inquest heard Diana was in discussions with Mohamed Al Fayed about setting up a global hospice network. | |
Mr Kay - diary editor of the Daily Mail and its former royal correspondent - told the court she had told him that Mohamed Al Fayed - Dodi's father - would fund "The Diana Hospices". | |
Mr Kay said the princess also told him it was her "destiny" to live abroad, although he made it clear that Villa Windsor - which at the time was owned by Dodi - did not appeal to her. | |
She said she longed for a private life and that Britons must be "sick of seeing me in the papers", Mr Kay added. | She said she longed for a private life and that Britons must be "sick of seeing me in the papers", Mr Kay added. |
Mr Kay said he had spoken to the princess in a telephone call hours before the Paris car crash on 31 August 1997 that killed her, Dodi Al Fayed and their driver Henri Paul. | |
He told the court: "She told me that she was discussing with Mr Al Fayed Senior the possibility of setting up some sort of worldwide hospice network which she indicated he would be prepared to financially underwrite." | |
He added that her desire to start a new life outside of the UK was "a frequent topic". | He added that her desire to start a new life outside of the UK was "a frequent topic". |
The former Daily Mail royal correspondent said the princess told him she was keen to escape the media spotlight - especially the paparazzi. |