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Here's why so many people still believe Princess Diana's death was a conspiracy

<em>Apparently 17% of people think Princess Diana’s death was the result of a conspiracy (Picture: PA)</em>
Apparently 17% of people think Princess Diana’s death was the result of a conspiracy (Picture: PA)

Her death in 1997 shocked the nation and sent ripples across the world.

Two decades on, Prince Diana’s passing remains the subject of an array of conspiracy theories.

According to a previous YouGov poll, nearly one in five (17%) Brits think the death of the ‘People’s Princess’ in Paris was the result of a conspiracy.

The poll found that 66% of people think her death was an accident while 13% said they weren’t sure.

The topic is discussed in the latest episode of Yahoo UK’s podcast Britain is a Nation of…, which focuses on the Royal family.

<em>Royal expert Nick Ede told Yahoo’s podcast it’s unsurprising people want to attach conspiracy theories to Princess Diana’s death (Picture: PA)</em>
Royal expert Nick Ede told Yahoo’s podcast it’s unsurprising people want to attach conspiracy theories to Princess Diana’s death (Picture: PA)

Discussing Diana’s death, Nick Ede, PR expert and Royal commentator, said it was unsurprising that people wanted to subscribe to a conspiracy theory.

“What’s interesting is that it’s a bit similar to 9/11,” he told the podcast.

“These are huge things that have massive impact.

“[People] are like investigative journalists themselves and they want to think there are alternatives to the facts that happened.

“And it’s been shrouded in this weird mystery because of where it was. It was in a tunnel and we didn’t have CCTV to go in there and all this kind of stuff.”

Listen to a discussion of these statistics on Yahoo and YouGov’s podcast, Britain is a Nation of…

He added: “It’s a myth and it’s a story and it’s a story that is going to be handed down to different generations.”

Drawing comparisons with other conspiracy theories and ‘unsolved mysteries’ from Roswell to the Loch Ness Monster, he said: “They become kind of a fantasy story – is it real, was it not?

“We know she died and we know she was the People’s Princess and everybody I feel wants to feel that they have a bit of her in their life and I think that’s why these conspiracy theories kick in and people want to assume something could have happened.”

This survey was made possible by YouGov’s panel of 6 million respondents. Join the trend and share your opinions with the world today.