In a revelation that pierces the veil of one of history’s most enduring mysteries, exclusive CCTV footage from the Ritz Hotel in Paris—surfaced just hours ago—shows Princess Diana in her final, unguarded moments of joy. Mere minutes before the Mercedes S280 hurtled into the Pont de l’Alma tunnel at 12:23 AM on August 31, 1997, the 36-year-old icon is captured smiling radiantly while adjusting a delicate silver bracelet on her left wrist. The clip, grainy yet poignant, depicts Diana in the hotel’s opulent lobby, laughing softly with Dodi Fayed as she fiddles with the chain, its gold accents glinting under the chandelier light. But this isn’t just any trinket: A London jeweler has now confirmed it as the bespoke gold “D & D” bracelet—engraved with intertwined initials for Diana and Dodi—crafted in secrecy just days prior. Shockingly, the piece was absent from her post-crash belongings, its whereabouts unknown for nearly three decades. As conspiracy theories collide with fresh grief, this footage doesn’t just humanize Diana’s last night; it ignites questions about what—or who—pilfered a symbol of her budding romance.
The 22-second clip, obtained by this outlet through a confidential source within the French National Archives, was part of a routine security sweep never publicly released. It timestamps at 12:05 AM, capturing the couple descending from the Imperial Suite elevator after a candlelit dinner. Diana, elegant in a black cocktail dress by Christian Lacroix, pauses to straighten the bracelet, her fingers tracing its heart-shaped clasp with a tenderness that belies the chaos about to unfold. Fayed, ever the attentive suitor, leans in with a whispered quip, eliciting that signature sparkle in her eyes—the one that captivated billions. “She looked utterly at peace, like a woman in love,” the source, a retired Ritz concierge, confided. “That bracelet was new; Dodi had it made as a surprise. She kept admiring it all evening.”
Enter the bombshell verification: Asprey, the venerable London atelier synonymous with royal commissions, issued a statement this afternoon authenticating the piece. Crafted on August 28, 1997, at Fayed’s behest during a whirlwind Monaco stopover, the 18-karat gold bracelet features diamond-set initials “D & D” intertwined in a cursive flourish, valued at approximately £25,000. “It was a bespoke rush job—elegant, understated, with pavé diamonds totaling 2.5 carats,” Asprey’s archival director revealed. “Dodi selected it to symbolize their future; engravings inside read ‘From D to D, Forever Yours.’” Yet, when French authorities inventoried Diana’s effects at La Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital—14 items including a Jaeger-LeCoultre watch, kidney-shaped gold earrings, and a shattered Bulgari seed-pearl bracelet gifted by Fayed earlier that night—this “D & D” heirloom was nowhere to be found. No fragments, no traces—just gone, like a whisper in the wind.
This isn’t the first shadow over Diana’s jewels post-crash. The Bulgari bracelet, a dragon-clasped marvel of seed pearls and diamonds, shattered on impact, scattering across the Mercedes’s rear seat; only six pearls were recovered amid the wreckage. One earring lodged in the dashboard, a grim testament to the 65 mph collision with pillar 13. But the “D & D” bracelet’s total absence defies physics and protocol. “In high-profile recoveries, every personal item is cataloged meticulously,” notes forensic gemologist Dr. Elena Vasquez, who consulted on the 2008 British inquest. “A loose chain like this should’ve been secured in the ambulance—yet it’s unlisted. This suggests either opportunistic theft at the scene or deliberate removal.” The footage, now under Paris prosecutorial review, shows Diana wearing it unbroken as she exits the Ritz at 12:20 AM, arm-in-arm with Fayed, moments before Henri Paul guns the engine to evade paparazzi.
The implications ripple like aftershocks through royal lore. Mohamed Al-Fayed, Dodi’s father and perpetual thorn in the establishment’s side, seized on the news with vindication. In a blistering statement from his Geneva estate, the 95-year-old tycoon declared: “That bracelet was proof of my son’s love—and a threat to those who couldn’t stomach Diana’s happiness. Its disappearance? No accident. It’s the smoking gun they’ve buried for 28 years.” Al-Fayed has long alleged MI6 orchestration, citing a blinding flash from a stray motorbike (as revealed in our earlier exclusive) and the phantom white Fiat Uno that sideswiped the Mercedes. The bracelet, he claims, was “snatched by agents in the tunnel scrum,” its engravings a potential motive-killer exposing Diana’s pregnancy rumors—though coroners debunked those as myth.