Here’s what Diana’s chauffeur Henri Paul from The Crown was like in real life

The Crown season six on Netflix has debuted its first half, pretty much entirely centred on the final weeks of Princess Diana’s life before she tragically died in the car crash in Paris. In episode three, we meet Henri Paul – the chauffeur who was behind the wheel when he crashed the car that took his, Diana and Dodi’s lives too soon. Here’s all you need to know about Henri Paul and what The Crown got right about him in real life.

He was a bodyguard and chauffeur

Henri Paul was born on the French west coast in 1956 – he was 41 when he died. He reached the rank of Captain in the French Air Force before joining the security career after the age of 29, and he worked at The Ritz.

Via Shutterstock

He also had a reputation for being a “macho action man”. Before the crash, he’d already picked up Diana and Dodi and had taken the Princess of Wales for a shopping trip. He’d privately been treated for alcoholism too, but his family deny a drinking problem.

How was Henri Paul on the night of the crash?

Apparently he was “excited” to spend time with Diana, and he was allegedly a bit drunk because his blood tests revealed he was three times over the French limit. He also had anti depressants in his system.

Alain Willaumez said of Henri Paul that night “”I could see first through his eyes and also the way he talked, but more especially in his eyes. His eyes were brilliant, wide open and he was visibly in an abnormal condition … he was walking like a clown.”

Since his death, the official verdict from authorities that the crash was partly caused by the fact Henri Paul had been drinking. The family of Henri Paul refute this, with his father saying “Diana was killed and my son was killed. I believe they were both murdered. My son was simply ­collateral damage of a plot to kill Diana and they killed him as well.

Part one of The Crown season six is available on Netflix now. For all the latest Netflix news, drops, quizzes and memes like The Holy Church of Netflix on Facebook. 

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