No evidence Philip ordered Diana killing says coroner

London, March 31, 2008

The coroner hearing an inquest into the death of Britain's Princess Diana in a car crash said on Monday there was no evidence that her former father-in-law, the Duke of Edinburgh, had "ordered Diana's execution".

Princess Diana died in a crash in Paris in 1997 along with Dodi al-Fayed, whose father Mohamed al-Fayed has accused Queen Elizabeth's husband Prince Philip of being behind her death.

After almost six months of listening to more than 250 witnesses, Lord Justice Scott Baker told the jury in his summing up: "There is no evidence that the Duke of Edinburgh ordered Diana's execution and there is no evidence that the security intelligence services or any other government agency organised it."    

The inquest was delayed for 10 years because Britain had to wait for the French legal process and then a British police investigation to run their course before it could begin.

Both police inquiries decided it was a tragic accident because chauffeur Henri Paul was drunk and driving too fast.

But Mohamed al-Fayed has repeatedly alleged that his son and Diana were killed by British security services on the orders of Prince Philip because the royal family did not want the mother of the future king having a child with his son.

He has also alleged that Diana's body was embalmed to cover up evidence she was expecting a baby. - Reuters

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