The Crown 6, Diana and the ring given by Dodi before his death

Su Netflix the first 4 episodes of have been released The Crown 6, the new and final season about the English royal family. The protagonist of this first part is Lady Diana in the last period of her life. That is, the summer spent with Dodi Al-Fayedfrom the holiday between the French Riviera and Sardinia to the crash in the Alma tunnel in Paris on 31 August 1997. Accident in which, in addition to the princess and Dodi, the driver of the train died Mercedes-Benz S 280 LimousineHenri Paul; the only survivor was Diana’s bodyguard, Trevor Rees-Jones.

In focusing on the most paparazzi summer in the history of magazines, as always, the authors mixed fiction with reality. Also about the ring that Dodi would have given to Diana a few hours before he died. Was it an engagement ring (which the two were expected to announce soon) or not?

The series deals with the case in third episode, Dis-moi oui (Tell me yes), when the relationship between the two, forced by father Mohamed with the promise of making his son a partner in the Al-Fayed empire. And thus gain the status of a respectable person by marrying a royal, albeit a divorced one.

The Crown 6the Dis-moi oui ring appears in the third episode

The four episodes they do not describe an overwhelming passion. Indeed, progressively, and especially after the release of the photos of the kiss, Diana becomes increasingly disillusioned. But before wanting to return to England to hug his children again, he agrees to take a walk in Monte Carlo (excellent idea for one of the most popular couples in the world, what could possibly go wrong?). And in fact, recognized and chased, they take refuge in a jewelery shop (the sign reads Repossi).

Here, Dodi, asks Diana to choose a ring (why not, they have to wait anyway)and she, irritated by a situation in which she once again finds herself at the center of chaos, listlessly points to the model Dis-moi oui. A sign of destiny, he thinks with a dreamy look.

But that ring model is only available in the Paris boutique, so Dodi convinces Diana to stop at the Ritz in Paris. Where finally he delivers the Dis-moi to her to the tune of When you tell me that you love me by Julio Iglesias and Dolly Parton (cover released in 1994).

Horrified by the scene, Diana stops him and gives him the classic “You’re beautiful… but” speech. And that is: «It’s been an exceptional summer, I know the whole world hopes we get married but the only thing that makes me happy is putting my parents to bed children, not a man». Dodi cashes in, pretends to talk to his father claiming his autonomy, even when it comes to women, and organizes the few hours of life the two have left.

The true story of the ring told by Repossi

In reality – according to what was revealed by the jeweler Alberto Repossi al Corriere della Sera – things would have been different. With Dodi and Diana, he would have met on August 22, 1997 in Saint-Tropezafter the princess had been enchanted by a Dis-moi seen in the Monte Carlo boutique.

A white and yellow gold model studded with diamonds with a larger diamond in the center. Cost – according to rumors – around 200 thousand pounds. Again according to Alberto it was a specimen too large for Diana’s fingers, and he did everything to deliver it before September 1st (the day on which the couple told him they would make an important announcement).

What was the nature of this announcement? That of an engagement? Maybe. For Repossi, and for the meaning of the ring, there is no room for an alternative interpretation: the two were in love and were serious. The hypothesis, however, seems rather remote. Diana and Dodi had been dating for a few months, and many thought that she was still in love with her ex-partner, Pakistani heart surgeon Hasnat Khan.

An unanswered mystery

Immediately after the accident, Repossi was contacted by the English tabloid The Sun looking for information on the ringprobably following a tip-off from the insurance company Lloyds. The jeweler – for confidentiality reasons – declared at the time that he knew nothing.

Doubts also came from Trevor Rees-Jones. The bodyguard who survived the accident – whose face was reconstructed through countless operations working on photographs of his face – has in fact always denied the presence of the fateful one brilliant. However, it must be said that the accident created a complete void in Trevor’s memory, so who knows if among the lost memories there was ever that of a ring. As for Repossi, later he said he had the purchase recordsjealously guarded in a safe.

However, there was a ring bought by Dodi and Diana in this story of diamonds and death and a thousand conspiracy theories. It was made of gold and diamonds by Bulgari, worth 3 thousand pounds. And it wasn’t an engagement ring, because Diana wore it on her right ring finger.

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