The relationship between Princess Diana and Dodi Al Fayed was brief and ended tragically when the two were killed in a car crash in Paris in the early hours of August 31, 1997. However, their brief romance was the subject of much speculation in the press – thanks to the fact that Dodi was dating American model Kelly Fisher at the time. And now, with the final season of The CrownThere is renewed interest in the relationship between Kelly and Dodi.
Kelly and Dodi met in Paris in 1996, and Kelly said they were engaged when Dodi began dating Princess Diana in July 1997. In early August 1997, Kelly, represented by Gloria Allred, filed a lawsuit against Dodi, claiming their wedding was set for August 9. Dodi admitted at the time that she knew Kelly, but never said they were engaged, and a Fayed family spokesman denied that Dodi ever promised Kelly to marry her.
In a press conference announcing the lawsuit, Allred said, “Mr. Fayed must take responsibility for the woman he ‘left at the altar’ and treated with so much disrespect. He heartlessly threw away her love without the slightest consideration for her.” Kelly claimed Dodi offered her money to stop working and sued her for this breach of contract. She also wore a diamond and sapphire engagement ring that Dodi allegedly gave her.
Kelly withdrew her lawsuit on September 1, 1997, one day after the deaths of Dodi and Princess Diana. Allred said in a press conference at the time: “Out of respect for the tragedy and tremendous loss suffered by the Fayed family, she has authorized me as her attorney to dismiss her lawsuit against Mr. Fayed. Although she has the legal right to pursue the lawsuit against his estate after his death, she has voluntarily chosen not to exercise that right.”
She added: “Kelly has suffered greatly from the separation from Mr Fayed. She was engaged to him and they had planned to marry on August 9, 1997. Kelly loved Dodi very much and she is devastated by his loss and that of Princess Diana. Nothing is more important than a person’s life. In the face of this enormous tragedy, Kelly forgives Dodi for all his past wrongs towards her.”
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