Wondering how Princess Diana met Dodi Fayed? Here's a timeline of their relationship

The Crown season 5 explores the couple's relationship

Princess Diana
(Image credit: Getty)

The Crown series 5 has been riding high on Netflix ever since it was released last week, but there's one storyline that fans want to know more about: how Princess Diana met Dodi Fayed.

The popular show has had an actor switch up, including Dominic West playing Charles and Elizabeth Debecki playing Princess Diana. This season also shows the royals in the 90s, with portrayals of how Diana fell out of love with Charles and in love with Dodi.

The late Princess, who died over 25 years ago, had originally met the son of Harrods owner Mohamed Al-Fayed in the late 80s, but it wasn't until the summer of 1997, just months before they both passed away, that they started to date.

In August it marked 25 years since Princess Diana's tragic passing, however, both Prince William and Prince Harry have spoken about how her death has affected them since.

Princess Diana - who was travelling by car with her partner Dodi Fayed when their car crashed in a Paris tunnel - had originally met at a polo match, which is similar to how they meet in The Crown. However, it seems they stayed friends, as they were spotted together in St Tropez in the summer of 1997 where they were holidaying together on a yacht.

The couple started dating straight away and are believed to have sailed around the Mediterranean that summer. Their whirlwind romance even could have come with a proposal, with the Washington Post reporting that they visited jewellers in Monaco together where they both chose an emerald cut diamond ring for the Princess. 

However, after just a few days in Paris together, the paparazzi chased the couple into a tunnel with their driver speeding up to get away from the photographers.

When the crash happened on August 31st 1997, the driver of the car and Dodi Fayed died instantly. However, Princess Diana was still alive when emergency workers found her at the scene but later passed away. 

Her death came as a shock to many, with tributes from around the world - mourning the loss of both a mother to William and Harry, and an iconic Princess to the rest of the world.

Sarah Finley
Sarah is a freelance journalist - writing about the royals and celebrities for Marie Claire, fitness for Women's Health and Tech Radar and travel for the Evening Standard and Woman & Home. She covers a variety of other subjects too and loves interviewing leaders and innovators in the beauty, travel and wellness worlds for numerous UK and overseas publications. Sarah can normally be found trying out the latest fitness class or on a plane to an exotic destination - and of course, writing about them.