UK: RAF NORTHOLT: PRINCE CHARLES RETURNS WITH BODY OF PRINCESS DIANA

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2015Jul 21

(31 Aug 1997) English/Nat The British heir to the throne, Prince Charles, brought Princess Diana home for the last time on Sunday, escorting the body of his former bride back to a shocked and grieving nation. The princess was killed when her car, pursued by paparazzi photographers, crashed in a Paris traffic tunnel in the early hours of Sunday. The grim-faced prince and the flag-draped coffin were flown in from France to a Royal Air Force base outside London, just 16 hours after Princess Diana succumbed to her fatal injuries. The coffin bearing the body of Princess Diana, who was killed in a fatal car crash in Paris, was flown back home to Britain on Sunday night. The nation's leaders, including Prime Minister Tony Blair, were at the Northolt Air Force base for a sombre ceremony marking the nation's tragic loss. The Prince of Wales had flown to Paris on Sunday afternoon with Diana's two sisters, Lady Jane Fellowes and Lady Sarah McCorquodale, to bring back the remains of the woman he divorced last year after 15 years of marriage. Diana died from injuries suffered when her automobile, pursued by paparazzi photographers, crashed in a Paris traffic tunnel. The accident also claimed the lives of the 36-year-old princess's boyfriend, millionaire film producer Dodi Fayed, and their chauffeur. The couple's bodyguard survived the crash. he's in hospital and doctors say his injuries are not life-threatening. After the jet bearing Princess Diana's body landed under grey skies at the Northolt air base, a Royal Air Force honour guard carried the coffin, draped in the multicolored Royal Standard, to a waiting hearse. Seven photographers who were detained immediately after the crash, which occurred in a tunnel at the Pont de l'Alma, just north of the Eiffel Tower, were placed in formal custody on Sunday afternoon. French police said the accident investigation would be handled by a special unit usually assigned to high-priority terrorism cases. Diana often had complained of being plagued by the paparazzi - the commercial photographers who had trailed her since she entered the public eye as a shy young woman. Following the honour guard ceremony at the air force base, Princess Diana's grieving sisters accompanied her coffin back to London and to a private mortuary. Prince Charles reboarded the plane following the ceremony and flew on to Balmoral, to comfort his two grieving sons, Prince William and Prince Harry. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: / ap_archive Facebook: / aparchives Instagram: / apnews You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...