In season 5 of “The Crown,” which premiered on Netflix on Nov. 9, Princess Diana (Elizabeth Debicki) has her first romantic relationships since separating from Prince Charles (Dominic West). Diana dates Dr. Hasnat Khan (Humayun Saeed), although their romance ends in 1997. Diana’s subsequent — and ultimate — boyfriend can also be launched over the course of the season’s 10 episodes: Dodi Fayed, performed by Khalid Abdalla. Forward, we’re breaking down who Dodi was and the function he performed in Diana’s life.
Who Is Dodi Fayed?
Dodi was the eldest son of Mohamed Al-Fayed and was born in Alexandria in 1955. Episode three of season 5, titled “Mou Mou,” focuses on Mohamed’s life story. Mohamed was a businessman, and, because the present portrays him, he was intent on working his manner into the higher crust of British society. He and his brothers had a profitable delivery firm. In 1979, he purchased the Ritz Resort in Paris. In 1984, the siblings purchased a 30 p.c stake within the Home of Fraser, which included London’s famed Harrods division retailer. He additionally signed a lease to Villa Windsor, the place Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson lived for a few years after his abdication of the throne. In accordance with Town & Country, Mohamed was value round $1.87 billion in 1997.
Dodi’s mother and father separated when he was very younger, and he hung out in France and Egypt rising up. He attended faculty in Switzerland earlier than heading to a British navy academy, and he finally turned an officer within the United Arab Emirates air drive as a younger man. He finally left the navy to turn into a movie producer. As “The Crown” reveals, he raised cash for tasks he believed in. Probably the most well-known of those was 1981’s “Chariots of Fireplace,” which took residence 4 Academy Awards, together with the Oscar for greatest image. Fayed was additionally an govt producer of 1991’s “Hook.”
Fayed married Suzanne Gregard, a mannequin, in 1986, however they divorced after eight months. In early 1997, he was engaged to a different mannequin, Kelly Fisher, and acquired a house for them in Malibu, which “The Crown” additionally dramatizes.
How Did Dodi Fayed Meet Princess Diana?
In accordance with a 1997 obituary in the Independent, Dodi first met Diana at a 1986 polo match, when Dodi and Prince Charles performed on reverse groups. They received to know one another higher when Mohamed invited Diana and her youngsters to spend their summer time trip in 1997 on his yacht, data “The Crown” reveals within the ultimate moments of season 5. By that time in “The Crown,” Diana has already ended her relationship with Dr. Khan, however in actual life, Khan later stated that she broke up with him after connecting with Dodi, in accordance with the BBC in 2008. Diana finally returned to the yacht with out William and Harry, and he or she and Dodi had been photographed canoodling, at which level their relationship turned worldwide information. It appears their relationship will likely be dramatized extra totally in season six.
In August 1997, Fisher sued Fayed for breach of contract over the top of their relationship, as the LA Times reported on the time.
How Did Dodi Fayed Die?
On the finish of August 1997, Dodi and Diana — who had solely been relationship a couple of weeks — had been spending time within the South of France. They flew to Paris on Aug. 30. The subsequent day, they’d dinner on the Ritz Resort — owned by Dodi’s father.
They left in a limousine, at which level they had been pursued relentlessly by photographers. The limo’s driver, Henri Paul, had been consuming whereas they ate dinner, in accordance with the BBC. The automotive crashed within the Pont de l’Alma tunnel, killing Paul, Diana, and Dodi. Dodi’s funeral was held Sept. 19.
Dodi’s father, Mohamed, finally purchased into conspiracy theories concerning the crash; in accordance with the BBC, he accused Prince Philip of getting their deaths organized. A jury verdict in 2008 dominated that they’d been killed due to Paul’s negligent driving.