Diana crash used in vile euthanasia ad campaign: Princess’s friends condemn ‘cruel exploitation’ as Paris tragedy photo promotes assisted dying

Friends of Princess Diana have reacted with anger and disgust after a ‘despicable’ advert used her fatal car crash to promote euthanasia.

The sickening campaign shows a photo of a mangled car in a tunnel with the caption: ‘Diana. She did not choose her death… in 2024 we should have the choice.”

It immediately sparked a storm of angry condemnation, with friends and politicians labeling it ‘despicable’, ‘disgusting’, ‘abhorrent’ and ‘appalling’.

“This is cruel, insensitive and opportunistic,” said her friend Rosa Monckton. “Diana was exploited in her life and her death is now being exploited for very basic reasons.”

Baroness Monckton, who went on holiday with Diana just weeks before she was killed in the car crash in the Pont de l’Alma tunnel in Paris in 1997, said she was ‘shocked and appalled’ by the image.

Kensington Palace insiders were left ‘speechless’, with one saying the advert had ‘plumbed the lowest depths of bad taste’.

Their sentiments were echoed by Dickie Arbiter, the Queen’s former press secretary, who said: ‘It’s bad enough to reference what happened in 1997, but imitating a photo really leaves a sour taste in the mouth . (It) just falls completely outside the scale of obscenity.”

The odious statue was hastily withdrawn yesterday after a barrage of protest. It was created by the French pro-euthanasia group ADMD, which lamely admitted that it “may have offended some observers” after the strong response.

Commentators noted that for all its shock value, the image, which was circulated on social media, made little sense given the organization’s goals.

The leading French newspaper Le Figaro asked: ‘Are we to understand that legislation on euthanasia would have spared Lady Di a tragic end?’

Another of Diana’s friends, journalist Petronella Wyatt, said: ‘This campaign ad is disgusting. It’s also completely irrelevant to their argument, because none of the people involved, especially Diana, wanted to die at all.

‘It’s unbelievable how poor Diana is being used. It dredges up something that is terribly painful and traumatic for her children.

‘They should formally apologize because if I were a relative of Diana’s I would be absolutely outraged. How can you compare a tragic car accident that kills someone in the prime of their life with assisted dying?’

Diana was 36 when she and Dodi Fayed, 42, died after their Mercedes hit a pillar in the Paris road tunnel in the early hours of August 31, 1997. Diana lay seriously injured in the wreckage and died several hours later in hospital.

Insiders at the non-profit organization ADMD admit that the image – created by the youth wing for campaigners under 36 – was ‘intended to shock’, but apparently underestimated the power of the revulsion it provoked.

It was spread on social media after French President Emmanuel Macron announced new laws allowing adults with terminal illnesses to use lethal drugs in certain cases.

However, ADMD believes the legislation does not go far enough, with one source saying: ‘The legislation needs to be amended to allow assisted dying according to someone’s wishes.’

The Diana ad seemed to be a direct response. When ADMD’s youth department posted it to

The advert came at the end of a tumultuous week for the royal family, with controversy over the Princess of Wales’ Photoshopped Mother’s Day photo and hurtful speculation about her health.

The ad is said to have been particularly embarrassing in France because ADMD is a well-established campaign group backed by established names. Laurent Fabius, the country’s former prime minister and a friend of Diana, sits on the honorary committee.

Mr Fabius, 77, hosted the Princess and Prince Charles at a riverboat dinner on the Seine in 1988. When he was president of the National Assembly, France’s equivalent of the House of Commons, he is said to have had a bond with the princess.

The committee also includes Anne Hidalgo, the mayor of Paris, and her predecessor, Bertrand Delanoe.

A source at Paris City Hall said: “Paris has always shown the utmost respect for Princess Diana. She was admired and revered – no one would want her memory to be disrespected. Those in authority will obviously condemn the image that was used (by ADMD). Its removal is most welcome.”

Politicians in Britain were more forthright in their condemnation.

Conservative MP Bob Seely, a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, called the adverts ‘completely abhorrent’ and added: ‘Those responsible should be absolutely ashamed of themselves. This is insane stupidity. How low can you go?’

And DUP MP Ian Paisley Jr said: ‘This is completely disgusting. It is simply horrible and incomprehensible to fall prey to someone’s tragic death.

‘It is twisted, sick and despicable to use a disaster in the royal family’s life to advertise. It should be banned and the authors should be fined.’

ADMD said in a statement: ‘Following the dissemination on social networks of a campaign whose images may have offended some observers, it was decided to withdraw it immediately… The young ADMD apologizes to those who were shocked by the choice of the images.’

Mercedes driver Henri Paul was also killed in the Paris crash and Trevor Rees-Jones, Diana’s bodyguard, was seriously injured.

In his memoir Spare, Prince Harry wrote about the shadow the Paris crash scene cast on his life.

He described driving through the tunnel when he visited the French capital for the 2007 Rugby World Cup at the age of 23, telling how he “saw the concrete pillars flicker past” and “counted them, counted my heartbeats… I had the tunnel was always presented as a treacherous passage, inherently dangerous, but it was just a short, simple, no-frills tunnel. There is no reason why anyone should ever die there.”

Kensington Palace declined to comment last night.