Harrods tycoon Mohamed Al-Fayed ‘had begun to accept that death of his son Dodi and Princess Diana in Paris car crash was an accident in the years before his death’, ex-aide reveals

For decades, the grief-stricken Mohamed Al-Fayed had blamed the royal family for the deaths of his beloved son Dodi and Princess Diana.

But the former Harrods magnate’s demeanor is believed to have softened in the years leading up to his death, an ex-assistant claims.

Mr Al-Fayed died on Wednesday at the age of 94 on the eve of the 26th anniversary of the high-speed accident at the Pont de l’Alma tunnel in Paris that killed Dodi, 42, and Diana, 36, on August 31 came. 1997.

Ritz chief of safety Henri Paul was driving the Mercedes 280S and was also found dead in the wreckage.

The former owner and chairman of Fulham passed away after a long illness. He was buried in a room next to his son’s in the family mausoleum in Oxted, Surrey, on Friday following a Muslim funeral at the London Central Mosque in Regent’s Park.

Four perpetually burning candles surround Dodi’s grave. In his last years, his Egyptian father spent long hours in the shadows of the mausoleum, mourning his son.

“I come here every day, maybe two or three hours, and memories come back to me as I sit,” Mr. Al-Fayed once said.

“I say prayers and think of Dodi, but sometimes I do my work here or have breakfast.”

Mr. Al-Fayed wrote to a member of the public in 2005 that “one day the truth will come out” about the deaths of Dodi and Diana.

He wrote: “I will continue to fight the many injustices done to the common people of this country, especially the murders of my son Dodi and Diana, Princess of Wales. One day the truth will come out.”

The businessman had claimed his son and Diana were killed in a series of documentaries and blamed the royal family for their deaths.

During a 2008 inquest, Mr Al-Fayed went on the witness stand and sensationally claimed that Prince Philip and the then Prince Charles conspired to kill the princess.

Lord Justice Scott Baker attacked his theories as ‘demonstrably baseless’, insisting that neither Philip nor MI6 were involved in her death.

A jury trial ruled that Diana and Dodi were wrongfully killed in the crash due to the ‘gross negligence’ of Mr Paul, who had been drinking. A lack of seat belts also contributed to their deaths.

Mr Al-Fayed’s allegations led to the Harrods store being stripped of its four royal warrants: the right to certify that a business supplies goods to the royal family by appointment.

But as his aging body began to weaken, ex-PR executive and friend of billionaire Chester Stern says Al-Fayed’s tough stance began to soften.

He told The sun on SundayHe denied that it was a direct conspiracy led by Prince Philip in recent years.

“This suggests he was quietly accepting that it was an accident.”

This is reported by a source close to the family The Telegraph the date of Mr Al-Fayed’s death was ‘poignant’.

“You have to wonder if kismet—or fate—played a part in all of this,” he said.

“His death on Wednesday and his arrival at the mausoleum with his son on Friday marked the end of the day’s crash that came to dominate much of his life.”

Located across a stream just a few minutes’ walk from the 17th-century family home, Mr. Al-Fayed’s 5.5-metre mausoleum was built on what used to be Dodi’s polo field. One of Mr. Al-Fayed’s brothers is buried in one of the eight chambers.

For such a flamboyant billionaire, Mr Al-Fayed’s funeral was surprisingly low-key.

In addition to Harrods, he also owned The Ritz in Paris and Fulham Football Club, and whose business interests spanned the globe.

He managed a fleet of ships and built an empire of properties in London, Paris, New York, Geneva and St. Tropez.

Mr Al-Fayed was the 1,493rd richest person in the world, according to Forbes, worth an estimated $2 billion (£1.59 billion). He installed the Egyptian Room in his Knightsbridge shop, which housed several busts of himself, and he also created a memorial to Dodi and Diana, who were dating at the time of their deaths.

He allegedly believed the couple were hours away from announcing their engagement.

Mr. Al-Fayed cultivated prime ministers, yet not a single dignitary attended his funeral, not even the Egyptian ambassador. The media was surprised by a hasty invitation – photocopied notices on the pillars of the mosque – asking worshipers to participate in the service after jummah, or Friday afternoon prayer.

Funeral directors SM Funerals said it was deliberately restrained, in line with the family’s wishes.

It is unclear whether Mr Al-Fayed, who suffered from dementia, died at home, although his body was collected from a hospital in London on Friday and taken to the mosque where a ritual bath was performed before being placed in the coffin.

Only about thirty mourners — relatives and close friends — traveled in the hearse.

Mr Al-Fayed applied for British citizenship in 1995 but was rejected. In 1999, weeks after it was awarded to his brother Ali, he reapplied. This time he was declared unfit to hold a British passport by the then Home Secretary Jack Straw.

He appealed the decision, but three judges of the Court of Appeal rejected his claim.