Princess Diana's death not murder: police

By Paul Majendie and Mark Trevelyan
LONDON (Reuters) - Princess Diana was not the victim of a murder plot when she and her lover died in a tragic car accident in 1997, a British police inquiry found on Thursday.
Diana's death triggered a string of conspiracy theories that British spies or even her ex-husband, heir-to-the-throne Britain's Prince Charles, had plotted the accident because her relationship with Dodi al Fayed was embarrassing the royal household.
"On the evidence available now, there was no conspiracy to murder any of the occupants of that car. This was a tragic accident," former police chief John Stevens said after a three-year investigation. I'm satisfied that no attempt has been made to hold back information and we are confident that the allegations made are unfounded," he said.
Echoing the findings of a French probe into the accident, Stevens said tests showed the limousine's chauffeur Henri Paul had been drinking before the high speed crash in a Paris road tunnel.
Diana's sons, Princes William and Harry, said in a statement that they "trust these conclusive findings will end speculation surrounding the death of their mother".
Stevens told reporters Diana was not pregnant when she died and "was not engaged and was not about to get engaged".
The death of the "People's Princess", the world's most photographed woman, sparked an outpouring of grief in Britain. Queen Elizabeth and the royal family were harshly criticized for not openly sharing the national sense of loss.