Diana feared she 'might be assassinated' and planned to move to America, former bodyguard says
By Natalie Oliveri|
A former bodyguard to Diana, Princess of Wales, says the late royal feared she "might be assassinated" and planned to move to the United States with then-boyfriend Dodi al-Fayed.
Lee Sansum says he and Diana became close during a summer holiday in the South of France in 1997.
He was employed by Dodi's father, Mohamed al-Fayed, to guard them during their stay in St Tropez on what would be the Princess of Wales' final holiday.
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Sansum, who is now 60, was assigned to the princess and Dodi having protected other high-profile celebrities including Sylvester Stallone, Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman and footballer Pele.
During the stay at the 30-room villa, Sansum says the Princess of Wales used to wake up at 7am each morning and come to speak to him.
He described her as being "happy" but says there were times when she would be "in tears".
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She was particularly upset about the assassination of her friend, Italian fashion designer Gianni Versace, who was gunned down outside his home in Miami.
"She asked if I thought his murder outside his home was a professional killing," Sansum told The Sun.
"I thought it was. Then she said something that always stayed with me จC 'Do you think they'll do that to me?' She was shaking and it was clear from her tone that she really thought that they might, whoever 'they' might be.
"I spent some time reassuring her that no one was going to try to kill her and she was safe with us, but she definitely thought there was a risk that one day she might be assassinated."
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Sansum says Diana planned to move to America, which she believed would be a safe haven away from the British tabloids.
"I actually signed up to join Diana and Dodi in America," he told The Sun.
"She was definitely going, and that was that. She told me she was going there.
"She didn't want to, but that was the only place she felt people weren't having a go at her. It was probably her way of keeping sane, to get some respite."
Tragically, Diana was killed in a car accident in Paris, on August 31, 1997.
Sansum says he and other bodyguards "drew straws" to see who would accompany another of al-Fayed's employees, bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones, to Paris for the ill-fated getaway.
Rees-Jones was the sold survivor of the crash inside the Alma Tunnel.
Sansum says believes Diana's decision to go to America influenced Prince Harry to move there with wife Meghan.
"His mother saw America as a place of sanctuary. He will be drawing on his experiences from then."
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