In a recent opinion piece for the UK Daily Mail, Richard Kay revisits Princess Diana’s interactions with Harrods owner Mohamed Al-Fayed, highlighting the uncomfortable relationship she had with the controversial figure.
Diana, often intercepted by Fayed during her shopping trips, was treated with undue attention but was spared the predatory behaviour he inflicted on other women. As more allegations of sexual abuse against Fayed have surfaced, Kay contends that Diana, unaware of Fayed’s darker side, may have been unknowingly groomed by him in his quest for British respectability and revenge on the establishment.
Kay delves into the events leading up to Diana’s ill-fated association with Fayed, particularly the summer vacation with her sons at his St Tropez villa in 1997.
Friends had warned Diana about Fayed’s reputation, but the princess, disillusioned with the British establishment, ultimately accepted the invitation.
Kay suggests that had Diana been aware of Fayed’s abhorrent behaviour, she might have distanced herself, possibly altering the tragic course of events that ended in her death later that summer alongside Fayed’s son, Dodi.
