LONDON (AFP) — The long-delayed inquest into the death of Princess Diana is to open here Tuesday, amid hopes it will at last settle claims of a British establishment murder plot.
Lord Justice Scott Baker and an 11-person jury are expected to spend up to six months at the High Court in London considering evidence surrounding the deaths of Diana and her Egyptian lover Dodi Fayed in a Paris road tunnel in 1997.
In their travels to and from court, the jurors will be under police guard to ensure they are not "hassled or harassed" after Baker pointed out that the couple's deaths have "created worldwide interest on an unprecedented scale."
The double inquest -- legally required when a British citizen dies an unnatural death abroad and the body is repatriated -- has a narrow remit, seeking only the identity of the deceased, plus how, when and where they died.
No blame is determined at inquests and the verdict must not identify anyone as having criminal or civil liability.
Possible verdicts include natural causes, accident, suicide, unlawful or lawful killing or industrial disease. The inquest may also produce an open verdict if there is insufficient evidence to reach a conclusion.
Diana, 36, Dodi Fayed, 42, and their chauffeur Henri Paul, 41, were killed on August 31, 1997. Their Mercedes hit an underpass pillar soon after speeding away from the Hotel Ritz, owned by Fayed's father Mohamed Al Fayed.
Diana's bodyguard, Trevor Rees-Jones, was the only survivor, but suffered serious injuries.
The judge and jurors are due to visit the crash scene in Paris on October 8 and 9. Witnesses to the crash and possibly paparazzi photographers at the scene are expected to start giving video evidence from France from around October 10.
The inquest will examine the embalming of Diana's body, her post-mortem, the hours before the crash, suggestions she was engaged to Fayed, the alleged purchase of a ring, claims she was pregnant and bodyguards' evidence.
Baker, the third coroner to oversee Diana inquest proceedings, is keen to ensure there is no hint of bias.
To this end, each potential juror received from Justice Baker a list of questions to determine if they have any prejudices, criminal records, mental health problems, or connections which would bar them from the case.
The connections covered potential links to British intelligence agencies like MI5 and MI6.
Authorization for the inquest to resume -- after it opened briefly in January 2004 -- was only given following the completion last year of a police probe into the deaths.
A report from Lord John Stevens, former head of London's Metropolitan Police, ruled out any plot, saying the crash was a "tragic accident" involving a driver under the influence of alcohol and prescription drugs.
It echoed the findings of the French police investigation.
Dodi's father Mohamed, the millionaire owner of London department store Harrods, fought long and hard to ensure that the inquests are not influenced by the British establishment which he claims is behind their murders.
Fayed maintains that Diana, whose eldest son William is second-in-line to the throne, was killed in an intelligence plot orchestrated by Prince Philip, husband of Queen Elizabeth II, to prevent her potential marriage to a Muslim.
Despite initial setbacks, his lawyers argued successfully for joint, rather than separate, proceedings that will be held before a jury drawn from members of the public rather than royal courtiers.
But his attempts to have the queen and Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, questioned were thrown out by the coroner, who nonetheless said he would keep the prospect under review.
The inquests will be held every week from Monday to Thursday and the proceedings can be followed on the website www.scottbaker-inquests.gov.uk.
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