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In the early hours of 31 August 1997, the Mercedes Benz transporting Diana Princess of Wales, Dodi Al Fayed, Henri Paul and Trevor Rhys Jones crashed into the wall of a Paris underpass, killing the first three and seriously wounding the fourth. This fatal crash occurred during their high-speed flight from the paparazzi of the world press.

In the aftermath of this accident an escalating series of incidents catapulted the death of Diana into a worldwide event. For instance, regular broadcasting schedules were disrupted, and in Britain they were virtually suspended as the news of Diana’s death was announced across the globe. The first flowers of mourning were laid to mark her death as initial steps toward what would become multiple and monumental shrines. Crowds began to assemble in public demonstrations of mourning outside royal palaces and in common spaces. The media, struggling to produce coherent …