The Bodyguard's Story : Diana, the Crash and the Sole Survivor - Hardcover

Trevor Rees-Jones

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0316855081 ISBN 13: 9780316855082

Publisher: Little, Brown, 2000

Synopsis

This is a first-hand account of the crash that killed Diana, Princess of Wales, its causes and its consequences, by the bodyguard who survived it. As bodyguard to Diana's companion, Dodi Fayed, Trevor Rees-Jones was with the couple as their friendship developed during the weeks before their arrival in Paris, and was in the car with them when it crashed in the Alma tunnel. Trevor survived, but his struggle to recover from his appalling injuries was only the beginning of a much bigger battle: to clear his name, as his employer, owner of Harrods, Mohamed Al Fayed, named Trevor responsible for the crash. In this volume, Trevor tells his own story, including his knowledge of Diana's relationship with Dodi and how Dodi's unpredictability made the bodyguard's job so difficult.

About this title

About the Author

Trevor Rees-Jones is a former member of the Parachute Regiment, and worked as a bodyguard for Mohamed Al Fayed until resigning in 1998. He lives in Oswestry, Shropshire.

Review

THE BODYGUARD'S STORY is that rare thing: a thriller told by an unexcitable man. After all those feverish rival accounts of Diana and her motives - the 'I Loved Her Better Than You * school of memoir - this book is like drinking a long cold glass of water . . . Trevor Rees-Jones's straightforwardness is a virtue that looks all the more impressive in such a crooked story' * Telling my story in a book is the last thing I ever dreamed I'd be doing", writes Trevor Rees-Jones in the introduction to his autobiography, The Bodyguard's Story. Rees-Jones's life changed irrevocably on the night of Saturday, August 31, 1997, when the car he was travelling in crashed in a certain Alma tunnel in Paris. The car contained no ordinary passengers--Rees-Jones was the bodyguard of Dodi Fayed, companion of Diana, Princess of Wales. Dodi, Diana and driver Henri Paul were all killed, leaving Rees-Jones as the sole survivor, fighting for his life having suffered appalling injuries. His face was crushed beyond recognition and had to be extensively reconstructed under expert surgical care. Rees-Jones left hospital after a month, intending to continue with his life as far as possible and his work for his employer, Dodi's father, Mohamed Al Fayed. Yet his situation became increasingly fraught in the wake of the death of the Princess of Wales, one of the late 20th-century's most potent icons. As the grief-stricken Fayed tried desperately to find someone to blame for the death of his son, it was only a matter of time before Rees-Jones became embroiled in the web of recriminations and accusations. The Bodyguard's Story tells the story of the summer leading up to the fatal accident; as Rees-Jones, speaking openly for the first time, describes a world of extreme wealth, paparazzi-dodging and the increasingly volatile situation between the press, Dodi, Diana and their minders as the summer dragged on. Realising his life could never return to what it had been, Rees-Jones aims to set the record straight with his first-hand account. "They'd died on my shift, and I'll live with that for the rest of my life. But I look in the mirror every day and know that I did the best I could. * Kate Weaver, AMAZON.CO.UK * He is a brave man and his story is gripping. * Sunday TELEGRAPH * Wholly remarkable . . . Astonishing . . . This brave and inspiring book deserves to be blessed a thousandfold * Craig Brown, MAIL on Sunday *

About this edition

• Publisher: Little, Brown
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0316855081
• ISBN 13: 9780316855082
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1