What Was Princess Diana's Last Meal?
Diana Frances Spencer, perhaps better known to the world as Diana, Princess of Wales, remains one of the most popular figures in the history of the British monarchy, even after her tragic death in 1997. To mention Princess Diana's name anywhere in the United Kingdom or even the United States is to bring up a wide variety of topics relating to the princess, ranging from her charitable work to the support of victims suffering from AIDS/HIV (actions which earned her the moniker "The People's Princess") to conspiracy theories surrounding her death in the Pont de l'Alma tunnel in 1997. Princess Diana was, and still is, one of the most beloved and memorable figures in the British royal family.
But past all the speculation and fame, Diana was still an ordinary human being with likes and dislikes. And like us, Princess Diana had many favorite foods. Some of her favorite dishes included bread-and-butter pudding, minted lamb, lychee, and even pizza from a restaurant in Kensington. Diana enjoyed a wide variety of foods, from simple comfort dishes to meals more fitting of a member of the British elite.
Perhaps the dish that may forever be entwined with the late princess is the last meal she enjoyed before stepping into that car alongside Dodi Fayed and Henri Paul that fateful August evening. Diana's last meal was a surprisingly simple fish and vegetable dish.
Princess Diana's last meal was at the Ritz Paris
One of the last places Princess Diana visited before her death was the Ritz Paris hotel — or more specifically, "L'Espadon," the hotel's restaurant, for dinner on August 31, 1997.
It has been reported that Diana's last meal consisted of Dover sole, vegetable tempura, and a mushroom and asparagus omelet. Due to suspicions that members of the paparazzi, who had been trailing Diana, Fayed, and Paul all evening, had entered the restaurant, the trio decided to have their meals delivered to their room. While the private nature of the trio's dinner means that scant details exist over what the other members ate, it has been speculated that a sufficient amount of alcohol was consumed during the outing, especially by driver Henri Paul. According to the BBC, an autopsy on Paul following the accident, revealed that the driver had "175 milligrams of alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood" — well above the legal limit to drive.
The seafood and vegetable dinner Diana enjoyed doesn't seem to hold a special significance, aside from being her unfortunate final meal.