Six years on, still no inquest (just don't ask)......

[emad]

Diana tribute reaches key stage (BBC News, UK)
The foundation stone for the memorial fountain to Diana, Princess of Wales is to be laid by Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell on Wednesday.
A ceremony will be held to mark what is seen as an important stage in the creation of the tribute, in Hyde Park, central London.
The £3m fountain and surrounding gardens will be formally opened in the summer of 2004.
Designed by American architect Kathryn Gustafson, the fountain is based on a large oval stone ring.
The final design for the permanent memorial, being built next to the Serpentine, was chosen to reflect the life of the Princess. ........
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you still think an inquest is an official human right/legal requirement under UK law? and that if you are a genuinely mourning relative you would want to know the exact circumstances of your loved one's death (after all the insurance company demands it if you are going to collect on a policy)? well, you'd be right, the law makes no exceptions, unless it is in the interests of the nearest and dearest to stall, stonewall and blackball any attempt at an even playing field when it comes to due process. then when things get a bit unpleasant, hey - why not do something public to divert attention from a travesty of justice! - like dig a massive hole in a public location and spend a small fortune on some tacky water feature, and endorse it with a real heavyweight like the government's culture (sic) minister. wow, so good to have a genuine focus for the nation's collective suffering and preserve the official line on a highly dubious character, who's true biography will forever remain a total mystery just as long as there's no goddam inquest. never mind that for some this is the equivalent of nailing a giant neon swastika on the mount of olives - after all, when it comes to gruesome bad taste, there's always the queen mother's gaudy memorial gates to the entrance of the other end of hyde park! may they both r.i.p???

[dofus]

1. She died in a car wreck

because the driver was drunk and driving much too fast. I think there was an inquest, or the equivalent. Oh, and she wasn't wearing a seatbelt. Pretty simple.

[lanlady]

2. I agree with dofus

what's left to investigate? Some crazy theory that she and Dodi were murdered because they were going to marry? Bleh.

[emad]

3. you're wrong

an inquest is a judicial proceeding at the coroner's court. no inquest has been taken place, several announcements have been made that one "is promised" for the near future.

[Nihil]

4. The victim of a drunk-driver car crash in France ...

... does not automatically get an inquest in England.

IIRC, any such semi-judicial operation has to take place in the
country where the crash took place. I'm afraid I have no reference
to support this but recall that it happened that way for the (less
famous) victims of road incidents in the past. The death certificate
will have been passed back to the next of kin (listing physical cause
of death) but that's about the limit of the mandatory process.

Nihil