Now, it is late afternoon. The corridor outside Diana’s room has been secured. Aside from the police guards, there is a permanent presence of just Colin Tebbutt, the Consul-General, the nursing sister, Paul Burrell and the priest.
The priest, Father Yves-Marie Clochard-Bossuet, recalls that he could tell that butler Burrell was genuinely devastated by Diana’s death, unlike some of the ‘hypocritical’ officials who had paid their respects. ‘He felt the need to tell me how much she meant to him.’
But then ‘suddenly down the corridor comes this tall man and his wife and they just walked into Diana’s room with the policeman saluting,’ recalls Tebbutt.
‘I’m like, “What the hell’s happening now?” I went to call him back when I suddenly realised it was President and Mrs Chirac [again]. Mr Chirac bowed at the end of the bed and walked out. After that, we sat in the office and waited. They knew that the VIP party from Britain was close.
Devoted: The Princess of Wales with Prince Harry and William in 1995. A picture of Diana's two sons, which was in her handbag, was placed in her hands following her death
‘I knew little about the Royal Family tree,’ recalls the priest to the Mail. ‘I knew Diana’s husband was called Charles . . . I had no idea that the whole world would be talking about this for years to come.’ He is bemused by the deferential anticipation of his British companions.
‘The people of the embassy warned me an hour before he arrived that Charles was coming. We French and English are different. They were asking me if I felt OK, was I prepared in order to meet His Royal Highness [their attitude]? It was absolutely as if Christ Himself was about to descend [on us].’
First to arrive are the royal undertakers’ party. ‘The coffin was carried shoulder-high by these four big guys accompanied by Mr Leverton himself, all in morning suits, marching down the corridor as if it were a military parade,’ recalls Tebbutt. ‘I told Mr Leverton that the French undertakers had been and hoped that everything was OK. And he went in and looked at her and came out and said: “Mr Tebbutt, they’ve done a fine job, thank you,” which was a huge relief to me.’
Now Prince Charles arrives, accompanied by Diana’s sisters, Lady Sarah McCorquodale and Lady Jane Fellowes. President Chirac is at the hospital entrance with a 12-strong guard of honour.
‘I had known [the Prince] since 1978. He said to me, “Colin, thank you very much for coming,” ’ says Tebbutt. ‘I explained to him what had been happening and he asked, “Are there any members of the clergy here?” I said there were and he replied, “I would like to go into the [Diana’s] room with the clergy and her sisters. Is that alright?” I said, “By all means, Sir.” ’
An Anglican clergyman is also on hand, at last. ‘He arrived five minutes before Charles,’ recalls Father Clochard-Bossuet. ‘A nice man named Martin Draper (the serving Anglican Archdeacon of France). And it was he who told Prince Charles, “This is the Catholic priest who has been watching over Diana for ten hours.”
‘And Prince Charles was very amiable, very simple, very nice. He thanked me and invited me to come and pray with them. And so there was a prayer, the Anglican prayer for the dead, with Prince Charles, the two sisters, maybe a nurse, and the two priests, me and the Anglican. There was no one else in the room.’
The prayers last a quarter of an hour. The priest notices that Diana’s appearance has changed since he last saw her. Diana has been prepared and dressed in Lady Jay’s outfit. ‘They had put on eye-shadow and make-up,’ he recalls. ‘She didn’t have the naturalness she had before. She looked like a doll, whereas before she was just a very beautiful woman.’
Yves-Marie Clochard-Bossuet, pictured above. The catholic priest was the chaplain at the hospital where Princess Diana died
A picture of Diana’s two sons, which was in her handbag, has been placed in her hands together with rosary beads given to her by Mother Teresa. She is wearing the jewellery that has been recovered from the Mercedes, although one earring is missing. (It will be recovered from the wreckage.)
Afterwards, ‘Charles thanked me,’ recalls the priest. ‘He was very, very moved. Yes, I saw tears.’
‘But [when the royal party was praying in the room] someone from Charles’s entourage, a gentleman who I didn’t know, asked me, “How are you getting back then?”’ Tebbutt recalls.
‘And I said, “I haven’t given it a thought, Sir. I haven’t got a shilling in my pocket.” And he said, “Well, you won’t be going on the royal plane, of course.” And I thought that was a little strange. They’re taking over. But the boss is mine. She’s still mine. Are they going to shove me on [the Eurostar] or something? But then the Prince came out and thanked me again and said, “You and Mr Burrell will be coming back with me on the plane.” ’
6.35pm: Draped in the Royal Standard and led by Archdeacon Draper, Diana’s coffin is carried to a dark blue hearse. The royal cortège departs the hospital for Villacoublay military airfield, where the coffin is transferred to an aircraft from the Royal Flight.
‘As we
