mohamed al fayed yacht

What Really Happened During Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed’s Vacation?

The Crown depicts her jaunts on Mohamed Al-Fayed’s yacht, the Jonikal, where her romance with Dodi kicked off.

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Diana was invited by Mohamed, a friend and businessman, to vacation in Saint-Tropez with her sons in July 1997. The Harrods owner would also goad his own son to join, too. The invitation came at a good time, after a few rough blows for Diana: Prince Charles was throwing a lavish birthday party for Camilla Parker Bowles at Highgrove, the house he and Diana once shared. And she had just broken up with surgeon Hasnat Khan, due to the media frenzy around their relationship. It was the month before William and Harry would be at Balmoral with their father and the rest of the royals, who no longer accepted her. So off she went, straight to the $20 million yacht that Fayed bought just before the trip to impress her—Tina Brown writes in The Diana Chronicles .

Prince Harry has looked back fondly at that trip, mostly because of the quality time they spent with their mom. “Actually, we’d been with Mummy weeks earlier when she first met him [Dodi], in St. Tropez,” he writes in her memoir Spare , per Today . “We were having a grand time, just the three of us, staying at some old gent’s villa.

“There was much laughter, horseplay, the norm whenever Mummy and Willy and I were together, though even more so on that holiday. Everything about that trip to St. Tropez was heaven. The weather was sublime, the food was tasty, Mummy was smiling.”

But the cameras followed her, like they always did. The Crown depicts photographers sailing out toward the Jonikal to snap images of the princess sunbathing and swimming in her one-piece. It also shows her approaching the boats filled with paparazzi to forge a deal: She’ll pose for them for a few shots if they’ll leave her and her kids alone.

Part of this is true. The New York Times reported in 1997 that Diana was quite cooperative with the press, at least during the first trip in July: “Three times, on separate occasions, she went out to the sea front and jumped off a small pier into the water, with photographers around her. Then, after leaving for 10 days with Mr. Fayed on the boat trip during which the photographs of the embracing couple were taken, she returned.”

“It was clear enough to all of us that she wanted to show the British establishment she was free,” Frederic Garcia, who photographed Diana on the trip, told the paper at the time. But her and the Al-Fayeds’ exasperation with the media grew after helicopters flew over the boat, according to the NYT .

Perhaps her openness to being photographed was her response to Camilla’s birthday party. “She just wanted to make the people at Balmoral as angry as possible,” her friend, art collector Lord Palumbo, told Brown. Now it wasn’t just a revenge dress; it was a revenge photo shoot with revenge swimsuits on a revenge vacation.

Brown even writes that the biggest photos from the trip, of the princess kissing a shirtless Dodi on the boat, “were the direct result of tips from Diana herself.” After they were published, she called photographer Jason Fraser, who “was in cahoots” with Mario Brenna, who shot the images, to ask why the pictures were so grainy. But she wasn’t the only one working with the press. Mohamed also had a publicist tip gossip columns on her and Dodi’s whereabouts and frame their getaway as a sensational romance, according to Brown.

Meanwhile, Dodi was juggling this burgeoning love story with another one. He was already engaged when he first joined Diana on the boat at his father’s behest in July. His fiancée was Kelly Fisher , an American actress and model, and their wedding was scheduled for the following month, on August 9, 1997. He had even left Fisher in Paris to board the Jonikal in St. Tropez. She joined later but, just as it’s shown in The Crown , she was relegated to a different Al-Fayed boat, where Dodi would visit her at night, Brown writes. Fisher soon caught on. In August, she sued Dodi for breach of contract, and was represented by high-profile lawyer Gloria Allred. But she withdrew the suit after his death.

In Spare , Harry remembered thinking Dodi was “cheeky” but overall was content with the relationship: “As long as Mummy’s happy, I told Willy, who said, he felt the same.” But Brown reported in her 2007 book that Prince William grew concerned. He told friends it was weird that they were on vacation with what seemed like a “substitute family.” When photos of Diana and Dodi on the boat were published, William complained to her that the boys at school would mock him for it.

After doing significant charity work in Bosnia with land mine victims, Diana reconvened with Dodi on the Jonikal in August. “The fact that she came back for a second visit so soon really shows her loneliness more than it does a passion for Dodi,” Dominick Dunne reported for Vanity Fair in 2008. But the privacy—or whatever amount of it that they had—might have appealed to her. “A splendid yacht. A helicopter. A private plane. Guards to keep the paparazzi at bay. She probably knew that she was being used by a social climber for his and his son’s advancement in London society, but in high society it was a fair deal. Each benefited.”

Dodi and Diana’s romance would be short-lived, but he showered her with gifts during their six-week relationship, including a pearl bracelet and diamond wristwatch, according to Vanity Fair . With him, the princess felt “so taken care of,” her confidant Lady Elsa Bowker told Brown. And on top of that, he was a “sympathetic, unthreatening listener,” wrote Tom Bower, author of Mohamed Al-Fayed’s unauthorized biography.

But their relationship probably wasn’t going to be a lasting one. According to Brown, Diana suspected Dodi might propose to her, but told a friend that the ring would go “firmly on the fourth finger of my right hand,” meaning she would not have accepted. Her sister Sarah McCorquodale later testified, “I just did not think the relationship had much longer to go.”

It’s been believed that the romance was even orchestrated by Mohamed himself. According to Bower, the older Al-Fayed would check in on Dodi and Diana during the trip (which is also portrayed in The Crown this season). McCorquodale also told the court that Diana “thought the boat was being bugged by Mr Al-Fayed Senior.”

On that second trip in August, Diana and Dodi were photographed together in the South of France and Sardinia, before heading to Paris for their tragic final days. There, they would be chased by cameras again for the last time.

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Boat of the Week: Meet ‘Cujo,’ the 80-Foot Yacht Where Late Movie Producer Dodi Al-Fayed Once Wooed Princess Diana

The couple spent some of their final summer cruising around saint-tropez aboard this fast, military-looking yacht., howard walker, howard walker's most recent stories.

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For a few brief weeks back in the summer of 1997, Cujo was the most famous boat in the world.

Not because of her intimidating military lines, or blistering 40-knot performance. It’s because Diana, Princess of Wales, hung out aboard in Saint-Tropez with the boat’s owner, and romantic partner Dodi Al-Fayed.

Countless paparazzi shots show the once future Queen of England on Cujo‘s narrow sidedecks, soaking up the Mediterranean sun. By the end of August that year, both Diana and Dodi would be dead after that fatal car wreck in Paris.

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Diana, Princess of Wales and Dodi Fayed spent some of their final summer cruising around Saint-Tropez aboard Cujo .  Courtesy Patrick Bar-Nice Matin/AP Images

Yet this rakish 80-footer was a headliner long before Diana stepped on board. Her first owner was Austrian Johnny Von Neumann, an entrepreneur, playboy and passionate sports-car racer who became the largest Porsche-VW distributor in the US.

In 1972, Von Neumann commissioned the Italian shipyard Baglietto to build him a boat with one goal: It had to go fast—faster than any other motoryacht on the water. To deliver, the shipyard installed twin 54-liter V-18 turbo diesels delivering a combined 2,700 horsepower.

Flat out, Cujo —said to be an ancient Indian word meaning “unstoppable force”—could easily top 40 knots, or 46 mph. Von Neumann blasted up and down the Cote d’Azur for a few years before ordering an even faster Baglietto—this time with jet turbine power. He sold Cujo to arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi who, at the time, was reckoned to be the richest man in the world.

The fast, military exterior gives way to an almost old-fashioned cockpit with wood cabinets and leather seats.  Courtesy Simon Kidston

Khashoggi eventually passed the boat on to his nephew Dodi Al-Fayed, who immediately sent her to the CARM shipyard in Lavagna, Italy, for a full refit.

Back in Saint-Tropez, and moored in her reserved spot on the town’s main quay outside the famed Le Sénéquier restaurant, Fayed would invite many of his Hollywood friends for a cruise. During the summers, everyone from Clint Eastwood, Tony Curtis, Bruce Willis and one-time girlfriend, Brooke Shields, were seen aboard.

Following Dodi and Diana’s death, Cujo quickly fell into disrepair. Decommissioned in 1999, she was hauled out at the CARM yard and spent several years in storage.

The main salon is smaller than many contemporary 80-foot motoryachts, but few other boats its size have the same 40-knots-plus top end.  Courtesy Simon Kidston

The boat was eventually rescued by Dodi’s cousin Moody Al-Fayed, who spent over $1 million bringing her back to life. Part of the work included uprating those massive diesels to deliver 1,650 hp each.

Now fast forward to February last year. After two summers of cruising Cujo around Sardinia and Italy’s Amalfi coast, Moody decided to sell. Strangely, he entered the boat in the Retromobile classic car auction in Paris.

That’s where well-known British car collector, buyer, seller and restorer Simon Kidston appeared. Kidston had spied Cujo in the Retromobile auction catalog, read that it was being sold by his old school-friend Fayed, and decided to bid.

The 1972 Baglietto has innovative features like the amidships helm and social area, and two sunbeds on the foredeck.  Courtesy Simon Kidston

“On the day of the auction, I was tied up with clients so asked a colleague to go down and take a look. I told him that if it was going cheaply, put in a bid for a bit of fun,” Kidston tells Robb Report .

“The bidding opened at just 150,000 Euros—that’s around $165,000. My colleague bid 160,000 Euros,” says Kidston. “Trouble was, no one else bid. The hammer went down and I had bought a boat. The feeling was a mix of excitement, tinged with terror.”

Unfortunately, just as Simon took delivery of Cujo at Lavagna, where she was moored, Europe was starting to lock down with the coronavirus pandemic.

The internal helm station is outfitted with modern electronics, but in a nod to its historic past, the wheel is definitely old school.  Courtesy Simon Kidston

But he did get to take her out during a video shoot in and around Portofino  for his YouTube channel Kidston Productions, where the boat meets up with Simon’s own ’70s Lamborghini Miura supercar. Entitled A Portofino Affair, the footage of Cujo at speed is breathtaking.

“She has immense presence,” said Kidston. “No boat of its size commands that kind of attention when she comes into a harbor.” Especially an Italian harbor when nervous local boat owners think she’s with the financial police.

“As you’d expect, those engines have tons and tons of performance,” Kidston adds. “We’ve seen 41 knots. But they have a very different sound than I was expecting; instead of a roar from the exhausts, there’s this amazing whistle from the turbos.”

The diesel engines were upgraded from the original 2,700 to 3,300 horsepower.  Courtesy Simon Kidston

While Kidston and his family had planned to cruise the Med this summer, the car enthusiast received an offer he couldn’t refuse.

“A young member of a prominent Italian business family—he’s 30 years old—had seen Cujo in Lavagna, fallen in love with her and asked if she was for sale,” he says. “He took delivery last week, just in time for his birthday.”

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See Inside the Superyacht Princess Diana Shared With Dodi Fayed

By Katherine McLaughlin

Since her untimely death in August of 1997, Princess Diana’s last summer spent with Dodi Al-Fayed has been described in various ways: a passionate love affair, a fake publicity stunt, a temporary fling, a rouse to infuriate another suiter, or the beginning of a lifelong commitment. Although the stories change, the setting remains: a summer tour through the Mediterranean aboard a multi-million dollar superyacht. Later this year, nearly 25 years to the day, the 208-foot vessel will launch for sale again. 

The yacht is full of glossy and dark wood paneling. 

Originally named Jonikal , then Sokar , and most recently Bash , the luxury vessel was first owned by Mohamed Al-Fayed, former owner of Harrods and father of Dodi Al-Fayed. During the fateful summer, Al-Fayed hosted Princess Di and her two sons aboard the Jonikal . After the couple’s tragic death, Mohamed Al-Fayed attempted to sell the yacht numerous times before it was finally bought in 2014. It was most recently purchased by Bassim Haidar in June of 2021, who is selling it just over a year later as he reportedly has plans to upgrade to a larger vessel. “She is in the yard being refitted, and will be launched for sale in September,” said John Wood, director at Seawood Yachts. 

Coffered ceilings add a dramatic, yet timeless feel. 

Bash , as the yacht is currently named, was designed by navel architect Vincenzo Ruggiero in the 1980s and built by the superyacht building firm Codecasa before launching in 1990. The vessel can hold up to 18 people across nine staterooms in addition to rooms for 26 crew members. Among many notable features, Bash includes a jacuzzi, swim platform, sun deck, a formal dining room, main saloon, a bar, and office space. Full of dark wood paneling and coffered ceilings, the interiors are reminiscent of the Arts and Crafts style of the early 1900s. 

The vessel includes nine staterooms in addition to plenty of space for the crew. 

Powered by Wärtsilä engines, the yacht has a cruising speed of 15 knots and top speeds of 20 knots. Even though an exact price hasn’t been advertised just yet, the last time the boat was sold, it was listed for $10,000,000. 

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The Crown: Five insights into the yachts featured in series six

On 16 November, the first volume of series six of The Crown was released on Netflix. Not only has it stirred up controversy regarding its depiction of recent historical events, but the series has also sparked the public's interest in the infamous yachts associated with the royal family's timeline.

The final instalment of The Crown features two ladies and two yachts, all of which are indelibly linked to Dodi Al-Fayed. It captures the simmering romance between Princess Diana and Dodi – a film producer and son of billionaire Mohamed Al-Fayed – as well as Dodi's fiancée, Kelly Fisher. In the drama, the Princess of Wales is whisked away to the former Harrods owner's villa (and superyacht) in the south of France, where she enjoys a summer on the continent with sons Prince William and Prince Harry in 1997.

The series shows the group on what was Mohamed Al-Fayed's yacht, the 63.8-metre Codecasa which was known as Jonikal (later Bash, now Isabell Princess of the Seas ) . Understandably, with the People's Princess aboard, the yacht was heavily photographed by the paparazzi – leading to the creation of that iconic Princess Diana yacht photo. The camera also pans to a smaller yacht we can assume is the 20-metre Baglietto Cujo , a yacht the Al-Fayed's spent a lot of time on and which sadly sank earlier this year.

Wondering what happened to Jonikal ? If the series was filmed on the original boat? Where the set location was? BOAT answers all your yacht-related questions surrounding the latest series.

That Princess Diana yacht picture

There are many iconic images of Princess Diana – not least the shot of her in the "revenge dress" – but up there are the images of her sporting a range of low-backed swimsuits from her summer in St. Tropez. Perhaps the most memorable is Princess Diana sitting on the diving board of Jonikal. The series recreates the moment her photo was captured, legs swaying above the oscillating sea, toes pointed ballerina-esque. It also draws on her plea to the paparazzi to give her boys some privacy as she meets them mid-sea on her tender, stealing the show in her leopard-print swimsuit.

The whereabouts of Jonikal today

The yacht carries great significance knowing Dodi and Princess Diana were pictured there just weeks before their fatal car accident. It belonged to Dodi's father and, during the series, Princess Diana and Dodi are portrayed sharing intimate moments on board: her, looking up from the piano she is playing, doe-eyed; him, opening up about his engagement and the struggles with his father. There is also the scene where they have an ice cube fight between decks; the scene where Dodi's siblings and Princess Diana's children jump off the diving board; where the pair share what would've been an intimate kiss, had the photographer on his motor yacht not snapped it.

It was successful telecoms entrepreneur Bassim Haidar who later bought the yacht in 2021. The fact that it’s the former Jonikal is a source of pride for Haidar, who told BOAT : "I really loved Lady Diana. Whenever anyone comes on board I always show them where the famous picture was taken." The yacht was sold in August this year.

The yacht the series was filmed on, Titania 

The Crown was not filmed on Isabell Princess of the Seas (ex- Jonikal ), but rather on the 72-metre Lurssen superyacht Titania . The yacht, which was delivered in 2006, is owned by British businessman John Caudwell. Back in 2021, Caudwell commented on the news via his social media accounts, stating that he "cannot confirm or deny any filming secrets" but hinted that viewers should "keep your eyes peeled towards the end of season five and start of season six."

The refit in 2012 amped up her charter facilities – adding a second owner’s cabin on the upper deck, a gym on the sundeck and an extension to the stern to accommodate a beach club (which can be spotted in the series) with a full water park that floats off the stern.

The other yacht (and the other woman)

Jonikal is not the only yacht to have featured in The Crown series six, filmed in Mallorca. At one point, the camera also pans to another yacht the Al-Fayed's spent a lot of time on, the 20-metre Cujo. The drama shows Dodi's fiancée at the time, Fisher, getting escorted by tender past the yacht Dodi and Princess Diana are on ( Jonikal ), and instead shuttled away to what Fisher refers to as "the smaller yacht". 

In August this year, the real-life Cujo sunk around 35 kilometres off the coast of Beaulieu-sur-Mer, France.

Other yachts featured in the series

Christina O had 122-metre shoes to fill in season five, playing Alexander – the converted cruise ship where Princess Diana and Charles celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary . Delivered in 1965 by German shipyard Lubecker Flender Werke , the superyacht hosted the royals and their sons princes William and Harry a year before the couple separated.

A replica of the Royal Yacht Britannia also starred in the fifth Netflix series. Britannia was used as Queen Elizabeth II’s royal yacht from 1954 to 1997, hosting up to 250 guests at a time while being operated by 21 officers and 250 crew from the Royal Navy. It was decommissioned as a cost-cutting measure by the UK government in 1997.

The second part of The Crown will premiere on Netflix from 14 December.

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Inside the Superyacht Princess Diana Vacationed on With Dodi Fayed

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T he Crown’s sixth season debuts this week on Netflix, chronicling the final weeks before Princess Diana’s untimely death in a car crash in Paris in August 1997. Amid the heart-wrenching moments that are sure to unfold, there’s one backdrop that will be a refreshing departure from the stately, windowless halls of the queen’s palatial residences : the multimillion-dollar super yacht that Princess Diana spent aboard touring St. Tropez just days before her death.

It was hot gossip, this adventure that the princess took abroad after having finalized her divorce from then Prince Charles less than a year before—something that was hinted at at the end of season 5 of The Crown as Queen Elizabeth is pressed to endorse a vacation at sea with Fayed and her grandchildren, Prince Harry and Prince William. Diana was famously photographed sitting on the passerelle of this boat. Years later, in real life, Harry described the trip in his memoir, Spare , with fond recollection. “Everything about that trip to St. Tropez was heaven,” he wrote.

While the series was filmed on a lookalike super yacht in Mallorca , the real boat was equally lavish. The 208-foot ship was commissioned by Dodi’s father, former Harrods owner Mohamed Al-Fayed , who brought on naval architect Vincenzo Ruggiero to design it in the late 1980s. It was built by Italian shipyard Codecasa and launched in 1990. The steel and aluminum super yacht boasted nine staterooms that altogether accommodate up to 18 people, in addition to a crew of 26. Amenities included a Jacuzzi, swim platform, sun deck, formal dining room, a bar, and office space. Mohamed had named the yacht Jonikal (it has subsequently been called Sokar and is currently called Bash ) .

Shortly after Diana’s and Dodi’s deaths, Mohamed gave the interior a redesign by H2 Yacht Design and a refit that included extending the hull. He attempted to sell the yacht on a number of occasions, ultimately parting with it in 2014 to an anonymous buyer. The new owner carried out further work, including machinery upgrades, a repaint, and fresh teak decks. In 2021, the yacht came into the hands of Bassim Haidar , the founder of Intercomm and GMT, who gave it a further $9.7 million refit after a reported bridge deck fire—and its current name Bash . It’s now back to turn-key condition after an 18-month remodel completed in April 2023 by marine engineering and management company Capax and boat interior company Bobic Yacht Interiors . It features a beauty salon, massage area, high-tech gym, and a spacious main salon.

In May, Robb Report reported that Bash is available for charter in the Mediterranean starting at $278,000 per week, plus expenses. In June, Haidar listed Bash for $16.8 million, according to Boat International .

There was a second motor yacht named Cujo, which Diana and Fayed also took earlier that summer. It was built in Italy in 1972 for John von Neumann, who commissioned the Italian Baglietto shipyard to build the world's fastest motor yacht. She was given two 18-cylinder engines that allowed it to go as fast as 42 knots. Fayed had bought the boat from his cousin, Saudi businessman and arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi. In August, the Mediterranean Sea reclaimed Cujo, as the 62-foot artifact of Diana’s life hit an unidentified object off Beaulieu-sur-Mer on July 29 and sprang a leak, Vanity Fair reported. The seven people on board were rescued by teams from Antibes and safely returned to shore.

An imitation of Jonikal will feature in The Crown season 6, a set that was intended to visually illuminate the tension between Diana and the royal family. “Diana’s south of France adventure was bright and lovely pastel colors, and her world even in Kensington Palace is optimistic and warm, compared to the queen’s residence at Balmoral, which is very static, with gloomy light and drab colors,” set decorator Alison Harvey told ELLE DECOR.

Filming on the yacht off the island of Mallorca (a St. Tropez stand-in) required many moving parts with few do-overs. “We brought in the drapes, the artwork, many furnishings,” Harvey explains. “Everything was set in the early ’90s, so we thought hard about the colors and textures that we brought in.” Harvey’s team had just half a day to dress the yacht, and then it was off to sea. “There was no getting on or off after that,” Harvey says, adding that they were “subsumed by the logistics of what we had to achieve and the time we had to do it.”

However painstaking the process, the yacht scenes will offer an intriguing context—though largely fictitious—for the iconic photographs that exist of those final weeks leading up to Diana’s death.

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Yacht that Princess Diana spent last summer on with Dodi Al-Fayed sinks to bottom of Mediterranean

Cujo, which made front-page news around the world back in the summer of 1997 when Diana was entertained on board a year after her divorce from Prince Charles, went down in 2500m (8200ft) of water.

Thursday 3 August 2023 17:00, UK

A motor yacht used by Princess Diana and her boyfriend Dodi Al-Fayed on their final summer holiday in the South of France before they died in a Paris car crash has sunk.

The 19m (62ft) Cujo went down 21 miles (35km) off Beaulieu-sur-Mer after sending out a mayday call last Saturday.

The seven people on board the luxury vessel, which was taking on water, were rescued by teams from Antibes before it sank to the bottom of the Mediterranean at a depth of 2500m (8200ft).

They were safely returned to shore.

The area was monitored for pollution as the boat sank with 7,000 litres of diesel in its tanks.

Cujo made front page news around the world back in the summer of 1997 when Al-Fayed entertained Diana onboard, a year after her divorce from Prince Charles, which was finalised in August 1996.

That summer, Diana was also photographed on Sokar, the yacht then owned by al Fayed's billionaire father Mohamed.

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It had previously been named Jonikal.

Cujo was built in Italy in 1972 for businessman John von Neumann who told the Italian Baglietto shipyard that he wanted the world's fastest motor yacht.

She was fitted with two 18-cylinder engines giving her a top speed of 42 knots.

Van Neumann then sold the boat to the son of Saudi businessman and arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi and he sold her on to his cousin, al Fayed.

Cujo was frequently moored off St Tropez, a famous celebrity hangout on the French Riviera, with guests including Clint Eastwood, Tony Curtis and Bruce Willis.

Following the death of Diana and Al-Fayed in central Paris on 31 August 1997, Cujo fell into disrepair.

She was decommissioned in 1999, and spent years in storage, before being restored by new owners.

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‘The Crown’: Behind the Photo of an Embrace That Changed Princess Diana’s Life

In the show, Mohamed al-Fayed sends the photographer Mario Brenna to capture shots of Diana and al-Fayed’s son, Dodi, on vacation. The portrayal is inaccurate, Brenna says.

By Alex Marshall

Reporting from London

It’s summer 1997, and Princess Diana is flirting with Dodi Fayed, a globe-trotting playboy, on the Jonikal, a yacht floating on sparkling Mediterranean waters.

Diana, teasingly, says that she likes men who have lips that are “just the right temperature.”

“Are mine the right temperature?” Dodi replies.

“I don’t know,” Diana says: “Need to check.” Then, the couple kiss, blissfully unaware that just a few meters away, Mario Brenna, a slick Italian photographer, is on a boat, with a long-lens camera trained on the couple.

A few days later, Brenna’s shots of the princess and her new beau are on the front pages of newspapers worldwide.

This is a central scene in the sixth and final season of Netflix’s royal drama “The Crown” — the first batch of episodes premiered on Thursday — and a moment that signaled the start of a tabloid frenzy around the couple that many blame for their deaths on Aug. 31, 1997, in a car crash in Paris as they were chased by photographers.

Yet the depiction is far from accurate, according to Brenna, speaking in what he said was his first interview with an English-language newspaper.

For a start, “The Crown” has Mohamed al-Fayed — Dodi’s father, and a retail and hotel tycoon who died this year — appearing to hire Brenna to take the shots, in an effort to push Diana and Dodi’s relationship into the public eye, and cajole the pair to marry.

In an email, Annie Sulzberger, the head of research for the show — she is also the sister of The Times’s publisher, A.G. Sulzberger — said that “there are a few theories about how Brenna managed to find the Jonikal moored somewhere in the Mediterranean Sea,” but the one the team found most credible was that one of al-Fayed’s employees leaked the boat’s location to Brenna.

But Brenna said the idea that al-Fayed hired him was “absurd and completely invented,” and that no one leaked information about the yacht’s whereabouts to him. Every summer at that time, he was in Sardinia so he could take paparazzi shots of famous people, he said, and coming across Diana and Dodi was simply a “great stroke of luck.”

On Aug. 1, 1997, Brenna said he approached Diana’s yacht on a fast moving inflatable boat after mistaking a blonde woman making a telephone call on its upper deck for an old acquaintance. As he got closer, he was stunned to realize it was the princess.

Bruno Malka, Brenna’s agent at the time who helped sell the images to Paris Match magazine, said in an email that he thought Brenna was familiar with the yacht, “without knowing it was Diana and Dodi” onboard that day. Brenna was successful, Malka added, because he had spent so many years working in the region.

After spotting the couple, Brenna said he spent the next few days stalking the boat, including climbing a cliff to get a better view. From that elevated position, about 400 meters away from Diana, he took several photos of Diana and Dodi in an embrace. The shots were almost blurred, Brenna said, because the heat haze meant he struggled to get the pair in focus.

Still, he knew immediately he’d secured “a historic photo.” He’d also captured an image that “solved my personal and family problems,” he said, at a time when he had recently divorced and so “was not swimming in wealth.”

He unloaded the rolls of film from the camera, then buried them to make sure they didn’t get exposed to the sun as he tried to take more images, and also as he feared a competitor might have seen him at work and try to steal his camera and so obtain the images every other photographer in the Mediterranean had been hoping to get first.

On Aug. 10, the Sunday Mirror, a British tabloid, splashed Brenna’s image on its front page . “The Kiss,” the headline read. Soon, Brenna said, he was selling the pictures worldwide. In the following six-to-eight months, he said, he made about 1.7 million pounds, or $2.1 million, from his photos of the couple.

Brenna’s pictures — and the prices news outlets paid for them — sparked a frenzy. In 2013, Jason Fraser, a British photographer who helped Brenna sell his images, told The Daily Mail that after they were published, over 2,000 photographers arrived in the Mediterranean hoping to get their own snaps of Diana and Dodi. “I felt the whole thing was spinning out of control,” Fraser said. Weeks later, the couple died.

In “The Crown,” Brenna (portrayed by Enzo Cilenti) explains his methods to camera. To capture celebrities misbehaving, the fictional Brenna says, you have to take risks. Paparazzi also have to act like “hunters … killers.”

Brenna said in the email interview that he did not share this opinion of his work (“I do not identify with the term ‘killer,’”) and that he was never contacted by anyone from “The Crown” to learn about his experiences (Netflix did not respond to a request for comment).

After Diana and Dodi’s death, al-Fayed sued Fraser, the British photographer, for taking photos of Diana and Dodi on a boat, saying it was an invasion of privacy. Brenna said he did not face any such action, adding his images were legal as they “were taken outdoors, in a public place.” And he regretted the privacy crackdown that happened since, with governments and stars trying to stop the paparazzi from taking photos: “There is still the right to report,” he said.

Today, Brenna lives near Lake Como, in Italy, where he said he’s photographed celebrities including George Clooney, Miley Cyrus and Beyoncé, even as the dawn of social media had impacted his profession significantly, including its financial rewards.

Brenna said he and his family enjoyed the success of the photos throughout August 1997. But then, Diana died. When he heard the news, Brenna said, he “couldn’t believe it” and cried, not least because he had two children himself and so could understand what her death would mean for Diana’s boys. He made a decision “not to speak or disclose anything about the incident until William and Harry reached adulthood.”

The mere thought that his images “could have contributed to fueling the hunt for Diana and Dodi obviously saddens me,” Brenna said. But he did not think his work added significantly to the furor around the princess.

“If it hadn’t been me,” he added, “someone else would certainly have captured those images.”

Alex Marshall is a European culture reporter, based in London. More about Alex Marshall

Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed's South of France superyacht is up for sale

By Dora Davies-Evitt

Diana, Princess Of Wales is seen in St Tropez in the summer of 1997

Since her death in August 1997, the late Diana, Princess of Wales's last months have been described as some of her happiest. During the weeks before the tragic car accident that would kill them both, the princess took a blissful tour through the Mediterranean aboard a superyacht with her boyfriend, Dodi Fayed. At the time, a photograph of the pair kissing atop the vessel's sun deck made headlines around the world. Now, 25 years on, the multi-million-pound boat, which is loaded with memories of the princess's final summer, is up for sale. 

The luxury vessel was bought by Mohamed Al-Fayed, former owner of Harrods and father of Fayed. Following the death of his son, Al-Fayed attempted to sell the yacht several times before it was finally purchased in 2014. Most recently the boat was owned by billionaire entrepreneur Bassim Haidar, who apparently has a ‘great affection for the ocean’. With reported plans to upgrade to a larger vessel, Haidar is parting with the 64m boat just a year after its purchase. The superyacht does not presently have an advertised price, although it was last sold for $10,000,000 (approximately £8,186,300). 

By Isaac Bickerstaff

Currently named Bash , the vessel has previously been called Jonikal , then Sokar. According to House and Garden , the yacht was designed by naval architect Vincenzo Ruggiero in the 1980s and built by the superyacht building firm Codecasa before launching in 1990. Lined with wood panelling and coffered ceilings, the interiors are suggestive of the Arts and Crafts style of the fin de siècle. With features such as a jacuzzi, swim platform, a formal dining room, main saloon, a bar, and office space, the boat is far from lacking in luxury spaces.

Fayed and Diana first met at a polo match in Windsor in 1986, while the royal was still married to Prince Charles. A year following Diana's divorce, the couple enjoyed a fleeting and jet-set romance, spending time in the South of France and Sardinia before they flew to Paris in August 1997. It was during their visit to the French capital that the pair were both devastatingly killed in a traffic collision, following their brief stay at the Hôtel Ritz. 

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By Alexander O'Loughlin

The Luxurious Yacht (Made in Italy) for Lady Diana’s Last Vacation

In the summer of 1997, photos of Diana and Dodi on holiday traveled around the world, sparking controversy back at Buckingham Palace. We take a closer look at the unforgettable yacht where the Princess of Wales spent her last vacation

It was on the morning of August 31, 1997, when the BBC woke the world to shocking news: Diana Spencer, Princess of Wales , was the victim of a car accident in the Pont de l'Alma tunnel of Paris, together with her boyfriend Dodi Al-Fayed, when their car, driven by Henri Paul, crashed against the tunnel’s thirteenth pillar.

It was a pre-social era, when communication didn’t spread as fast as it does today, and yet Lady Diana’s story was broadcast immediately across every media channel imaginable. Diana, a timeless style icon admired worldwide for her gentle demeanor, was spending a relaxing vacation with Dodi aboard the Jonikal luxury yacht that summer, twenty-five years ago . Every photo of them was quickly picked up and published in magazines around the globe: the title of the Sunday Mirror’s first page on Sunday, August 10, 1997, read “The Kiss,” capturing the couple’s intimate moment aboard the yacht. But perhaps even more iconic was the August 24, 1997 photograph of Diana on the walkway of the Jonikal luxury yacht in the waters of Portofino.

The pictures of Diana in her swimsuit, who at 36 was as glamorous as ever, were a far cry from those of the young Princess aboard the Britannia royal yacht during her honeymoon with Prince Charles in 1981. The two yachts are also very different: the HMY Britannia was a 126-meter yacht belonging to the British Royal Family, while Jonikal was a 65-meter luxury yacht belonging to the Al-Fayed family and built by the Italian Codecasa shipyard.

After the couple’s tragic accident, Mohamed Al-Fayed, Dodi’s father, attempted to sell the yacht numerous times before it was purchased in 2014. The luxury yacht, originally named Jonikal by the Al-Fayed family, then Sokar and, more recently, Bash, can host up to 18 guests in 9 cabins and 26 crew members. The Jonikal yacht was launched in 1989, sailing at a cruising speed of 15 knots and reaching a top speed of 20 knots.

Among its many noteworthy features, the luxury yacht includes a Jacuzzi, sun deck, formal dining room, main lounge, bar and office. Interiors unfold with dark wood paneling and coffered ceilings contrasting with white to dilate the space. The design is meticulous, curated down to the last detail: for example, all countertops have anti-roll edges, following the best nautical tradition. Beyond the dark wood, the color palette used for interiors unfurls in delicate tones of light blue and beige.

The yacht was last purchased in June 2021 for the sum of $10,000,000 and appears to be for sale once more, although the current price hasn’t been disclosed.

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Princess Diana’s Former Yacht That She Vacationed on with Boyfriend Dodi Fayed Sinks in France

All seven passengers were rescued after the superyacht, dubbed Cujo, sank beneath the Mediterranean Sea on July 29

Natalia Senanayake is an Editorial Assistant, Lifestyle at PEOPLE. She covers all things travel and home, from celebrities' luxury mansions to breaking travel news.

Best Image/BACKGRID; Gendarmerie des Alpes-Maritimes

Princess Diana ’s former yacht that she enjoyed her last summer vacation on before her death has sunk off the coast of France, according to The Independent . 

The boat, dubbed Cujo , was frequented by the late princess and her boyfriend at the time, Dodi Fayed , in the summer of 1997 before they both died in a car crash in late August that year. 

All seven passengers on board were rescued in time before the vessel sank below the Mediterranean Sea on Saturday, July 29. An officer said that the “ship was sinking due to a leak” after it allegedly hit an unidentified object on the French Riviera, The Independent reports. 

Gendarmerie des Alpes-Maritimes

Gendarmerie des Alpes-Maritimes, a branch of the French military, released a statement addressing the incident on their official Facebook page . They state the Antibes Nautical Brigade first responded to a distress call at 12:30 p.m. local time for a yacht located 35 kilometers off the coast of Beaulieu-sur-Mer, France. 

When they arrived at the scene 45 minutes later, the ship was already sinking and the cabins had begun to flood. The seven passengers were already transferred to a life raft and examined for injuries before being taken back to shore. 

Princess Diana and Fayed enjoyed spending time together aboard the 20-meter superyacht that first launched in 1972, especially around the Italian Riviera, according to Boat International . 

The pair first met at a polo match in 1986 in which Fayed was playing against Diana’s then-husband, Prince Charles . Diana and Fayed didn’t connect romantically until nearly 10 years later when Fayed’s father, Mohamed al Fayed, invited her and her two sons, Prince William and Prince Harry , to vacation at their villa in St. Tropez, France.  

Before Diana’s romance with the film producer began to develop, the Prince and Princess of Wales had finalized their divorce in August 1996. Diana announced that she agreed to her husband's request for divorce earlier that year in February. 

A representative of the princess released a statement at the time: "The Princess of Wales has agreed to Prince Charles's request for a divorce. The Princess will continue to be involved in all decisions relating to the children and will remain at Kensington Palace with offices in St. James's Palace . The Princess of Wales will retain the title and be known as Diana, Princess of Wales."

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Diana died at the age of 36 after going into cardiac arrest from internal injuries she sustained during a high-speed car crash in Paris, France . Dodi and the car’s driver, Henri Paul, were killed instantly in the fatal accident. 

Reports indicate the car was traveling at 121 mph in a narrow tunnel along the Seine River in an effort to escape paparazzi tailing them on motorcycles. It was also reported that Paul was legally drunk when the crash occurred.

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The Crown: Who Really Hired That Paparazzo to Take Photos of Diana and Dodi?

By Chris Murphy

A picture really is worth a thousand words. On a new episode of Still Watching, cohosts Hillary Busis, Richard Lawson, and Chris Murphy break down episode two of season six part one of The Crown, “Two Photographs,” with VF staff writer and royals expert Erin Vanderhoof.  

A true anglophile, Vanderhoof distinguishes fact from fiction on the second episode of The Crown season six, which focuses on photographs taken of Diana and Charles by two very different types of photographers. One choice that really surprised Vanderhoof was The Crown ’s insinuation that Mohamed Al-Fayed ( Salim Daw ) orchestrated famed paparazzo Mario Brenna ’s iconic photo of Princess Diana ( Elizabeth Debicki ) and Dodi Fayed ( Khalid Abdalla ) embracing on the yacht, one of a set of images that drove tabloids crazy. 

“There’s a lot of debate about who put Mario Brenna up to that,” says Vanderhoof, before sharing former Vanity Fair editor in chief and The Diana Chronicles author Tina Brown ’s theory: that it was Diana herself who called Brenna to get the shot. “She wanted to make her other ex-boyfriend, Hasnat Khan jealous,” says Vanderhoof. “There’s a lot of debate about whether it was somebody close to Dodi, somebody close to Diana. It’s one of those things that cannot really be definitively proven.”

Vanderhoof also shared what happened to Mohamed Al-Fayed in the years following Dodi and Diana’s death. “We know from real life that he was crushed by the death of his son,” Vanderhoof says. “His entire life was sort of formed around it. He became, like, the biggest proponent of all the conspiracy theories. Like, it really, really crushed him.” She also shed some light on the relationship between the royals and their royal photographers, sharing a story about her own experience following Prince William on a press boat. 

“When you turn [in a boat], your orientation relative to William changes, and so then all the photographers go running to the other side of the boat,” says Vanderhoof. “All the reporters have to then run to the other side of the boat so we don’t tip over. We’re doing cardio.”

For more on Diana, Charles, and the paparazzi you can listen to the full breakdown of “Two Photographs” below. And as always, send questions and comments and musings about The Crown season six part one to Still Watching at [email protected] .

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Did Mohamed Al Fayed Really Hire Paparazzi?

The Crown alleges that Mohamed was the one who orchestrated the famous "Kiss" photo of Princess Diana and Dodi. But what really happened?

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In The Crown , Brenna is able to capture these pictures of Diana and Dodi's blossoming romance because Mohamed Al Fayed tells him where to go. However, there's no evidence of this happening in real life. In fact, after the episodes premiered, Brenna said the idea that Mohamed hired him was "absurd and completely invented."

As the Independent reported at the time, " It is understood Brenna, a 40-year-old Italian who lives in Monaco, happened to spot the Fayed boat, Jonikal, as he was in the area on other photographic assignments." He then went to Jason Fraser, a photographer based in London, to help sell the photos in the UK. Fraser, the paper notes, "once handed a roll of film to Princess Diana when she was upset at being photographed leaving a dinner party with a stranger."

Rumors have swirled someone close to Princess Diana was, in fact, the one who called the paparazzi. As Tim Clayton and Phil Craig write in Diana: Story of a Princess , "The author Kate Snell believes that Diana was in shock at the news from Khan and wanted to make him jealous. This, she says, was Diana’s motive for helping Mario Brenna take a photograph of the couple kissing during this cruise." (Diana had just split from boyfriend Hasnat Khan .)

They continue, "Brenna acted on a tip-off from his London colleague, photographer Jason Fraser. The day before Diana left, Fraser received a call from someone close to her, telling him that the Princess was on her way to the Mediterranean. He was told the name of the boat, who she was with and approximately where the couple could be found. The caller made it clear that there would be no complaints if photographs were taken. All Brenna had to do was to shadow the boat to Corsica and wait for the right moment. Some of his pictures were taken from just ten yards away."

The New York Times reports that the theory the Crown research team found most credible " was that one of al-Fayed’s employees leaked the boat’s location to Brenna."

Then, as we know, Brenna alerted Fraser, who reached out to the press, setting off a bidding war. "Mario wouldn't tell me what he had over the phone. He flew to London, came to my house and simply said: 'You’re not going to believe this. You might want to sit down,'" photographer Jason Fraser recalled . "When he showed me the prints, we spread them out over the kitchen floor and we sat in silence. I didn’t know what to do. I knew that Diana had wanted them to be taken. But I knew nothing would ever the same again. I didn’t want to change people’s image of her."

However, the truth of how Brenna discovered the yacht has been lost to history.

Emily Burack (she/her) is the Senior News Editor for Town & Country, where she covers entertainment, culture, the royals, and a range of other subjects. Before joining T&C, she was the deputy managing editor at Hey Alma , a Jewish culture site. Follow her @emburack on Twitter and Instagram .

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Mohamed Al-Fayed seen on luxury yacht on 20th anniversary of Diana and Dodi’s deaths

MOHAMED Al-Fayed has emerged on the same luxury yacht that his son Dodi and Diana once holidayed on with him before they were killed.

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MOHAMED Al-Fayed has been spotted sailing on the same luxury yacht that his son Dodi and Diana once holidayed on with him.

Al-Fayed, 88, was seen looking relaxed on his luxury yacht known as Sakara while in St Tropez on the 20th anniversary of the death of Dodi and Diana.

Photos of the former Harrods owner show him looking pensive on the 112ft-long boat that he invited the late Princess Diana on with her children.

She holidayed with Mohamed, his son and former lover Dodi, and her sons William and Harry in July 1997, in St Tropez 20 years ago.

Al-Fayed will privately mark the anniversary of Dodi and Diana’s death after a car accident in Paris on August 31, 1997.

Al-Fayed has said he still mourns the death of his son after they died and claims they were killed because they planned to marry.

He claims to spend 300 days a year sitting beside his son’s body at a mausoleum in the grounds of his mansion Barrow Green Court, near Oxted in Surrey, The Sun reports.

He also has left Dodi’s Park Lane flat, where he took Diana during the summer of 1997 before the pair died in a car crash, untouched as a shrine to his son.

Two decades on, the flat is untouched, preserved like a time capsule.

Another old family friend told The Sun: “He often spends hours on end sitting with Dodi. After 20 years he still misses him terribly.

“And when he is in London he will take time out to visit Dodi’s apartment. Not one thing inside has changed since Dodi died. He will not allow anyone to move anything.

“The apartment is cleaned but it is still exactly the same as when Dodi and Diana used to spend time there.

“They used to sit on the floor having takeaway meals. She and Dodi were mad on films.

“He had a wall filled with VHS tapes. Any moment they had together, they went there. They’d watch TV and hang out like teenagers.”

Al-Fayed, doting father of Diana’s boyfriend Dodi, is still convinced the pair were just hours from announcing wedding plans — and that they were killed by security services, on the orders of Prince Philip, to prevent the Princess marrying a Muslim.

His outrageous claim made the then Harrods owner a pariah in many circles. In 2000 the store was stripped of its four royal warrants — the right to declare that a company supplies goods by appointment to the Royal Family.

The tycoon then funded a multimillion-dollar documentary which erroneously alleged that the Duke of Edinburgh had a Nazi background.

In the film — never aired for legal reasons — he set fire to the royal warrant emblems which had hung outside the department store.

A close friend told The Sun: “Mohamed believes they were in love and were going to announce their engagement in London the day after the tragedy. He will never get over the death of his son, or that of the Princess — because of the love he had for both.”

The complex life of Diana — a shy, teenage aristocrat who suddenly became a global icon — and her tragic death still captivates millions across the globe.

Diana wed Prince Charles, the heir to the throne, in 1981, but their marriage collapsed under the strains of public duty and their incompatibility.

She was cast out of the royal family in the 1996 divorce she had inadvertently made inevitable with an explosive tell-all television interview.

However, the monarchy’s shining star was undimmed, her reputation sealed as a fashion icon, charity campaigner, humanitarian and a self-styled “queen of hearts”.

And just after midnight in Paris on Thursday, a few braved the rain to be at the Pont de l’Alma tunnel where, precisely two decades earlier, her car smashed into a pillar, taking the life of the most famous woman in the world.

One man lit several candles around the Flame of Liberty monument, which stands above the underpass and has become a shrine to the princess.

Diana was “revolutionary”, said Sian Croston, a 17-year-old student from London. “She changed the royal family forever.

“She will always be the people’s princess,” she said, using the epithet coined by prime minister Tony Blair in the hours after her death.

Diana was killed along with Dodi, her wealthy Egyptian film producer boyfriend of two months, and his drink-impaired, speeding driver Henri Paul, who was trying to evade paparazzi photographers.

Twenty years on, a few dozen bouquets of flowers and pictures of the princess have been laid at the Flame of Liberty by sympathetic visitors.

“I was a child when she died but I studied her biography,” said German journalist Marie Hermann, 25, from Frankfurt.

“l loved Diana and her commitment to charities,” she told AFP. Linda Bigelbach, 61, from Saint Paul in Minnesota, said: “I remember her wedding day and I remember the day she died.”

The Prince of Wales has provided a rare insight into his wife’s treatment as he stepped out in the UK for solo engagements.

The King has made his long-awaited return to public duties with an appearance in London, where he shared very rare personal details.

As Prince Harry prepares to visit the UK for the first time in months, reports have emerged King Charles won’t have “time” to see his son.

Fact-checking ‘The Crown’: Was Dodi al-Fayed engaged when he romanced Diana?

In the first episode of the sixth and final season of “The Crown,” Diana, Princess of Wales, newly divorced and stripped of her “HRH” title, takes refuge on the yacht of billionaire Mohamed al-Fayed, which is docked in Saint-Tropez near a Fayed-owned villa.

Although the towering blonde and the short, graying Egyptian might seem odd friends at first, the two have much common: Both are rich, friendly, insecure, a little flashy — and utter outcasts, rejected by the British royal family despite desperate, years-long bids for acceptance.

Soon, we find out that Fayed has more than just a relaxing vacation planned for Diana. He calls his son Dodi and insists his son drop whatever he’s doing and come to woo the princess. There’s one problem, Dodi tries to explain to his dad: He’s getting married to another woman in three weeks.

Later in the new episodes — Netflix released the first four episodes of the season Thursday; the final six will follow on Dec. 14 — Dodi spends his days romancing Diana on the huge yacht and his nights visiting his American fiancée on a smaller yacht nearby.

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So, did that really happen? Was Dodi really engaged to an American the summer before his and Diana’s tragic deaths in a car crash in Paris? And did he really keep the two beautiful women on adjacent yachts?

Yes, according to the journalist Martyn Gregory in his 2004 book “ Diana: The Last Days .”

Dodi met Kelly Fisher in July 1996; by February 1997, he had proposed. The Kentucky-born model had been to the Fayed family home in London, and Dodi’s father bought a mansion in Malibu for them to live in after they were married, according to Gregory.

Fisher had set a date of Aug. 9 for the wedding, although it’s questionable how serious that was; invitations never went out. Still, in July, they visited the Fayed-owned Villa Windsor property in Paris — once the home of the Duke of Windsor and his American wife, Wallis Simpson — and picked up some antique furniture for their new house.

They even got a pet together, a dog named Bear.

Fisher also got a clear view of the hold Mohamed al-Fayed had over his son and how Dodi felt pressured to do whatever his father asked. When Fayed ordered Dodi to leave Fisher and join the yacht trip, Fisher was annoyed but not suspicious. She couldn’t go because of a modeling commitment but expected to join them the next week.

When she arrived, however, instead of being taken by Fayed’s staff to the villa or the main yacht, she was instead taken to a smaller yacht docked nearby, where, except for the crew and brief visits from Dodi, she was alone.

In “The Crown,” Fisher immediately suspects she’s being cheated on, but in real life, she claimed she had no idea. She was “livid” about being confined to the little yacht, and as the days went on, it became clearer that she and Dodi weren’t going to get married on Aug. 9, but, she told Gregory, “I just thought maybe they didn’t want a commoner around the princess.”

Eventually, Fisher left the boat and went back to work, but she was still talking on the phone frequently with Dodi, Gregory wrote. Then, on Aug. 10 — the day after she had once thought she would be getting married — a friend in London called with some surprising news: A British tabloid had published a photo of Dodi and Diana on the big yacht, kissing.

Fisher did what a lot of spurned women in the 1990s did: She hired the feminist lawyer Gloria Allred. In an Aug. 14 news conference with a stunned Fisher at her side, Allred called Dodi a “frog in prince’s clothing” and announced that Fisher was suing him for breach of contract.

The day after the tragic Paris car crash, Allred announced that Fisher would drop the lawsuit “out of respect for the tragedy and tremendous loss the Fayed family has suffered.”

Mohamed al-Fayed, who died this year , long denied Fisher’s claims of having a serious relationship with Dodi, and in a 2008 inquest into Diana and Dodi’s deaths, he called her “a hooker and a gold digger.”

Fisher testified at the same inquest. Her story had not changed, and a phone call she taped between herself and Dodi was read into evidence. In the call, she shouted at him, “You even flew me down to Saint-Tropez to sit on a boat while you seduced Diana all day and [expletive] me all night.”

As of 2014, Fisher, now Kelly Movshina, had traded the jet-set life for the wealthy enclave of Aiken, S.C., where she settled with her husband — a Russian pilot she met in the Central African Republic — and their daughter. In a spread for Aiken Woman magazine, which doesn’t mention Dodi or Diana, she said, “We have truly fallen in love with small town life.”

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