I’ll put £10m Diana death car on show
Ex-bodyguard’s fury at ghoulish museum sale bid
PRINCESS Diana’s former bodyguard fears that putting her death car in a museum will act as a magnet for ghouls.
Ken Wharfe spoke out after experts claimed the mangled wreck of the Mercedes could fetch up to £10million at auction.
Owner Jean-Francois Musa wants the motor to return to Paris so he can give it to a US museum as a “mark of respect” to the tragic royal, who was killed alongside lover Dodi Fayed when drunk driver Henri Paul crashed in a tunnel.
But Wharfe branded the move “distasteful”. He said: “There seems to be no thought for her family who would find this incredibly upsetting that sick ghouls would be visiting this disturbing piece of history.”
And one auctioneer said the idea of putting it in a museum was “downright disgusting”.
John Markey of H&H Classics added: “I condemn it in the strongest terms.
“I suppose there is a market for anything but no respecting auctioneer would go near an item like this, it’s a sick sideshow.
“I don’t personally believe it should be given a value, but it could be worth one, two, even £10million or maybe more depending on who bought it.
“It’s worth what anyone is willing to pay for it and there’s a market for everything.
“But I couldn’t see any British or French museum taking it. I think it is just abhorrent.”
Musa ran the Etoile Limousines firm who provided the Paris Ritz, owned by Dodi’s dad Mohamed al-Fayed, with cars.
The hotel is where Diana left from on the night of her death.
The Mercedes S280 was taken to a police pound in London for tests by forensics experts in 2005 and has been there ever since.
Musa, 58, said: “The car is still legally mine, but I haven’t seen it for almost 20 years.
“It was shipped to Britain for the police and judges to inspect it. It should have been sent back to me when all the
inspections were completed, but it never was.
“It could be given to a museum. People in places like America are very keen on these type of cars.”
Musa insisted he does not want to profit from the car, adding: “The Mercedes is piece of history which could be used to recall a terrible tragedy. The British should just hand the car back.”
An 18-month French judicial investigation found that the crash was caused by Paul, who lost control of the car at high speed while boozed up and on anti-depressants.
A 2008 inquest in London ruled that Diana and Dodi were unlawfully killed by Paul’s “grossly negligent behaviour”.
Diana’s bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones survived the crash.
Al-Fayed believes the Diana and his son were killed by secret services to stop a Muslim marrying the mother of the heir to the throne.
Paul’s 85-year-old dad Jean is also convinced the couple were murdered – but Musa insisted: “There was no plot. Sadly this was a routine road traffic accident, the kind that all of us dread. It is all very sad.
“It’s easy to look back at a terrible accident and work out all kinds of reasons why it might have happened but in the end, accidents happen.
“Trying to find blame all the time will not bring the poor victims back.
“It’s a tragedy what happened to Diana and the others who died, but there was no foul play, I am certain of that. The car belongs to me and now it is time I had it back to put an end to this dark chapter once and for all.”
Diana’s sons William and Harry are said to want the car disposed of “discreetly” but the Met have indicated it will be sent back to France.
Last week, we revealed that the Mercedes was involved in a major accident before Musa bought it and a year later, it was stolen and had all major components ripped out.
But Musa insisted: “There was nothing seriously wrong with it.”