It’s midnight on August 31 1997 and Princess Diana, accompanied by Dodi Fayed and their entourage, is preparing to leave the Ritz hotel in Paris to travel the short distance across the French capital to Dodi’s apartment on the Champs-Elysees.

The Princess and the son of Harrods owner, Mohamed Al Fayed, have spent much of the summer together in the south of France leading to much speculation about the nature of their relationship.

Outside the Ritz, the Princess of Wales is ushered into Dodi’s Mercedes-Benz W140 as they depart for the apartment.

Dodi’s driver – Henri Paul – is intoxicated and speeding through the streets of Paris. Driving at over 60 mph he enters the Pont de l’Alma tunnel and clips a white Fiat Uno. Henri loses control of the car and smashes into a pillar causing one of the most shocking royal tragedies in history.

Here, the Daily Mail reconstructs the events of that fateful crash 28 years ago today.

CCTV footage of Princess Diana at the Ritz hotel in Paris

One of the last pictures of Diana as she left the Ritz for Dodi Fayed’s apartment

Princess Diana alongside Dodi and Henri died in the crash. While Dodi’s bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones was seriously injured. He was the only person in the car wearing a seat belt.

Aged just 36-years-old Diana’s sudden death shocked Britain and the world.

Diana’s funeral on September 6 1997 was watched by an estimated 32million people in Britain which was over half of the entire population at the time and made it one of the most watched events in UK history.

While globally an estimated 2.5billion watched global solidifying the tragedy as one of the most shocking events of the 20th century.