Editor defends dying Diana photograph | Media

Editor defends dying Diana photograph

An Italian magazine editor today stood by his decision to publish a photograph taken of Diana, Princess of Wales as she lay dying.

Umberto Brindani, the editor of Italian weekly magazine Chi, said the picture was not offensive, describing it as "touching" and "tender".

But the British tabloid press reacted with outrage to the picture's publication. The Sun splashed on the story under the headline "Shame on you" and the Daily Mirror devoted its front page to "Dying Diana photo fury."

"I published the picture for a very simple reason - it has never been seen before," said Mr Brindani.

The Milan-based magazine used the black and white image, which shows the princess being given oxygen at the site of the fatal car crash in Paris in 1997, to accompany an article about a new book by French crime writer Jean-Michel Caradec'h.

Caradec'h's book, Lady Diana: The Criminal Investigation, will include photos of the princess taken shortly after the accident.

"In my opinion, it is not a picture that is offensive to the memory of Princess Diana. As a thorough and informative news magazine, we have merely reported the publication of a book in France regarding Princess Diana's death," Mr Brindani said.

"We carried an interview with the author and were provided material from a dossier that he acquired. The material from this dossier is in the book and includes the photograph as well as other documents," he added.

"We were the first magazine to publish them but I understand that others in Europe - in France and Spain - will also publish shortly."

Mr Brindani rejected suggestions that publishing the photograph was insensitive or upsetting for Princes William and Harry.

"On the contrary, I think they are the two people above all who want to know the truth," he said. "She is not dead in the picture but looks as if she is a sleeping princess."

The Harrods owner, Mohamed Al Fayed, whose son, Dodi, also died in the crash, said he was "sad and angry" about the photograph.

Monarchists and British newspapers were united in their condemnation of the picture's publication.

Chi published the photo under the headline "World Exclusive: the Last Photo". The article also included autopsy diagrams of princess's injuries.

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