Stand up for the facts!

Our only agenda is to publish the truth so you can be an informed participant in democracy.
We need your help.

More Info

I would like to contribute

Ciara O'Rourke
By Ciara O'Rourke November 17, 2023

Princess Diana died in 1997. A conspiracy theory that loops in former President Donald Trump claims

If Your Time is short

  • Princess Diana died in August 1997.

Princess Diana died in August 1997 after sustaining injuries in a Paris car crash. But a recent video shared in an Instagram post suggests she’s alive, and in cahoots with former President Donald Trump.

"I think Diana is still alive, she possibly could be with Trump, I don’t know," a woman in the video says. "She talks in code just like Trump."

The woman also goes on to point to a Telegram channel "as a little confirmation that I’m onto something" because it’s allegedly run by John F. Kennedy Jr.’s wife, Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy. (Both Kennedy and Bessette-Kennedy died in a July 1999 plane crash.) 

It also features clips from old interviews Diana gave, such as one in which she said that she "did a lot of work, well, underground, without any media attention."

"Royal Secret = Diana is alive," reads text over the video. "Psyops and secrets are sometimes necessary to keep people alive and keep the plan of saving humanity successful."

Featured Fact-check

But none of this amounts to credible evidence that a former British royal who has been dead for more than 25 years has been alive and incognito and in touch with Trump. 

A Facebook post sharing the video was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.)

Diana’s funeral was watched by about 2.5 billion television viewers around the world, and a conspiracy theory in which she remains alive would involve the complicity of her family and the criminal justice system. A jury eventually found that she was killed by the negligent driving of her chauffeur and the paparazzi pursuing the car she was in. 

This claim is unfounded and there’s no evidence to support it. We rate it Pants on Fire!

 

Browse the Truth-O-Meter

More by Ciara O'Rourke

Princess Diana died in 1997. A conspiracy theory that loops in former President Donald Trump claims

Support independent fact-checking.
Become a member!

In a world of wild talk and fake news, help us stand up for the facts.

Sign me up