When Prince William and Kate Middleton step foot in Paris on Friday, it will be the first time the future king has made an official visit to the city since his mother died 20 years ago.
The royal trip will take place over two days, during which the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will aim to strengthen relations between France and a post-Brexit Britain. But its significance extends way beyond diplomacy. By revisiting the place where Princess Diana was killed in a catastrophic car accident, William has finally decided to face the most painful memory from his childhood.
At present the schedule for William and Kate's Paris trip does not include a visit to The Flame of Liberty, a place which has become an unofficial mecca for thousands of Diana fans due to its location at the entrance of the Pont de l'Alma tunnel, where the fatal crash occurred. But for the royal couple, even being in the City of Light is sure to bring to the surface painful memories of the tragic circumstances surrounding Diana's death.
The details of that night in August 1997 remain as hard to fathom today as they did during that hot Parisian summer. The People's Princess had spent the previous week on vacation in Sardinia with her new boyfriend, Dodi Fayed. She had only been dating him for a month, and he was somewhat of a rebound fling for the 36 year old divorcée. After separating from Prince Charles in 1992, her only serious relationship had been with heart surgeon Hasnat Khan, a man friends later described as the love of her life.
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