Edited image used to falsely claim that Princess Diana is still alive | Fact check
The claim: Image shows Princess Diana announcing she's still alive
A Feb. 14 Instagram post (direct link, archive link) shows a woman with short blonde hair and wrinkles speaking into a bundle of microphones.
"Breaking news," reads text within the post. "Lady Diana has returned and has confirmed that she is alive. This is a photo of her from today. Tuesday, February 13, 2024."
Similar versions of the claim were shared on Instagram, Facebook and X, formerly Twitter.
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Our rating: Altered
Princess Diana is not alive. The wrinkles are digitally edited into an image of Princess Diana taken in Angola in 1997, seven months before she died.
Image edited to make late princess appear older
The picture of Diana is not real, nor has she been spotted alive in public.
Face and neck wrinkles were digitally edited into a photo of Diana taken at the Luanda International Airport in Angola in 1997. According to the Associated Press's caption, she'd arrived at the airport to raise awareness about land mines.
Similar pictures of Diana, one from a different angle, were captured at the time by Getty Images and showed her without the exaggerated wrinkles.
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Diana died on August 31, 1997, following a car crash in Paris' Pont de l'Alma tunnel. Her companion, Dodi Fayed, was also killed. About 2.5 billion people worldwide watched Diana's funeral on television, and the footage is available on C-SPAN online.
Documents detailing the events following her death, such as lists of funeral attendees and the lowering of the flags, were published by the National Archives of the United Kingdom.
Her ashes are buried at her family home in Althorp Park, England, according to the BBC.
Following a six-month inquest into Diana and Fayed's death, a jury found in 2008 they were unlawfully killed by their chauffeur's reckless driving and the photographers who followed the couple into the tunnel.
USA TODAY reached out to the user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
Reuters also debunked the claim.
Our fact-check sources:
Associated Press, Jan. 13, 1997, ANGOLA ROYALS DIANA
Getty Images, Jan. 13, 1997, Diana Speech To Press
Getty Images, Jan. 13, 1997, Diana Speech
USA TODAY, Aug. 31, 2023, Princess Diana's life and legacy: How old she was when she died, how old she'd be in 2023
BBC, accessed Feb. 19, Diana Returns Home
C-SPAN, Sept. 6, 1997, Princess Diana Funeral
Smithsonian Magazine, Nov. 15, 2023, How Princess Diana’s Death Transformed the Royal Family
Royal Household, accessed Feb. 19, Diana, Princess of Wales
National Archives, Dec. 3, 2021, Princess Diana
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: No, Princess Diana isn't still alive. Picture is edited | Fact check
