Trevor Rees-Jones (also known as Trevor Rees; born 3 March 1968) is a British

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

and former bodyguard who was badly injured in a car crash in Paris that killed Diana, Princess of Wales, in 1997. Because he suffered a serious head injury, he does not recall any details from the crash. Some media reports claimed he was wearing a seat belt and survived, but investigations revealed that none of the occupants of the car were wearing their seat belts.

Early life

Rees-Jones was born on 3 March 1968 in

Rinteln Rinteln () is a small town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located on the banks of the Weser river above the Porta Westfalica. The town of Rinteln is in the broad valley between the hills of the Weserbergland and the North Lippe Bergland. In rela ...

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

, the middle-born of three boys of Colin Rees, a surgeon in the British Army, and Gill, a nurse. He has an older brother, Gareth, and younger brother, John.Searching His Memory
People.com At ten, he returned with his family to Oswestry, on the Welsh border near his father's childhood home. At Fitzalan High School, he enrolled in the Combined Cadet Force.

Military career and first marriage

In 1987, Rees-Jones enlisted in the 1st Battalion of the Parachute Regiment, served one tour of duty in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

and was awarded the General Service Medal. On 12 August 1995, he married his first wife, Sue Jones, in Oswestry, where the couple had met at Fitzalan High School. Jones filed for

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the ...

in June 1997.

Car crash, injuries, and aftermath

On 31 August 1997, Rees-Jones was seriously injured in the crash that resulted in the

death of Princess Diana In the early hours of 31 August 1997, Diana, Princess of Wales died from injuries sustained earlier that day in a car crash in the Pont de l'Alma tunnel in Paris, France. Dodi Fayed, Diana's partner, and Henri Paul, their chauffeur, were found d ...

. The Princess's boyfriend,

Dodi Fayed Emad El-Din Mohamed Abdel Mena'em Fayed (; arz, عماد الدين محمد عبد المنعم الفايد, ʿImād ed-Dīn Muḥammad ʿAbd el-Munʿim el-Fāyid , 17 April 1955 – 31 August 1997), better known as Dodi Fayed ( ar, دودى ...

, and their chauffeur, Henri Paul, were found dead inside the car; Rees-Jones was the sole survivor of the crash. His face was flattened, with numerous bones broken or crushed, and was reconstructed afterwards with old family photos by French facial doctor Luc Chikhani, with about 150 pieces of

titanium Titanium is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ti and atomic number 22. Found in nature only as an oxide, it can be reduced to produce a lustrous transition metal with a silver color, low density, and high strength, resista ...

to hold the bones together and recreate the original shape. Within a year, his face was nearly back to normal. Hospital care costs were paid by Dodi's father, Mohamed Al-Fayed, Rees-Jones' employer at the time of the crash, and the rest by the British

National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...

(NHS). At first, it was widely rumoured that Rees-Jones had lost his tongue in the crash, but this was not true. He underwent a ten-hour operation to restore his jaw to a normal condition. After spending more than a month in hospital, Rees-Jones finally returned to the United Kingdom on 3 October 1997. At the time, he was able to communicate only by whispering and writing down answers. He resigned from his job as a bodyguard on 19 May 1998. Al-Fayed was reported as saying that his job would be available if he wished to return.

Recovery and later life

Following recovery from his injuries, he moved to north

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to ...

and for some time worked in a small family-run sportswear shop in Oswestry. He remarried on 15 February 2003, to Ann Scott, a teacher at

Belvidere School, Shrewsbury Belvidere School is a coeducational secondary school located in the Belvidere area of Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. Belvidere draws 11- to 16-year-olds mainly from the surrounding areas of Monkmoor, Belvidere, Underdale, Abbey Forgate and C ...

. The ceremony took place in

Welshpool Welshpool ( cy, Y Trallwng) is a market town and community in Powys, Wales, historically in the county of Montgomeryshire. The town is from the Wales–England border and low-lying on the River Severn; its Welsh language name ''Y Trallwng'' m ...

, Wales. He wrote a book, published in 2000 and titled ''The Bodyguard's Story: Diana, the Crash, and the Sole Survivor'' (), about his experiences, with the help of

ghostwriter A ghostwriter is hired to write literary or journalistic works, speeches, or other texts that are officially credited to another person as the author. Celebrities, executives, participants in timely news stories, and political leaders often ...

Moira Johnston. The book reconstructed the events from Rees-Jones's partial memories and those of his family and friends. He decided to write the book because many bizarre stories had circulated about the crash and because his former employer, Al-Fayed, had accused him of not doing his job properly.

References

External links