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Diana: Remembering the 'People's Princess' 16 Years After Her Death

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Princess Diana Remembered 16 Years After Fatal Car Accident
Tim Graham/Getty Images
ByJEFFREY KOFMAN and LEEZEL TANGLAO
August 31, 2013, 12:44 PM

Aug. 31, 2013— -- She was known as the "people's princess." And now, 16 years after her fatal car crash, people are still fascinated by Princess Diana.

That fascination is only growing as the royal family finds itself back in the spotlight welcoming a new generation.

On Aug. 31, 1997, Diana, her companion Dodi al Fayed and their driver Henri Paul were killed in car crash in Paris while trying to escape the paparazzi. Paul was later proven to have been under the influence of alcohol at the time.

Princess Diana Through the Years: See the Photos

Earlier this month, conspiracy theories began to swirl again surrounding their deaths after British media reported allegations that Diana and al Fayed may have been murdered by British special forces.

Despite a $7 million joint French and British police investigation that concluded that Diana, al Fayed and their driver's deaths in 1997 were accidents, a report in The Mirror claimed they were allegedly murdered and it was all covered up.

Read: Princess Diana Death Probe: British Media Reports Allegation That Royal's Death Was No Accident

Scotland Yard said on Aug. 17 that British police were looking into new information that had surfaced in connection with the deaths of Diana and al Fayed, but police declined to say what that new information was.

Interactive: Princess Diana

Diana's Image Lives on Through Film

In death, Diana has become an industry.

The new film, called simply "Diana," is about the last two years of her life and her last loves, including a Pakistani heart surgeon.

The surgeon, Dr. Hasnat Khan, has denounced the film, saying it just gossip, he had nothing to do with its making and says he won't see it.

"If however you choose not to get involved and criticize after the film has been made, then inevitably people question why you have chosen to break your dignified silence now. Since the effect is actually to sell more tickets and give the film free publicity," said Patrick Jephson, former private secretary to Princess Diana.

Remembering Princess Diana: Her Life Through the Years

According to a press release from the film's producers, the story will show how, finding true personal happiness for the first time, Diana was able to evolve into an international humanitarian.

Actress Naomi Watts plays the role of Diana in the film.

READ: Naomi Watts Leads Parade Of Princess Diana Actresses

Diana's Living Legacy

The larger than life Princess has lived on in myth -- never really leaving the headlines.

6 Things We Miss About Princess Diana

Now her daughter-in-law Kate Middleton has taken up the mantle after she gave birth to a potential future king just weeks ago.

"Diana made her great contribution to royal upbringing of babies as a mother, so it's intriguing to wonder whether she would have been a great granny as well. I think she'd have been right on the cutting edge trying to introduce new ideas; she saw that as her role in the royal family," royal biographer Robert Lacey said.

ABC News' Luchina Fisher and Nicholas Schifrin contributed to this report.

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