A Damaged Man Has the Last Word on Diana

受伤保镖对戴安娜作结语

[1]He was the silent of the storm that erupted after the violent death of Diana, Princess of Wales. The only survivor¹ of the horrific crash in Paris, Trevor Rees-Jones would surely answer all the puzzling questions about that night in 1997. But apart from one tabloid² interview that he instantly regretted, the 31-year-old bodyguard³ remained as enigmatic as the last fateful seconds locked irretrievably inside his head.

[2] The former paratrooper had suffered serious chest and head injuries, his face so badly disfigured that it was sewn back together after more than 20 metal splinters were removed. What hurt more, it seems, were the accusations⁴ about his role and the wild conspiracy⁵ theories made by his former employer, Mohamed al-Fayed, father of the deceased Dodi.

[3] Rees-Jones has now decided⁶ to break his silence by writing a book, The bodyguard's Story, which gives his unalloyed account of the events leading up to the final "shambles⁷". It describes the bizarre Fayed menage. Crates⁸ of bottled water were taken to the family villa⁹ in St Tropez--the equivalent of coals to Newcastle. Fayed's private Gulfstream jet transported five sacks of sand to Finland to make a beach for the Fayed children, only to be swept away.

[4] Although adamant¹⁰ that he is not cashing in on Diana's death, Rees-Jones is submitting to a media hoopla because he is hard up. Denied compensation in France, facing legal bills and without long-term provision after his acrimonious¹¹ parting from Fayed, the money has provided him with a two-bedroom house in Oswestry in Shropshire and some security.

[5] It has bought him no peace of mind. In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, he confesses he is plagued by the thought that Diana, Dodi and driver Henri Paul died _on my shift_ and that he would gladly have sacrificed his own life to save theirs. "If I could have died and those three survived, I could have done it,"_he says.

[6] Rees-Jones was one of 40 security men_ 16-stone nannies hired to guard the Fayed family and pander¹² to their whims¹³. A former squaddie with the Parachute Regiment¹⁴ in Northern Ireland, he was a useful rugby player whose tough looks and 6ft 2in frame belied¹⁵ a mild and stoical nature.

 

在威尔士王妃戴安娜遇难去世后的风暴里，特雷弗·里斯-琼斯是平静的风眼。他是那次恐怖的巴黎撞车事件的唯一幸存者，想必可以回答有关1997年那个夜晚的所有疑问。但是他只接受了一次小报的采访，事后很快就后悔了，除此之外，这位31岁的保镖一直是个谜，就像那灾难的最后几秒钟被锁在他大脑里无法取出一样。

这位前伞兵的胸部和头部受到了严重的伤害，脸部严重变形，以至于在取出20多块金属碎片以后才重新缝合在一起。但是对他伤害更大的，看来还是他的前雇主，死者多迪之父穆罕默德·阿-法耶德对他所起作用的谴责和离奇的阴谋说法。

现在里斯-琼斯已决定写一本书来打破自己的沉默，书名叫《保缥的故事》，书中对最终导致汽车撞成“一堆废铁”的各个事件进行了原原本本的叙述。它描述了古怪的法耶德家族。成箱的瓶装水被运到他们在圣特罗佩兹的家庭别墅，这就像将煤运到纽卡斯尔一样多余。法耶德的湾流型私人喷气飞机将五袋沙子运到芬兰以为他家的孩子们造一片沙滩，结果只是沙子被海水冲走。 虽然里斯-琼斯坚称他并非利用戴安娜之死来挣钱，实际他确是由于生活日益拮据而屈服于媒体的纠缠。他在法国得不到赔偿，还要面对诉讼费的账单，而在闹翻了离开法耶德家后又失去了长期的生活来源，写书所得的这笔钱已使他得以在英国什罗普郡的奥斯韦斯特里买了一套两间卧室的房子，得到了一定的稳定生活的保证。 他并没有得到心灵的安宁。在接受《每日电讯报》的采访时，他承认由于戴安娜、多迪和司机亨利·保尔是死在他当班的时候，他的内心一直目经受着煎熬，他美愿意牺牲自己来换取这三人的生命。“如果我的死能够救活他们，我一定会这样做，”他说。

里斯-琼斯是法耶德家雇来保护家人和迎合他们的突发奇想的40名保安人员－－“体重128磅的保姆”之一。他原是驻北爱尔兰伞兵团的一名士兵，曾是一名不错的橄榄球手，刚毅的外表和六英尺二英寸的身高掩盖了他温和而能吃苦耐劳的性格。 这种性格在他与法耶德打交道不久后就遇到了考验，他发现法耶德是个脾气坏和吹毛求疵的老板。甚至为了一些小事，例如让一个小法耶德坐一部没有空调的车，这个埃及佬就会骂他：“蠢驴，你这个蠢驴。我付钱不是让你这么干的。”

[7] This temperament¹⁶ was soon tested in his dealings with Fayed, whom he found to be a querulous employer insistent¹⁷ on perfection. Even for minor¹⁸ infractions, such as driving a junior Fayed in a car without air conditioning, the Egyptian would berate¹⁹ him: "Stupid donk, you stupid donkey. I don't pay you to do this."

[8] His main job was guarding Dodi, acting²⁰ as his chauffeur²¹, bodyguard and dogsbody. Although unaggressive and unfailingly polite, the Fayed heir was "a complete pain in the backside" with no concept of time-keeping, yet petulant²² at necessary delays.

[9] Rees-Jones spent most nights waiting for Dodi to emerge from restaurants or clubs, reflecting wryly²³ that his boss could drink as much as he liked "Because I was there to make sure he didn't fall over."

[10] Dodi was no playboy, Rees-Jones concluded. He never saw him take cocaine²⁴ and "he definitely wasn't jumping into bed with a different girl every night." Rather, he was a good listener who enjoyed female company, yet essentially²⁵ an insecure child who had not grown up. However, the bodyguard confirms that Kelly Fisher, the American model who claimed she and Dodi were planning to marry, was "definitely his long-term girlfriend."

[11] in his opinion. Diana and Dodi were an unlikely match--the quiet rich boy and the effervescent princess--but he discounts suggestions that Fayed had somehow forced them together, even though the Harrods boss preened²⁶ because the romance cast him in a good light. "They talked all the time. Something did click with them that summer."

[12] Rees-Jones was a player in the drama that grew from Diana's holiday on the Fayed yacht with her sons to her very public interlude with Dodi under the lenses of the world's paparazzi. To him, Diana was not a goddess but "the sort of woman you could take down the pub" and a loving mother to her sons. "She was really good with them--there were a lot of laughs. Not what you'd expect the royal family to he. They were less royal than the Fayeds."

 

他的主要工作是保护多迪，当多迪的司机、保镖和勤杂工。虽然法耶德家族的这位继承人总是温和、有礼，但简直让他感觉“如芒刺在背”，因为多迪毫无时间概念，却还为必然的延误发脾气。

多数夜晚，里斯-琼斯都要等着多迪从酒馆或俱乐部里出来，他苦笑着回忆说，老板想喝多少就喝多少，“因为有我在那儿保证他不致跌倒”。

里斯一琼斯认为，多迪不是一个花花公子，他从没有见过多迪吸毒，并且“他绝对不是每晚与不同的姑娘上床”。相反，他是一个很好的倾听者，喜欢有女性作伴，但他基本上是个尚未长大的、缺乏自信的孩子。然而这位保擦确认，凯莉·费希尔，那个自称她和多迪计划要结婚的美国模特，“确实是多迪的长期女友。” 以他的观点，戴安娜和多迪，文静富有的小伙子和性格计朗的王妃，是不大可能结合的。但是他也不赞成法耶德强迫这两人在一起的说法，即做这位哈罗兹商店老板沾沾自喜，因为这段罗曼史给他脸上增添了光彩。“他们在不断交谈。那年夏天他们之间肯定碰出了火花。”

从戴安娜带两个儿子在法耶德的游艇上度假，到她和多迪的幕间节目在全世界摄影记者的镜头下公开亮相——在整个这出戏里，里斯－琼斯一直是演员之一。对他来说，戴安娜不是女神，而是“那种你可以带去酒吧的女人”和一个慈爱的母亲。“她对孩子可真好，在一起时，总是充满欢笑。不是你想象中王室家庭的样子。他们的王室气氛还不如法耶德家族浓。”

[13] By the second cruise, however, Rees-Jones was becoming alarmed and angry at the lack of response to his appeals to the Fayed ops moms in London for back-up. He had already complained about Dodi's unpredictable behaviour and found himself working 18 hours a day. When he accompanied the couple to Paris on August 31, he was ready to resign over the gaps in security.

[14] That night he was kept in the dark when the couple booked into a restaurant. He nearly confronted them but refrained when the booking was cancelled and they went to the Ritz, Fayed's hotel. By Rees-Jones's account, after dinner Dodi announced his plan of subterfuge²⁷ to avoid the paparazzi: Henri Paul would drive the couple to his apartment. They would leave alone by the back door without a bodyguard while Rees-Jones stationed himself as a decoy at the front.

[15] Rees-Jones was told the stratagem²⁸ had been approved by Fayed in London--a claim the Harrods owner denies. Rees-Jones put his foot down, telling Dodi: "I'm f……coming with you." He was behind the princess as the couple strode towards a waiting Mercedes.

[16] At this point, the sprockets of his memory claw at a blank reel. Postcrash amnesia²⁹ has robbed him of the vital three or four minutes that preceded the crash in the Pont d'Alma tunnel and its aftermath, when he lay suspended between life and death. The car's speed, other vehicles, the impact and the princess's dying plight³⁰ have all been erased³¹.

[17] Among the "what ifs" is whether he could have dissuaded³² Dodi from embarking³³ on the lunatic ride with a driver who was drunk and on pills. Rees-Jones believes Dodi would have countered his ultimatum³⁴ by going alone with Diana. The bottom line was that Dodi paid his wages.

[18] When his parents brought him back to England, believing he was to be admitted to hospital for observation, he found himself being whisked to Fayed's headquarters and interrogated³⁵ by a panel of doctors. Due to his own perseverance³⁶, within six months he was back at Harrods. Fayed was solicitous³⁷, seeing him three or four times a week. "He'd get very emotional and end up crying half the time, and give you his theories on everything: it's not a crash, it's M16, it's this, it's that."

 

但到第二次出航时，里斯-琼斯开始十分担心和生气，因为他向驻伦敦的保卫法耶德行动指挥中心请求支援，但没有得到反应。他已经抱怨多迪难以预测的行为，而且发现自己得每人工作18个小时。8月31日他陪着多迪和戴安娜去巴黎时，他已由于缺乏安全保障准备辞去保镖的职务。

是夜，这对恋人预订了要去一家酒馆，并没有让他知道。当他们取消预订改去法耶德的里兹饭店时，他几乎要同他们摊牌，但还是忍住了。按照里斯-琼斯的叙述，饭后多迪宣布了他的伪装计划以便避开摄影记者。计划是：亨利·保尔将开车送他俩去他的公寓。他们将从后门溜走，不带保镖，而里斯-琼斯则呆在前门作诱饵。

他们对里斯-琼斯说，在伦敦时这个计划已经得到老法耶德的同意（老法耶德现在对此予以否认）。里斯-琼斯坚决反对，对多迪说：“我他妈的跟定你了。”当这对恋人朝一辆等候着的奔驰车大步走去时，他跟在戴妃的后面。

在这时，里斯-琼斯记忆的齿轮空转了。撞车造成的健忘症已抹掉了关于阿尔玛桥隧道里撞车前至关紧要的三四分钟以及事后情况的记忆．那时他正悬命于生死之间。车子的速度、其他机动车、撞击和戴妃垂死的惨景，统统被抹去了。

在众多假设中，一个问题是，他当初能再劝阻多迪不要坐那辆疯狂的汽车，由一名酒醉、吸毒的司机开车。里斯-琼斯相信多迪会不顾他的最后通牒而与戴安娜单独离开。说到底，他的工资是由多迪付给的。

当父母将里斯-琼斯接回英格兰时，以为他会被送进医院接受观察，他却发现自己被立刻带到法耶德的总部，受到一帮医生的盘问。由于他自己的坚持，六个月后他便回到哈罗兹上班了。法耶德很关心他，每周要见他三四次。“法耶德变得很容易激动，后来有一半时间在哭，并告诉你他对每件事作出的推测：这不是撞车，是MI6（英国秘密情报局，二战时的策情六处）干的，是这样，是那样。”

[19] Genuinely sympathetic to his employer's grief, he would reply neutrally, stifling³⁸ his impulse to state that the crash was just an accident. He began to suspect that Fayed was rehearsing him for his meeting with the French investigating magistrate³⁹. He felt under increasing pressure during an interview arranged with Piers⁴⁰ Morgan, editor of The Mirror, whose questions appeared to him to have been prompted. "Desperate" to come up with answers, he found himself quoted as saying that Diana had cried out Dodi's name.

[20] When he eventually resigned, his relief was short-lived. Fayed accused him in Time magazine of incompetence⁴¹ and lack of professionalism. Rees-Jones felt betrayed. "I hadn't done anything to warrant attack from that side. I believe I still haven't."

[21] For the most part, the public has shown him only kindness and sympathy to his face, refraining from blaming him for the tragedy. He has received some "funny phone calls" and reproachful letters, however.

[22] He treasures a framed letter from the Princess of Wales, thanking him on behalf of Princess William and Harry⁴² for his protective role during the "magical 10 days" of their first holiday in St Tropez. Appended to it was a PS from William: "Keep wearing the shirts"--a reference to his colourful liner in apparel.

[23] Rees-Jones remembers the princes as "lovely lads" "Similar to her. Very genuine. William was very level-headed and switched-on. He seemed to have a lot of her compassion⁴³. None of that future king of England bit,"_ he said.

[24] He would like to see them again--"I'd like to tell them I did all I could to look after their mother"--but believes his name would only remind them of their grievous loss.

[25] Rees-Jones has set up home with a new girlfriend and has a new security business in prospect⁴⁴. He will always be the survivor who walked away from one of the most poignant⁴⁵ tragedies in history. But now, he has decided, he is not going quietly.

 

里斯-琼斯从心里同情这位老板的悲伤，回答时不置可否，压下了告诉他这只是一次事故的冲动。里斯-琼斯开始怀疑，法耶德是在让他为与法国调查官员的会面进行排练。在一次接受《镜报》编辑皮尔斯·摩根的采访中，里斯-琼斯感到了越来越大的压力，在他看来摩根的问题是受人指使的，含着许多暗示。里斯-琼斯“勉为其难”他作了回答，事后发现他们引用他的话说戴安娜曾呼唤多迪的名字。

最终他辞职了，但并没有解脱几天。在《时代》杂志上，法耶德指控里斯-琼斯不称职并且缺乏敬业精神。里斯-琼斯感到被出卖了，“我没有做过任何事该受来自这方面的攻击。我相信直到现在也没有。”

大部分公众当面对他表示的都是关心和同情，并没有将悲剧归罪于他。不过，他也接到过一些“古怪的电话”和责备性质的来信。

他很珍爱一封镶了镜框的威尔士王妃给他的信，信中她代表威廉王子和哈利王子对他表示感谢，感谢他在圣特罗佩兹他们第一次“美妙的十天”假期中所做的保护工作。信下面还附有威廉的一句话：“继续穿那些衬衫”－－指的是他喜欢穿的那些五颜六色的衣服。

在里斯-琼斯的记忆中，两位王子是“可爱的男孩”。他说：“他们像戴安娜，很真诚。威廉非常沉稳和敏锐，似乎具有很多母亲所有的爱心。一点也没有未来英国国王的架子。” 他希望再次见到他们－－“我想告诉他们，我尽了最大努力去保护他们的母亲”——但他相信自己的名字恐怕只会勾起他们的丧母之痛。

里斯-琼斯已经同一位新女友建立了家庭，并且将开始新的保镖生涯。他将永远是历史上最揪心的一幕悲剧的幸存者。但是现在，他已决定不再沉默。

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