From Boulevard Richard-Wallace, at the edge of Bois de Boulogne, you can see its neoclassical silhouette. Only a few diaphanous ghosts still sneak into the row of its fourteen pieces, spread over three floors. Empty. Made up of colors, such as the decor of a forgotten theater. If the entrance hall still keeps the Mediterranean brightness of mural painting that adorns its ceiling, it today resembles a large desert. Disappeared, the furniture. Blue and gold brocade sofa, matching poufs, table carried by an eagle. Volatilized, too, the Candelabra of silver and crystal. An electric wire hangs from the ceiling, released from a pampilles chandelier that the flamboyant standard of the prince of Wales once played. That of an aborted reign.
But, suddenly, on this day of August 30, 1997, around 4 p.m., on the monumental staircase, the stealthy and smiling appearance of Princess Diana lights up the villa. She visits the house with her companion, Dodi al-Fayed. Just a few hours before the fatal accident. Did they have the plan to settle there? Mohamed al-Fayed, Dodi’s father, will not bother, until his death in 2018.