Diana 'needed marriage like a rash'

My Account
Logout

Create an Evening Standard Account

Use your social network

Save time by using your existing account to sign in to Evening Standard

We'll never share your information or post anything to your account without your permission

Welcome! Sign in here

Use your social network

Save time by using your existing account to sign in to Evening Standard

We'll never share your information or post anything to your account without your permission

Forgot your password ?

Registration

* indicates fields that are mandatory

Email *

Password *

Confirm Password *

First name *

Surname *

Postcode *

Country *

Mobile phone number

Username *

Gender *

Year of birth *

When you sign up...

You will have access to all our online competitions, discounted offers and can post comments on our site.

You will also receive The Weekender newsletter sent every Thursday - it’s full of fantastic offers and ideas for the weekend. You can update your email preferences in your account page when you log in.

Other newsletters and emails

Homes & Property Newsletter - Yes I want to receive the weekly email with all the latest news on property in the capital

Occasionally we would also like to send you relevant emails detailing specific offers either from ourselves or carefully selected partners. If you would prefer not to receive these then please tick the appropriate boxes below. We will never pass on your details.

I do not want to receive additional offers and information from the Evening Standard

I do not want to receive additional offers and information sent by Evening Standard on behalf of carefully selected partners

Terms and Conditions

* I have read, understood and agree to be bound by the terms and conditions of Evening Standard

Registration

Mail Sent for Registration Confirmation.

A confirmation email has been sent. Please activate your account by clicking on the activation link sent in your mail box.

Lady Annabel Goldsmith, 73, said she would never forget those words as it was the last thing the Princess ever said to her.

Rumours were rife in the press that the Princess and Dodi were about to get married and Lady Annabel raised the subject in a conversation with Diana on August 24 1997.

Lady Annabel told the inquest in central London: "It had been splashed all over the papers. I said to her laughably, 'you are not going to do anything silly are you?'

"I meant you are not going to do anything silly like rushing off and eloping or getting married and she said 'I would need marriage like a rash on my face.'

"It was a very Diana expression."

Lady Annabel said she was in no doubt that the Princess was having a "wonderful" time with Dodi before they were killed in Paris on August 31 1997.

She recalled the Princess saying "she had never been so spoiled" but had also suggested that marriage was not an option.

Of the rash comment, Lady Annabel told the jury: "I took it to mean that she was not serious about marriage to Dodi.

"She might have been having a wonderful time with him, I'm sure, but I thought her remark that she needed marriage like a rash meant that she was not serious about it."