Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy was haunted by Princess Diana’s death a few years before her own death.
On Aug. 31, 1997, the Princess of Wales died from injuries she sustained in a car crash. She was 36.
That summer, a group of paparazzi camped outside the Hotel Ritz in Paris in hopes of getting shots of Diana and her boyfriend Dodi Fayed. They pursued their car to the Pont de l’Alma tunnel, where their driver, who attempted to outrun the photographers, lost control of the vehicle.
All three perished. Diana’s bodyguard, Trevor Rees-Jones, suffered severe facial trauma.
Like Diana, the wife of John F. Kennedy Jr. grappled with relentless photographers eager to scrutinize her every move. Elizabeth Beller, author of a new biography,“Once Upon a Time: The Captivating Life of Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy,”told Fox News Digital Diana’s tragic death affected the Calvin Klein publicist during her final years.
“She realized right away that Diana was being chased by paparazzi, and that was something Carolyn was struggling with herself every single day,” said Beller. “Diana’s death left a profound mark on her. She was already terrified, but Diana’s death terrified her even more. I believe it led her to seclude herself at home.”
A “rattled” Bessette-Kennedy urged her husband to call Diana’s sons —Prince William and Prince Harry— to give his condolences.
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The lawyer and magazine publisher was all too familiar with losing a parent so suddenly. His father, President John F. Kennedy, was assassinated in 1963. Kennedy Jr. turned 3 years old at his father’s funeral.
“She suggested John offer his condolences to William and Harry,” said Beller. “Diana’s death affected John too. He didn’t know them, but it wasn’t an outlandish thing to do. The Kennedyshad been around the royal family. There was a monument to JFK in London. There are photos of Little John holding Prince Philip’s hand. The families were very much intertwined, even if John didn’t know William and Harry personally.”
Despite his wife’s urgency, Kennedy Jr. never called the grieving princes.
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“It sounded like something John would have been quick to do, but I think he, too, was so rattled by Diana’s death and realizing it was because of the paparazzi,” Beller explained. “He also realized how much it frightened Carolyn. It was too much for him in his life. And seeing someone deal with their parent being mourned in a public way was, I think, overwhelming for him and everything he had been through.
“It was unusual for him, but he stepped back,” Beller continued. “Some George [magazine] staffers mentioned they had discussions that they neededto run something about Diana’s death. John missed the first meeting about it. He was upset, understandably so.”
Beller said Bessette-Kennedy reportedly wondered if she would suffer a similar fate. At the time, the couple was being hounded by photographers outside theirTribeca home in New York City.
According to Beller’s book, Bessette-Kennedy kept commenting “those poor boys” to her husband, referring to William and Harry. However, Kennedy Jr. insisted that “their situations greatly differed.”
“I was able to lead a normal life from about the age of 5,” he said, as quoted in Beller’s book.
Beller said it’s likely Kennedy Jr. may have regretted not reaching out to the princes.
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“They struggled with the news,” Beller said of the couple. “It was a difficult summer.”
Beller said, at the time, the press depicted Bessette-Kennedy as “a harpy” who was “manipulative and controlling.” But those who knew and loved her insisted she was anything but.
“She was described as a caretaker,” said Beller. “She tried to always be a helper to the people in her life. She would go out of her way to make someone comfortable. … There was this misconception because paparazzi would catch [the couple] outside abruptly and go wild if they saw them arguing. Unfortunately, their argument in Washington Square Park was etched in stone. … But that’s not who she was.
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“We all know couples fight,”said Beller. “Maybe both have tempers. But I think if couples don’t fight, you’re not living in the same house. I think the public assumed that every moment between them was toxic because of a fight they saw on video. That’s just not the case. They had many, many, many more times together where they laughed and enjoyed one another. They helped each other grow.”
But a happily ever after wasn’t meant to be. On July 16, 1999, the couple was killed when a plane, piloted by Kennedy Jr., crashed into the waters off of Martha’s Vineyard. Her sister Lauren Bessette, who was with them, also died.
Beller said, before the tragedy, Kennedy Jr. “really did try to protect” his terrified wife from the paparazzi, who refused to leave her alone.
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“He asked them to back off. It interfered with everything,” said Beller. “They did not leave her alone. They camped out every single day. It became another thing they had to contend with between the press and all the outside forces in their lives. … God knows people are struggling with many larger things in this world, but I think when you’re doing it in a fishbowl and everyone’s watching you, it just adds this extra pressure. And she brought her vulnerabilities to it. The media scrutiny just exacerbated any tension.
“Celebrities often break because of the intense media scrutiny,” Beller reflected. “I hope that, this time, the media can be kinder and gentler. We’re at a very interesting juncture right now with the media, AI and the internet, which can sort of get to this toxic herd mentality. But we’re also at a juncture where we have a chance to do better. … It’s the only way to move forward.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
