The Paris-based car firm which owns the car Princess Diana died in are hoping to sell it for up to £1 million.
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Princess William and Harry – Diana’s sons – are reportedly devastated at the news as they hoped the Mercedes, which has been kept in a secure police compound in London since 2005, would be disposed of “privately and discreetly”.
However, Jean-Francois Musa, who owns Etoile Limousines, the company which hired the car out to the Paris Ritz on the night of the accident, has demanded the return of the car.
He said: “It’s worth a great deal of money.
“It’s completely illegal that police should have been able to take the car away from us without compensation. Nobody has the right to dispose of the car except us.”
The car originally cost around £70,000 but offers have reportedly come in for up to £1 million to buy the wreckage.
Princess Diana, her lover Dodi Fayed and their driver Henri Paul died when the car crashed on August 31, 1997.
Musa says he plans to “ask Mr Fayed if he wants to keep it, because of its sentimental value.”
However, the Harrods owner – Dodi’s father – has rejected the offer. His spokesperson said: “It is disgusting to think that someone wants to profit from the tragedy. Mr Fayed is not interested in pursuing this in any way.”
Last April, a coroner’s jury ruled that Diana and Dodi were unlawfully killed through the reckless actions of their driver and the paparazzi.
