Trevor Rees-Jones (bodyguard) facts for kids

Trevor Rees-Jones (born March 3, 1968) is a British author and former bodyguard. He is known for being the only survivor of the car crash in Paris that tragically killed Diana, Princess of Wales, in 1997. Because he had a very serious head injury, he doesn't remember what happened during the crash.

Some news reports first said he was wearing a seat belt and that's why he survived. However, later investigations showed that no one in the car was wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash.

Early Life and Family

Trevor Rees-Jones was born on March 3, 1968, in Rinteln, which was then in West Germany. His father, Colin Rees, was a surgeon in the British Army, and his mother, Gill, was a nurse. He is the middle of three brothers. He has an older brother named Gareth and a younger brother named John.

When he was ten years old, his family moved back to Oswestry, Shropshire, in the United Kingdom. This town was close to where his father grew up. He attended Fitzalan High School and joined the Combined Cadet Force there, which is a program that teaches young people about the military.

Military Service and First Marriage

In 1987, Trevor Rees-Jones joined the 1st Battalion of the Parachute Regiment. This is a special part of the British Army. He served one tour of duty in Northern Ireland. For his service, he received the General Service Medal.

On August 12, 1995, he married his first wife, Sue Jones. They got married in Oswestry, the same town where they had met while attending Fitzalan High School. Trevor Rees-Jones later filed for divorce in June 1997.

The 1997 Car Crash and Injuries

On August 31, 1997, Trevor Rees-Jones was severely injured in a car crash. This accident led to the death of Princess Diana. Princess Diana's friend, Dodi Fayed, and their driver, Henri Paul, also died in the car. Trevor Rees-Jones was the only person who survived the crash.

He was awake after the accident. His face was badly damaged, with many bones broken or crushed. Doctors had to rebuild his face using about 150 pieces of titanium to hold the bones together. They used old family photos to help guide them in recreating his face. Within about a year, his face looked almost normal again.

Dodi Fayed's father, Mohamed Al-Fayed, paid for some of Trevor Rees-Jones's hospital care. At the time of the crash, Al-Fayed was Rees-Jones's employer. The rest of the medical costs were covered by the British National Health Service (NHS). There were rumors that he had lost his tongue, but this was not true. He had a long, ten-hour operation to fix his jaw.

After staying in the hospital for over a month, Trevor Rees-Jones returned to the United Kingdom on October 3, 1997. At that time, he could only communicate by whispering or writing things down. He left his job as a bodyguard on May 19, 1998. Mohamed Al-Fayed reportedly said that the job would be open if he ever wanted to return.

Recovery and Later Life

After recovering from his injuries, Trevor Rees-Jones moved back to Oswestry. He worked in a shop there for a while. On February 15, 2003, he married his second wife, Ann Scott. She is a teacher at Belvidere School, Shrewsbury. Their wedding ceremony took place in Welshpool, Wales.

In 2000, he wrote a book about his experiences. The book is called The Bodyguard's Story: Diana, the Crash, and the Sole Survivor. He wrote it with the help of a ghostwriter named Moira Johnston. The book tells the story of the events from his own partial memories and what his family and friends remembered.

See also

In Spanish: Trevor Rees-Jones para niños