The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, London

Princess Diana's lover Dodi Fayed bought an engagement ring in a Parisian jewellery store hours before they died, an inquest into the pair's death heard on Thursday.

Fayed bought the 11,600-pound (16,600-euro, 23,700-dollar) ring from the "Dis-moi oui" store owned by Monte Carlo jeweller Alberto Repossi, which was found in his apartment after he died along with Diana in a car crash in a Paris underpass on August 31, 1997.

The jury was shown a copy of the receipt dated August 30, 1997, with the words "bague fiancaille", which means engagement ring in French, printed on it. They were also shown unedited CCTV images of Fayed in the jewellery store, which is on the same square as the Ritz Hotel, where the pair were staying, and the images showed Fayed examining the ring in the store after it had closed to the public the afternoon he purchased it.