Before you cut off my head and have it for breakfast, you should know that I am just raising this question based on some articles I read today in some journals like Nigeria's Guardian and the BBC.

THE age-long British aphorism: "The Queen can do no wrong" may soon be consigned to the garbage heaps of history, going by the developments at the ongoing inquest into the August 31, 1997 death of Princess Diana in a controversial car crash.

A call was yesterday made at the preliminary inquest for the monarch to be quizzed over a conversation she allegedly had about Diana, who died alongside the son of Dodi Fayed, the son of a prominent Egyptian businessman Mohammed al Fayed.

Mohammed al Fayed's lawyer, Michael Mansfield resulted that the queen be "directly approached" toe confirm the details of the alleged conversation with an unidentified person.

The alleged conversation was registered in an official police inquiry that was published in December last year.

The report and the background records it was based on were supplied to lawyers, but the portions that referred to the queen were blacked out.

"No one appears to have approached her majesty about the content of this conversation," Mansfield said, according to the Associated Press (AP).

But the coroner, Dame Elizabeth Butler-Sloss, a retired family court judge who was sitting in her last hearing before stepping down, said such a request was "unheard of" and would require careful consideration.

"I don't know the propriety of this situation, I think it's important that we tread carefully in what is a constitutional matter," Butler-Sloss said.

Mansfield told the AP that the conversation was not with royal butler Paul Burrell, as had been reported, but said he could not reveal any other details for legal reasons.

In November 2002, following the collapse of a trial in which he was accused of stealing possessions from Diana's estate, Burrell alleged the queen warned him that his life was at risk because of his close relationship with the late princess.

"There are powers at work in this country about which we have no knowledge," he claimed the queen had told him during a three-hour conversation.

Al Fayed has claimed that Diana was the victim of a high-level conspiracy involving Prince Philip, the queen's husband.

Butler-Sloss, 73, said last month she would no longer preside over the inquest after a three-member High Court panel ordered a jury to hear the case. She said she did not have a great deal of experience with juries.

The inquest has been mired by delays that raised tensions and led to fractious exchanges between Butler-Sloss and lawyers claiming crucial evidence had yet to be provided before the full inquest in October.

At one stage, Butler-Sloss became so exasperated she fell back into her chair, removed her gold-rimmed glasses and lifted her arms in frustration.

"If you want to go on criticizing me, Mr. Mansfield, then you can, but what's the point?" she said. "I do feel like I am the one in the dock with everything you and your colleagues say to me."

Butler-Sloss said 11,000 pages of documents had been passed to Mansfield and other lawyers representing the Ritz Hotel, owned by al Fayed, and the family of Henri Paul, the chauffeur who also died in the crash.

She accused the legal teams of leaking false stories to the media that documents about Diana's death were being withheld - reports that she said were "unhelpful and untrue."

"There ought to be a degree of propriety about this which appears to be lacking," she said

Another procedural session before Lord Justice Scott Baker, who will take over the hearings, is likely to be held June 12 or 13. Evidence is expected to be presented ranging from the route the couple's Mercedes took on the night they died to testimony about Diana's alleged fears for her life, the significance of a ring purchased by Fayed, and whether the princess was pregnant.

A French investigation found that Paul was drunk and lost control of the car while trying to evade photographers. The British investigation concluded that Diana was not pregnant or about to marry Fayed, and that the crash was caused by Paul, who was drunk and speeding.

Under British law, inquests are held when someone dies unexpectedly, violently or of unknown causes.

see http://www.guardiannewsngr.com/news/article04

and http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6657461.stm?ls

Mohamed Al Fayed wants the Queen to be questioned as part of the Princess Diana inquest, it has emerged.

The Harrods owner has already demanded that Prince Charles and Prince Philip give evidence to the full inquest, which starts in October.

Now he wants the Queen to be "directly approached" and questioned over her private conversations with Diana's butler, Paul Burrell.

Mr Al Fayed, whose son Dodi died alongside the princess in the Paris car crash in 1997, believes they were murdered in an establishment conspiracy.

His lawyers made their request in the High Court, in the final preliminary hearing with Baroness Butler-Sloss as coroner.

In 2002, evidence from the monarch helped clear Mr Burrell of the theft of scores of the princess's personal treasures.

While he was on trial at the Old Bailey, the Queen remembered a conversation they had a few weeks after the crash, in which he told her he had taken some papers for safekeeping.

She confided in Prince Charles, who informed the police, and the trial collapsed. Mr Burrell subsequently claimed the Queen had told him: "There are powers at work in this country about which we have no knowledge."

The Al Fayed legal team received 11,000 pages of evidence last week from Lord Stevens's Operation Paget inquiry into the deaths.

But Mr Al Fayed's barrister Michael Mansfield QC told the coroner that any references to Mr Burrell and "any conversations with Her Majesty in various statements" had been edited.

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Mohamed al Fayed has fought a long battle over the inquest of his son, Dodi, and Diana, Princess of Wales

He said: "No one appears to have approached Her Majesty about the contents of these conversations.

"The inquiries which we suggest should be made, is Her Majesty being directly approached to see if there was evidence of conversations as alleged by Mr Burrell."

Baroness Butler-Sloss said she had ordered all references to the Queen to be blacked out. She told the hearing: "So far as Her Majesty is concerned I don't know what the protocol is and I think that it is important that whatever the protocol may be should be observed.

"Therefore I have redacted the conversation that Her Majesty is supposed to have said.

Dame Elizabeth Butler-Sloss

Dame Elizabeth Butler-Sloss: Resigned saying she lacked experience

"Her Majesty to be approached - I think that is probably unheard of.

"I think we have to tread very carefully in relation to the sovereign because she is going to be in a different position from everyone else."

The decision on which witnesses will be called will be made by her successor, Lord Justice Scott Baker.

Lady Butler-Sloss's appearance ended on a sour note, as she accused Mr Mansfield and other lawyers of dictating terms of the inquest.

She also complained of "dversarial and quite aggressive letters" she had received from solicitors for the Harrods boss, the Ritz hotel and Henri Paul, the driver of Diana and Dodi's limousine, who also died in the crash.

"I do feel a little bit as if I am the one in the dock," she told Mr Mansfield.

The 73-year-old, the former head of the High Court's family division, stood down because she felt she was not up to the task of handling the case.

There are fears this could further hamper the much delayed inquest.

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/

I don't think anyone will succeed in summoning the queen, she's just too powerful for that to happen.

Really? 

I guess we are talking about immunity here.     

I hope though, that they question her and get her to co-operate with the court.

I have always suspected foul play in Diana's death. hmmmm. . .

No foul play. She died at the hands of the paparazzi.

So we've been told, but hmmmm. . .

All this talk of Diana sef, people like you are so obsessed with her that 20 years from today, you'll still be talking about her death. She was very pretty, nice and good, but what about all the pretty women that have been killed in Iraq?

I object to that. I'm not obsessed with her. It's just that I woke up this morning with the news on my papers. What was I to do?

By the way, why are you trying to protect the queen sef? Do you work for her?

Well, it's possible that the MI6 may have played a role in her death. The rumor then was that Diana was pregnant for Dodi's child, and the Crown perceived it as a deliberate insult for Arab blood to potentially be linked to the quintessential Anglo-Saxon throne. Some, think Diana was killed to ensure that that did not happen.

all hail the QUEEN. . . .
long live the QUEEN. . .
may she live FOREVER. .

the queen can do no wrong, so  watever she did or supposedly did is. . .RIGHT cos, she's the QUEEN .

LMAO

Wait a minute!

Kunmi, are you saying the Queen should be allowed to get away with murder, simply because she is "The Queen"?

Richy, yea, that's the gist in town right now. hmmmm. . .

"Untouchable"
It's not what u know it's what u can prove.

The Queen will never be questioned

even if she got that far .

she'll never be prosecuted

i guess the story ends there
afterall she's the queen of England

So I guess the conclusion here is that the Queen is immune to prosecution till she dies, no matter what she does. Hmmm. . .      

All hail the great queen!

You know she's not human like the rest of us.

the establishment killed my baby diana i still mourn u oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Razorr:

Wait a minute!

Kunmi, are you saying the Queen should be allowed to get away with murder, simply because she is "The Queen"?

Richy, yea, that's the gist in town right now. hmmmm. . .

i did not say the queen should be allowed to get away with murder, the world did
she is the queen for cryin out loud

Gawd Shave The Queen

Razorr are you insane.

Wayward Diana

Yes,the can kill for the interest of the country .

What a write-up.

#NigerianHeadlines