An inquest into the death of Princess Diana finally opened on Tuesday, 10 years after she was killed in a Paris car crash, with her lover's father still convinced the pair were victims of an Establishment plot.

Mohamed al-Fayed, owner of London's luxury Harrods store, fought a long legal battle to have the inquest heard by a judge and jury.

London's High Court is expected to spend up to six months deciding if her death was an accident.

The Egyptian-born tycoon, whose son Dodi died in the crash after a much-publicised summer romance with the "people's princess", alleges they were killed by British security forces acting on orders from the royal family. He even wants to summon Diana's ex-husband, Prince Charles, and former father-in-law, the Duke of Edinburgh, arguing.