U.K. hearing into death of Diana will be open to public

A preliminary hearing into the death of Princess Diana will be open to the public in January, the coroner in charge of the inquest has decided.

The decision on Thursday comes after the threat of a legal challenge into the hearing by Mohammed Al Fayed, whose son Dodi was killed along with Diana in a car crash in Paris on August 31, 1997.

The death of Diana stunned the world, prompting a widespread outpouring of grief.

Under the law in the United Kingdom, inquests are required to be held in public, but preliminary hearings of inquestscan be held in private.

Al Fayed, who had planned to go to court on Friday, said he is pleased with the decision. Al Fayed is the owner of Harrods department store in London.

"I am encouraged by this decision, although regret it only came about as a result of threatened legal proceedings," he said. "The public and I have a right to know how my son and Diana, Princess of Wales, were really killed on that awful night."

Lady Butler-Sloss, a former judge overseeing the inquest, initially decided to hold the preliminary hearing in private, but Al Fayed had asked for a judicial review of her decision.

"I will not tolerate further attempts to sweep dirt under the carpet and conceal the truth," he said.

Dodi Al Fayed and Dianawere killed along with their chauffeur Henri Paul when their Mercedes crashed in the Pont d'Alma tunnel in Paris. Diana was 36 years old. They were being chased by paparazzi seeking photographs of the princess.

According to an investigation in France, Paul lost control of the car because he had been drinking alcohol and driving at high speed.

Butler-Sloss reconsidered the decision on Thursday because of the public interest in the case, according to a spokesperson for the U.K. Judicial Communications Office who spoke to the Associated Press.

"She has discretion in the matter and was persuaded that the strong public interest in the cases justified the meeting being held in open court," he said on condition of anonymity. "The reasons she had in mind that led her to conclude initially that the meeting should be held in private were entirely pragmatic, such as the size of the courtroom."

The inquest, which began proceedings in 2004 but was adjourned that same year, is scheduled to resume hearings on Jan. 8 to 9 at the Royal Courts of Justice in London, with a full inquest to be held later. One issue to be decided is whether the inquest should have a jury.