NYP97062401- 24 JUNE 1997- NEW YORK, NEW YORK, USA: Diana, Princess of Wales arrives June 23rd to Christie's Auction House in New York City for the auction of her dresses to raise money for the Royal Marsden Hospital Cancer Fund and the Aids Crisis Trust. UPI ep/Roger Celestin

Paul Burrell told the inquest Dodi Fayed's courtship was an "exciting time" for the princess in 1997, it was his understanding Diana was deeply in love with Dr. Hasnat Khan, a heart surgeon at the Brompton Hospital, The Daily Mail reported.

The princess, Fayed and their chauffeur died in a Paris car crash on Aug. 31, 1997.

Diana spent a holiday on Fayed's father Mohamed Fayed's yacht with her sons, Princes William and Harry in July 1997 and Burrell said he didn't think that's when the courtship really began.

"This was a very new friendship which (later) developed into something more," he said.

Mohamed Fayed has claimed Diana was pregnant and soon to marry his son when they were "assassinated" to stop the marriage and birth.

Medical examiners said Diana wasn't pregnant when they performed an autopsy, and various government officials have denied Fayed's conspiracy theory.