Princess Diana: Final Years Spent Fearing For Her Life

Princess Diana spent her final years convinced that she'd die young — only finding new confidence just months before her mysterious death! The inside story follows — with TLC airing "Princess Diana: Tragedy or Treason" — a 3-hour telecast exploring Diana's life, legacy and the conspiracy theories surrounding her death — on Monday, July 31 at 8 p.m. ET.

The troubled divorcee was plagued by death threats, and believed her closest friend had been murdered by royal operatives. Diana only became more panicked when her personal astrologer confirmed her fears of an early death, as she told friends: "She told me I'm in a period of clear danger!"

Insiders said that Diana began to fall apart in 1995, after British astrologer Cynthia Barnwell publicly predicted that she'd be assassinated. "Then," she reportedly told friends, "I saw a handwritten death threat that was sent to [her gym at] the Chelsea Harbour Club."

The note — from a madman who called himself "The Lion" — warned, "I will kill Diana. You love her so much, you can clean up the filthy blood I spill on your precious tennis courts." Diana then consulted her own astrologer Debbie Frank, telling pals that "what she said made me even more afraid!"

Sources reported that Di immediately made changes in her life. "I've brought back the bodyguards I asked to leave me alone last year," she told her close friend. "I've stopped driving my Audi, and I'm now using a plain car with bulletproof glass."

"I'm also cutting back on my public engagements," she added. The National ENQUIRER later reported that her close friend Richard Kay had also confirmed that Diana had made plans to retire from the spotlight — while other sources said she even feared her former royal in-laws!

Lady Colin said that a palace source claimed: "Diana believes that [British agency] MI5 was ordered to...rid itself of a threat to the monarchy." Diana, however, became more relaxed in 1997. She even began to rely on the personal security team of her new love Dodi al-Fayed.

His bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones (pictured) even later testified that the bodyguard had to insist on accompanying the couple when they both died on the night of August 31 — in a shocking accident that remains controversial! Learn more of Princess Diana's final secrets in the TLC special "Princess Diana: Tragedy or Treason" — premiering Monday, July 31 at 8 p.m. ET.