The coroner and jury in the inquest on Diana, Princess of Wales, are to visit the scene of the fatal crash in Paris.

They will also hear evidence relating to some of the most controversial aspects surrounding the deaths of the Princess and Dodi Fayed ten years ago, including allegations that she was pregnant. They will look into the embalming of her body and her post-mortem examination. Detailed questions will be asked about a box of letters belonging to the Princess – said to include one from the Duke of Edinburgh – and the mystery about their whereabouts.

The details and the wide scope of the inquests emerged yesterday at the final preliminary hearing into the death of the couple in Paris before the opening of the inquests proper on October 2.

Ian Burnett, QC, counsel for the inquest, said that the jury would travel to Paris with the coroner, Lord Justice Scott Baker, who is a Court of Appeal judge, and the interested parties. The site visit was to familiarise the jury with the crash scene and would take place soon after the start of the inquests, which are expected to last until Easter.

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The jury would be selected from the public after answering a list of questions, yet to be drawn up by the judge, to explore whether “they have any connection that might prevent their giving a fair consideration of the evidence”, he added. Similar jury-selection procedures have been used in other big cases.

Over the first two days, they will hear scene-setting evidence and be given maps and photographs before heading to Paris. Much initial evidence will be given by video link from France involving witnesses who saw the Mercedes car and the scene after it crashed. After that it is hoped that there will be evidence from the paparazzi.

Mr Burnett said that the legal team for Mohamed Al Fayed, Mr Fayed’s father, had asked for 68 witnesses, and the Ritz Hotel, where the couple were collected by their driver, Henri Paul, before the crash, had requested eight.

He said that there would then be evidence as to the treatment of the Princess at the scene, the journey to the hospital and her treatment in hospital. “There are issues raised about the way in which the French . . . emergency services responded,” he said at the High Court in London, where the inquest will be held.

The inquest would then focus on the embalming of the Princess’s body, her postmortem examination, events earlier in the day she died, the suggestion that she was engaged, the alleged purchase of a ring, claims that she was pregnant and bodyguards’ evidence.

The jury would then hear “the whole topic of Henri Paul”, Mr Burnett said. Both the report of Operation Paget, the inquiry conducted by Lord Stevens of Kirkwhelpington, and the French investigation concluded that the chauffeur had been drinking, and driving too fast. The inquest will look at whether his driving was impaired by drink and drugs.

On their visit to Paris the jury will also walk from the flat occupied by Henri Paul to the Ritz, and will look at the various bars en route. But after protests by Robert Weekes, counsel for Henri Paul’s relatives, over the relevance of a “tour of the local hostelries of Paris”, Lord Justice Baker assured him, to laughter: “I am not taking the jury on a pub crawl.”

The Princess, 36, and Emad El-Din Mohamed Abdel Moneim Fayed, 42, known as Dodi, were killed along with Henri Paul in the Pont de l’Alma underpass on August 31, 1997, soon after leaving the Ritz.

Michael Mansfield, QC, representing Mr Al Fayed, asked for the controversial “Squidgy-gate” tapes to be examined at the inquest as evidence of the Princess’s state of mind.

The tapes, believed to have been recorded secretly by an amateur radio enthusiast, showed the Princess in conversation with a mystery man later found to be a bachelor friend of hers, James Gilbey, who is heard affectionately calling the Princess “Squidgy”.

Mr Mansfield said that a potential expert witness, John Nelson, had examined one of the tapes provided by The Sunday Times. He said that his investigations cast doubt on the official explanation that the tapes were made by an amateur. That, he said, backed up the late Princess’s suspicion that she was being monitored by the security services throughout the 1990s.

Mr Mansfield also asked the coroner to make inquiries about apparently contradictory evidence relating to the whereabouts of the missing box – previously referred to as the Crown Jewels – of the Princess’s correspondence.

He said that a redacted statement from an officer in the case appeared to show that the box had been in the possession of Lady Sarah McCorquodale, the Princess’s sister. But other evidence showed Lady Sarah asking police to ask Paul Burrell, the Princess’s former butler, where the letters were.

The coroner talked about the preparations put in place ready for the inquest, including a marquee to accommodate the media. “The annexe court is now visible in the quadrangle,” he said. Indicating to seats in the court-room, he added: “The jury box is there now. Arrangements are in hand.”

He added: “I think that covers everything, doesn’t it? Thank you,” before adjourning to October 2.

Wanted witnesses

— The list of witnesses from whom extra preparatory notes are wanted as a priority includes:

— Paul Burrell, the Princess’s former butler, who is in the United States. So far the inquest solicitor has failed to contact him

— The French witnesses Françoise and Josephine Dard

— Sir Michael Jay, former British Ambassador in Paris

— Alberto Repossi, jeweller who is said to have made a ring for Dodi

— Richard Tomlinson, former MI6 agent who claimed that Henri Paul was a spy

— Kes Wingfield, bodyguard to the Princess

— Richard Kay, journalist who spoke to Princess before her death

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