PTI

London, Oct 22: As the Diana inquest enters its fourth week, one of her closest confidantes has claimed that neither the Princess of Wales was planning to marry Dodi Al-Fayed nor she was pregnant with his child at the time of the couple's deaths in a Paris car crash ten years back.

Instead, South African-born Lana Marks has said that it was Prince Charles who remained Diana's one true love, despite the infidelities that tore their relationship apart, the 'Daily Mail' reported here on Sunday October 21.

"The bottom line was that the person she really loved deep down was Charles. She said this early on and throughout our friendship. He was the love of her life. We did talk about several men in her life...

"Just because Diana had a good relationship with somebody who she permitted to enter her life, that didn't mean they were going to get married. She said it without using words directly, but in her language she indicated to me very clearly that she was not going to marry him," Marks said.

When asked about the supposed engagement ring Dodi gave the Princess, she said, "Diana was overwhelmed with gifts every day of her life -- just mountains of extremely valuable gifts -- and the ring could have been one of those. Any gift from Dodi doesn't stand out because many male companions gave her gifts. It was often jewellery of great value.

"I would categorically say she wasn't (pregnant). She confided in me in great depth about everything going on in her life at that time. If there had been any pregnancy she would have told me. I would have known."

Marks, who gave her first statement to Scotland Yard detectives, has not yet been called to give evidence at the current inquest.