William's Diana show fury

Prince William is furious that pictures of Princess Diana as she lay dying were today shown to millions on US television. A senior palace source said the use of the image, taken moments after the crash, has "angered" William and caused both her sons "more unnecessary pain."

And today friends of the princess expressed disbelief at the decision by American network CBS to air the black and white photograph, taken by paparazzi as the princess was being treated by a doctor.

The photograph, a photocopy of an original taken from the official French report into Diana's death, was shown repeatedly on the programme.

Her face, shoulders and upper torso are clearly visible as she lies unconscious by the car in the Alma Tunnel, Paris in August 1997.

A blown-up shot shows her face in profile, with no sign of blood or injury. She is seen being treated by French doctor Frederick Maillez, the first medical professional to reach her.

Officially, Clarence House made no comment about the programme. But close palace sources said: "Princes William and Harry have made it clear that they want a line drawn under their mother's death. They understandably get angry that people use her to make capital in this way. It is wrong and distasteful and in an ideal world they have made it clear they want it to stop. This case is an appalling editorial decision by the programme makers."

Friends joined the chorus of disapproval saying they were "appalled" by the decision to show the picture, which they felt would horrify Princes William and Harry.

Vivienne Parry, a former trustee of the Diana Memorial Fund. "It is just beyond the pale. This is something that should be absolutely private and there is no defence for deciding to show it. It is such a gross invasion of privacy. Here is a woman who is dying and you can do nothing about it - yet they replay that moment all over again."

A spokesman for Harrods boss Mohamed Fayed, whose son Dodi also died in the crash, said the use of the image was distressing and distasteful.

Ken Wharfe, Diana's former protection officer who appeared in the programme to discuss security around the crash, said: "If I had known CBS were going to use paparazzi pictures of the princess at the scene of the crash I would never have taken part.

"There are other ways of establishing the cause of Diana's death than showing pictures that even the paparazzi would not publish.They didn't tell me they were planning to use this picture."

CBS defended their decision and tried to play down the controversy. CBS spokesman Marcy Erhard said: "It is not gory in any way, shape or form. It is not graphic. It is on air for about ten seconds." The one hour CBS programme, 48 Hours Investigates, showed the picture as part of a report entitled Diana's Secrets.

It was accompanied by a voiceover from French doctor Frederick Maillez, who arrived at the crash scene and gave emergency first aid to the princess. He told viewers Diana's face was not injured and "she still looked beautiful" as he desperately tried to save her life.

CBS said the picture was one of several seized from French photographers which formed part of the official investigation into the crash

in August 1997 in which Dodi Fayed and chauffeur Henri Paul also died.

Much of the hour-long programme was devoted to the 6,000- page French police report into the crash.

Details of the report were revealed in January and were reported in a Channel 4 documentary the following month.

Mr Fayed was approached by makers of the CBS programme, but refused to give an interview. The documentary-was sharply critical of his claims that his son and the princess were murdered on the orders of British intelligence and his insistence that Diana was pregnant with Dodi's baby at the time of her death. Billed as a major investigation into the mysteries surrounding the death of the Princess of Wales, the programme contained no new revelations beyond the details in the accident report.