(Reuters) - Ten years after Princess Diana was killed in a high-speed car crash in Paris, the inquest into her death has finally begun.

Following is a chronology of events since Diana's death.

Aug 31, 1997 - Diana is killed in Paris car crash with her new boyfriend, Dodi al Fayed, hours before returning home to Britain.

Sept 1 - French police statement says the driver's blood alcohol level was above the legal limit.

Sept 2 - Justice sources say French state prosecutors will formally open a criminal inquiry on suspicion of manslaughter against the seven photographers held after the crash.

Sept 6 - Millions pay tribute to Diana after Westminster Abbey funeral. Her body is taken to the Spencer family home at Althorp for burial.

Sept 9 - French probe establishes driver Henri Paul had taken anti-depressants and was not licensed to drive the car.

Sept 3, 1999 - French judges dismiss manslaughter charges against nine photographers and a motorcyclist over the crash. It rules chauffeur Paul was mainly to blame because he was drunk and under the influence of anti-depressants.

Nov 28, 2003 - French court rules that three photographers who took pictures of Diana and al Fayed in their car on the night of the crash did not break privacy laws. 

Jan 6, 2004 - Britain opens inquest into Diana's death, the first public hearings on British soil into the crash. Royal coroner Michael Burgess orders Britain's top police officer John Stevens to investigate if the death was the result of a plot.

April 9, 2005 - Prince Charles marries his long-term lover Camilla Parker Bowles at a registry office in Windsor.

July 22, 2006 - Burgess quits his job in charge of Diana's inquest. Days later Dame Elizabeth Butler-Sloss, one of Britain's most senior former judges, takes over the role.

Dec 14 - Stevens says in his team's report that on the evidence available now, there was no conspiracy to murder any of the occupants of the car and it was a tragic accident.

Jan 8, 2007 - British inquest reopens after a three-year break.

March 2 - Mohamed al Fayed, father of Dodi, wins a significant legal battle when the High Court decides the inquest into their deaths should be heard by a jury.

March 5 - In a dramatic clash with Fayed's lawyers at a preliminary hearing, Butler-Sloss challenges al Fayed to back up his allegations that Diana and his son Dodi were murdered.

June 13 - Lord Justice Scott Baker takes over as the new judge overseeing the inquest. Butler-Sloss stepped down after the High Court overturned her decision not to hold the inquests in front of a jury.

Oct 2 - The inquest begins.