London, Feb 20 : Princess Diana and her lover Dodi al-Fayed "deeply believed" in the likelihood of a plot by her former in-laws to kill her, the inquest into their deaths has heard.

Testifying at the London hearing, Dodi's US assistant Melissa Henning revealed that weeks before dying in the 1997 Paris car crash, the princess told Dodi she feared the royal family was plotting to kill her and make it look like an accident.

Henning also admitted that when Dodi told her about Diana’s fears at a dinner, she thought of them as a "little far-fetched".

"Diana was such a public person that I felt it would be a very difficult thing to accomplish,” the Mirror quoted Henning, as saying.

According to her, Diana told Dodi there was a plot by the Royal Family to get rid of her, but stressed that Princes William and Harry "would never be harmed".

"He told me Diana felt the Royal Family didn't want her around anymore,” Henning said. (ANI)