The legacy of the ‘Cujo’; the 80ft yacht once used by Diana and Dodi which sunk off the coast of France

It was the boat that sank a thousands Royal hearts, but on Wednesday it just sank; the 80ft Baglietto yacht, named “Cujo,” which once housed Diana, Princess of Wales and her flame at the time, Dodi Al-Fayed, has sunk 35 miles off the coast of Beaulieu-sur-Mer, France after 41 years at sea.

A press release issued by the Gendarmerie des Alpes-Maritimes, the Antibes Nautibes Nautical Brigade, stated that they responded to a distress call received at 12.30 local time in the area of water, as the ship's cabins became flooded, taken on water and leading to the ultimate sinking of the vessel.

Though what led to the sinking remains unconfirmed, Boat International reports from their source that it "hit something floating at the [centre] of the hull and she started [taking on] water". Rescue services arrived 45 minutes after the distress call was made and though the vessel plunged 76 feet underwater, no one was reported to be injured in the event.

It marks the end of one of the most papped boats in modern history after tabloid newspapers took pictures of the holidaying Diana and Al-Fayed back in 1997. Paparazzi images showed the couple canoodling on the yacht in the climate of Saint-Tropez, a gift Dodi received from his uncle, Adnan Khashoggi (at that time considered the richest man in the world), who himself bought the boat from its original owner, Austrian playboy Johnny von Neumann.

Neumann, who was at the helm of introducing the Porsche brand to the States, specified that Cujo had to be record-breakingly fast, which was achieved with two diesel turbo engines delivering a top speed of 40 knots (46mph), highlighting his need for speed, which Cujo, said to be an ancient Indian word meaning “unstoppable force,” easily managed.

However, despite its fame (or infamy, rather), it was not used in season 5 of Netflix’s hit series, “The Crown,” as the screenwriters opted instead to focus more on the Codecasa yacht Jonkial - the vessel where the iconic picture of Diana sat on the edge of a diving board was taken. That image itself became viral recently after musician SZA based the album cover of her Billboard 200 chart-topping work, “SOS,” recreated that same image.