Baroness Butler-Sloss has confirmed that the inquests into the deaths of Dodi Fayed and Diana, Princess of Wales, have been postponed until October 1.
Lawyers representing Mohamed al Fayed applied for the case to be put back to that date on Monday because of the "massive amount of work" still to be done on preparing for the hearing.
In a quick response, Lady Butler-Sloss, the coroner conducting the inquests, issued a direction setting out a fresh timetable, saying that she was adjourning the main hearing "to on or about October 1".
Lady Butler-Sloss, sitting as assistant deputy coroner for inner west London, said on Monday she hoped to start the full hearing on May 8.
But Michael Mansfield QC, representing Mr al Fayed at a pre-inquest hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice, said it would be impossible to be ready by that date and suggested October 1.
He contended that a delay of another six months would be "a pebble on the beach" compared with the 10-year wait for an inquest. The full hearing is expected to last between four and eight months.
The princess, 36, and Mr Fayed, 42, died when their Mercedes crashed in the Pont de l'Alma tunnel in Paris in 1997.
During Monday's hearing, the coroner challenged Mr al Fayed to produce evidence to back up his claims that his son Dodi and the princess died as a result of a plot involving the royal family.
It was also revealed that it is "very likely" that the inquests will investigate the princess's "alleged fears" for her life and the suggestion that she was pregnant when she died.
