Mohamed al-Fayed, former Harrods owner whose son Dodi died ...

Mohamed al-Fayed, the self-made Egyptian billionaire who bought London's luxury Harrods department store, has died aged 94.

Mr al-Fayed spent 10 years trying to prove Princess Diana and his son Dodi were murdered when their car crashed in a Paris road tunnel in 1997 while trying to outrun paparazzi. 

His family said he died on Wednesday — a day before the 26th anniversary of Dodi and Diana's death.

"Mrs Mohamed Al Fayed, her children and grandchildren wish to confirm that her beloved husband, their father and their grandfather, Mohamed, has passed away peacefully of old age," the family statement read.

The billionaire had previously said he wanted to be mummified in a golden sarcophagus in a glass pyramid on the roof of Harrods.

Born in the Egyptian city of Alexandria, al-Fayed began his career selling fizzy drinks and then worked as a sewing-machine salesman.

He built his family's fortune in real estate, shipping and construction, first in the Middle East and then in Europe.

Although Mr al-Fayed owned establishment symbols such as Harrods and the Fulham Football Club, he was always an outsider in Britain.

He fell out with the British government over its refusal to grant him citizenship of the country that was his home for decades.

He often threatened to move to France, which gave him the Legion of Honour, its highest civilian award.

Unsupported by any evidence, according to the inquest into Diana's death, he claimed that she was bearing Dodi's child.

He also accused Prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth's husband, of ordering Britain's security services to kill Diana to stop her marrying a Muslim and having his baby.