London, March 2(IRNA) The delayed inquest into the 1997 death of Diana, Princess of Wales, is now to be heard in front of a jury after the High Court in London overruled the coroner's decision to sit alone.

Three senior judges ruled that concurrent inquests into the deaths of Diana and Dodi al-Fayed, the son of an Egyptian businessman who was also killed in the 1997 Paris car crash, will be heard by a jury.

Dodi's father, Mohamed al Fayed, who challenged the original ban, welcomed the court's decision and called for senior members of the royal family, including Diana's former husband Prince Charles, the heir to the British throne, to be questioned at the inquest.

"It's a good victory but it's just the start of my battle for the last 10 years to find justice," al Fayed told reporters after the court's ruling.

Lady Elizabeth Butler-Sloss, who has been appointed as coroner for the inquest, said in January that she had decided to hear the case alone after scrutinizing legal arguments on whether to appoint a jury made up from the public.

She previously rejected holding the case with a jury made up of members from the Queen's household, as is usual for inquests on members of the royal family.

Dodi's father has long argued in favor of a public jury after claiming that the deaths of his son and Diana were the result of a conspiracy by the British establishment.

He said his lawyers would now need time to prepare their case but hoped the inquests would take place before the 10th anniversary of their deaths in August.

Reports that Butler-Sloss would stand down as coroner for the case as a result of the High Court's decision were said to have been dismissed by the Royal Courts of Justice.

The former senior judge will sit as coroner of "some sort," a spokeswoman was quoted saying, but added that it was still assessing part of the ruling on her status in the case. A pre-inquest hearing is due to take place next Monday.

Last month, a three-year police inquiry into the deaths dismissed allegations that the divorced wife of Price Charles, was part of any conspiracy.

The inquiry, led by former Metropolitan Police Commissioner Lord Stevens, also concluded that claims were not founded that Diana was pregnant and planned to marry the Egyptian businessman's son.

"There was no conspiracy to murder any of the occupants of that car," Stevens said in reference to their deaths in a car crash. "This was a tragic accident," he insisted.

A two-year investigation in France has previously blamed the chauffeur, Henri Paul, who was also killed in the crash, for losing control of the car because he had been drinking alcohol, taking prescription drugs and was driving too fast.