Prince Charles and Princess Diana’s fairytale wedding in 1981 was followed by an unhappy marriage.
With Charles in love with Camilla Parker-Bowles, Diana sought comfort in other men, before and after the couple separated in 1992. In 1985, Diana fell for her bodyguard, Barry Mannakee, and in 1997, she died in the same car as her final boyfriend, Dodi Fayed.
Her summer romance with Dodi is the focus of The Crown season six's opening episodes, documenting their time together in the months leading up to their deaths on August 31, 1997.
Watch: The Crown season six trailer. Post continues below video.
But in between, there were others the public may be far less familiar with. From a rugby captain to a heart surgeon, here are some of the other men from Diana's life.
James Hewitt
Hewitt, a cavalry officer and polo player, met Diana at a party in 1986 and offered to help her get over her fear of horses. But the riding lessons turned into something more intimate. Hewitt spilled the beans on their five-year affair to author Anna Pasternak, who turned his stories into the book Princess In Love.
Diana admitted the affair with Hewitt in her 1995 Panorama interview, saying, "Yes, I adored him. Yes, I was in love with him. But I was very let down."
Rumours have circulated for many years that Hewitt is the real father of Prince Harry, because the pair look strikingly similar. But Hewitt said there's "no possibility whatsoever" of that being true, as Harry was born in 1984.
"When I met Diana, he was already a toddler," he explained.
James Gilbey
Gilbey will always be remembered as the man who nicknamed Diana "Squidgy". The infamous "Squidgygate" tapes, a recording of a phone conversation between the two, were released by the media in 1992, having been recorded nearly three years earlier. In the conversation, Gilbey can be heard telling Diana, "I love you," and calling her "Squidgy" 53 times.
Gilbey, a car dealer and heir to the Gilbey gin fortune, never spoke about his relationship with Diana. He remained a bachelor till 2014, when he married mum-of-five Lavinia Hadsley-Chapman.
Oliver Hoare
Diana’s former bodyguard, Ken Wharfe, says the Princess was "instantly attracted" to handsome art dealer Oliver Hoare, 16 years her senior. Before long, the two were having secret meet-ups. Wharfe claims he once found Hoare "semi-naked", behind a potted plant in Kensington Palace, holding a cigar.
When Hoare decided to end the affair to save his marriage to his wealthy wife, Diane de Waldner de Freundstein, Diana began bombarding his home with hundreds of phone calls. This became public in 1994, with newspaper headlines screaming, "Di’s cranky calls to married tycoon".
Hoare died of cancer lain 2018, aged 73.
Will Carling
Carling, who was England’s rugby union captain, met Diana at a London gym in 1995. She asked him for private training sessions. Before long, rumours of their alleged affair were all over the media, and Carling’s marriage to his TV host wife Julia Smith fell apart.
"I am sad that Will put himself in that position, and that the Princess did as well," Julia said. "This has happened to her before, and you hope she won't do these things again, but obviously she does."
Carling always denied the affair with Diana.
"No, no, no – how many times do I have to say it?" he told the Sunday Mirror in 2004. "We were friends."
Carling married again and has two children with his second wife Lisa.
Hasnat Khan
Diana was visiting a friend’s husband in hospital in 1995 when a "drop-dead gorgeous" man caught her eye. That man was a modest, hard-working, Pakistani-British heart surgeon, Dr Hasnat Khan. Diana nicknamed him "Mr Wonderful", and before long, the two were a couple. They dated for two years, Diana even visiting Khan’s family in Pakistan, in the hope of marrying him one day.
"I told her that the only way I could see us having a vaguely normal life together would be if we went to Pakistan, as the press don't bother you there," he told police after Diana’s death.
Diana was said to be frustrated that Khan wasn't keen to marry or even go public with their relationship, and the couple split in 1997. Before long, Diana was hanging out with someone who had a lot more time on his hands – Dodi Fayed.
Khan married Hadia Sher Ali in Pakistan in 2006 and filed for divorce two years later.
Bryan Adams
Did Diana really have an affair with the Canadian rocker? Adams' ex-girlfriend, Cecilie Thomsen, says she and Bryan had a stormy relationship, "and Bryan’s affair with Diana didn't make it easier". Meanwhile, Diana's former butler, Paul Burrell, claims he used to sneak Adams into Kensington Palace in the boot of his car.
In 2018, Adams finally addressed the rumours, on Watch What Happens Live. He denied that Diana used to "sneak" him into the palace, saying, "I would just roll up." He insisted he and the Princess were just "great friends", not "friends with benefits".
This article was originally published on November 20, 2020 and has been updated.
Feature Image: Getty.
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Top Comments
James Hewitt has every reason to lie; he STAINED the British Royal Family with his second class DNA. When Diana became pregnant (during a period time when she was NOT with Charles, and Hewitt was told) he became frantic. First, he was in a panic to save his military career (he failed) and second, to not become a public pariah.
FACT: Hewitt was assigned to the Household Guard (cavalry) at the Royal Mews at Buckingham Palace in January of 1981. In July of 1981, he rode in the wedding procession of Charles and Diana. Hewitt also rode in EVERY Trooping of the Colour each June, from 1981-1984. He was well known to the entire BRF for his work at the Royal Mews, since they all cared about horses.
FACT: The BRF's hobby (obsession) is equine in nature; some care about breeding, others betting, or riding for pleasure, or Olympic training and competition, carriage riding, carriage racing, flat racing, Steeplechase, and at least 3 of them play polo. All cared for horses except Diana.
FACT: Diana had been acting out badly in family settings when the topic of horses came up (which was often; they were a large family with outspoken members). But then Diana starting acting out in public (being seen "pouting" and "looking bored" and "yawning" when Charles was playing polo; even leaning against Charles Aston Martin. So, the Queen waited until little Prince William was a full year old (that's how they did things in those days) which was July of 1983, and that's when she requested that Diana take riding lessons. (The Queen's thinking was sound; she thought that IF Diana got to know a bit about horses that she would be more interested and not so hostile in family discussions and less impatient with Charles while he was playing polo.)
FACT: The Queen considered her employees and decided that James Hewitt had the right qualifications and was around Diana's age and that he would be a good instructor to teach Diana to ride. Hewitt was agreeable, so she hired him and PAID HIM in the summer of 1983 to begin teaching Diana to ride. The Queen also made arrangements that Diana would go to Hewitt's stables (next door to the home he shared with his widowed mother (Shirley Hewitt) and not use the Royal Mews at Buckingham Palace for her lessons. This was so that Diana would have privacy when she began to learn. The Queen knows her family and knew that the various family members would TEASE Diana if they were at the Mews at the same time as Diana's lessons. Diana began her lessons at Hewitt's home as instructed beginning the end of August. She was pregnant before Christmas. So, any stories that they never met until 1986 is a LIE. They formally met when he started giving her lessons in 1983 while she knew him by sight for 3 years.
FACT: Charles knew he had not been with Diana during he requisite period when he learned her due date. However, he knew she was garbage with even simple math, so he waited until the child was born before having a better grasp of her date of conception. His suspicions were confirmed. The Queen and Prince Philip advised him to get an immediate blood test, so they knew for sure where they stood. When that also confirmed his lack of parentage, only one task remained. How to find out which male had been alone with Diana during the requisite period. She was not forthcoming and insisted on an impossible lie (that it was Charles' child) even when faced with incontrovertible evidence. They checked her calendar to get the names. That was easier than expected, there was only ONE male who had been alone with Diana (on a regular basis) and that was a palace employee who had also been hired to teach Diana to ride. Not only did they have the NAME of James Hewitt, but the child looked remarkably like him! Hewitt was promoted (to keep him quiet?) the next month (October of 1984) and transferred away from Buckingham Palace. It would have been awkward for family members to run into him at the mews or in parades.
FACT: Charles moved out of Kensington Palace and Diana rotated men through (while still married to Charles). She often invited Hewitt for dinner and to stay and play with Harry and to give him a bath, and to read him a story before bed. WHO DOES THAT WITH A BOYFRIEND? Any "boyfriend" who is giving baths to a son who is not his own would be considered very weird. There is no evidence that any other "boyfriend" (other than Hewitt) was ever allowed to give Harry his baths.
Hang on - back the truck up. The last time I read about affairs it was a trial by social media jury for the perpetrators. There were flaming torches lit and an abundance of outrage.
Since it's Diana with four alleged affairs - we can let it slide now?
I would post a picture of my confusion, but I ran out of crayons