All the men who stole Princess Diana's heart: 25 years after her death, here's what they're doing
LONDON, UK: The life of Princess Diana was nothing short of a movie, which everyone was, is and will be interested to know about. However, her tragic end in 1997 left many disheartened. Though it was said that her death was a horrible accident that took her away untimely, the late princess did not think like that herself because she conveyed to her personal legal advisor, Victor Mishcon, that plans had been made to kill her.
Diana had reportedly said the same thing to her butler, Paul Burrell. "My husband is planning ‘an accident’ in my car, brake failure, and serious head injury in order to make the path clear for him to marry Tiggy," she allegedly claimed. Since her death on August 31, 1997, several theories have come up but the most consistent ones have been her not-so-strong relationship with her husband Prince Charles and her respective affairs outside marriage.
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Let’s take closer look at Lady Diana’s love life
Prince Charles
Diana was just 19 when she got engaged to the Prince of Wales. However, she was familiar with him earlier because there was a time when Prince Charles was dating her older sister, Sarah. He had said "what fun she was" following their initial meetings. The pair got married in July 1981 but their love did not survive and in 1992, they separated before officially ending their marriage in 1996, a year before her death.
Barry Albert Mannakee
Mannakee became Diana’s bodyguard in 1985. Soon rumors began that the two were dating and without much delay, the man was dismissed from his job. But it did not end there as in 1987, Mannakee died in a motorcycle accident. Theories began to surface that his death was not just an accident and in a video later obtained by NBC, Diana was heard saying, "I was only happy when he was around."
She also called his death "the biggest blow of my life," before adding, "I think he was bumped off, but there we are." Besides, the tape claimed that Diana was "deeply in love" with Mannakee and was "quite happy to give all this up and to just go off and live with him."
James Hewitt
Hewitt was a former household cavalry officer and tank commander, who started dating the princess in 1986 after meeting her at a cocktail party. In the 1995 BBC Panorama interview, Diana had admitted to it too. However, their romance did not last long as Hewitt was sent to serve in the Gulf War. Diana’s former protection officer and confidante, Ken Wharfe, has mentioned their affair in his book, ‘Diana: Closely Guarded Secret'. Diana had apparently said, "I adored him. Yes, I was in love with him. But I was very let down."
Also, in his 1999’s book ‘Love and War’, Hewitt had said, "Only one thing went wrong. We fell in love." According to a 2021 report, he’s now "working as a gardener, living in Devon with his elderly mother. Hewitt does not have any children."
James Gilbey
Gilbey and Diana were childhood friends. Though the princess never said that she was romantically involved with him, a 1989 phone call reportedly revealed that Gilbey called the Princess alternately ‘Squidge’ or ‘Squidgy’ 53 times and spoke of wrapping his arms around her and holding her close." In the same call, Diana had apparently said that Prince Charles, "makes my life real, real torture." A 2017 Sun report said that he married to interior designer Lavinia Hadsley-Chaplin and is also a father to five step children.
Oliver Hoare
Hoare and Diana reportedly had an affair from 1992 to 1994. In the book, ‘Diana: Closely Guarded Secret,’ Wharfe said, “The Princess was instantly attracted to him. Diana later confessed to me that she had felt a little shy when at Windsor, she shook his hand for the first time, and had blushed as she flirted with him. That conversation ended abruptly when Charles and the Queen Mother joined them."
However, the alleged romance ended when the art dealer refused "to leave his wife and Diana is thought to have become a little over infatuated when she rang his Chelsea home 300 times in one night." Hoare died in August 2018 to cancer.
Will Carling
Carling and Diana met each other during an early-morning workout at London’s Chelsea Harbour Club in 1995. Though the man refused to have any romantic connection with the princess, "Diana reportedly asked for private training sessions which led to a fleeting tryst." Carling married Lisa, the ex-wife of David Cooke, and has two children.
Hasnat Khan
Diana used to affectionately call Khan, a British-Pakistani heart and lung surgeon, "Mr Wonderful." They had been in a relationship for two years that started in 1995. The Sun reported that the affair "ended just months before Diana’s death because Khan feared he could never have a normal family life if they married."
Recently, it was reported that Khan served as a consultant in cardiothoracic surgery at Basildon University Hospital, Essex. Also, another report added that "he was married in the past but is now single."
Dodi Al Fayed
Dodi was the eldest son of ex-Harrods owner and billionaire Mohamed Al Fayed. He first interacted with Diana happened in 1986 at a polo match in Windsor. Tatler reported that after the princess’s divorce, Dodi invited her and her sons William and Prince on his yacht in the south of France. However, Diana went alone and "a photo of the pair kissing made headlines around the world." In the 1997 Paris crash, Dodi also died.
