The late Princess Diana, after her separation from Prince Charles, now King Charles, was linked romantically with different individuals. But there was just
one man she believed was "the one" and whom she called the "love of her life." That man was Pakistani-born cardiac surgeon Dr Hasnat Khan, whom the late princess dated from 1995 to 1997. Their relationship remained largely a mystery, and after Diana’s death in a car accident in Paris in 1997, Khan refused to ever divulge details.
Hasnat Khan, the Cardiac Surgeon and Princess Diana
Born in Jhelum, Pakistan, Khan came from an upper-class Muslim family of the Pathan tribe. According to reports, he is a distant cousin of former Pakistani cricket captain and Prime Minister Imran Khan. He completed medical college in Pakistan before moving to Australia, where he practised surgery in Sydney. He later earned his PhD at Imperial College London and worked at the Royal Brompton Hospital, London Chest Hospital, and Harefield Hospital.They met in August 1995 while he was doing his rounds at the Royal Brompton Hospital. Khan later gave a statement to authorities after Diana’s death. "I first met Diana when I had occasion to speak to Mrs Toffolo, whose husband was required to stay in hospital for some time." Oonagh Toffolo was a friend of Diana’s, and her husband Joe Toffolo had been admitted to the hospital.
Diana would regularly visit, and according to Khan, "from what she had seen during her visits, Diana became very interested in the workings of the hospital."
A casual introduction turned into a romance that was kept under wraps.
"For the 35-year-old Princess, Hasnat Khan represented not just a secret, illicit romance. He was a shot at normalcy, at a life away from the increasingly unfriendly spotlight, and a man with whom Diana hoped she might find the personal happiness that had long eluded her," wrote Sarah Ellison for Vanity Fair in 2013. Ellison interviewed friends and people who knew the couple.
She also quoted a friend of Diana’s, who said, "When you think of the kind of men Diana must have met or been with or seen, here is a man who is completely and totally selfless. She said she'd never met anybody like him."
Their first date took place two weeks later, in September. They went to pick up books from Khan's aunt and uncle's house in Stratford-upon-Avon. In a transcript of his interview with the police, published in Vanity Fair, he said, "I did not think for one minute that she would say yes, but I asked her if she would like to come with me. I was very surprised when she said she would." He added, "After this, our friendship turned into a relationship."
Princess Diana even visited his family in Pakistan in 1996 while they were dating. They would secretly meet at his aunt and uncle's house, and nobody would know. But it was not easy to be with the world's most famous public figure.
"Diana and I had a very good relationship with no personal problems. The only problem we did have was with the media, and the only place we could have any real privacy was at Kensington Palace as they could not get to us there. Diana was very protective towards me and wanted to shield me from the attention," Khan revealed. He spoke about their relationship only during an investigation into her death in 2004.
Diana wanted to be with him and was even willing to relocate to Pakistan and convert to Islam. But the media attention eventually led to their breakup. The pressure was too much for Hasnat. According to his 2004 statement published in Reader's Digest, "The press went everywhere trying to get information on me. They visited old girlfriends, my medical school, and retired professors whom I had known." He began receiving death threats, and pictures of him circulated with a noose drawn around his neck.
He also said during the inquest, "My main concern about us getting married was that my life would be hell because of who she was. I knew I would not be able to live a normal life."
In July 1997, they called off their relationship, and close friends of Diana believe that her relationship with Dodi Al Fayed was meant to make Khan jealous.
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