Recently the Royal family have been in the news quite a lot due to Prince William and his wife, Kate, The Duchess of Cambridge welcoming their son Prince George of Cambridge to the world. Even though the bundle of joy had been a trending topic on twitter, he took a bit of a backseat to the latest shocker regarding his late Grandmother, Princess Diana.
A recent article in Vanity Fair magazine which exposes Princess Diana's secret love affair with Dr. Hasnat Khan sent shock waves across the media, especially considering the fact that Di had been dating Dodi Fayed just before she died.
Oliver Hirshbigel, Oscar-nominated director of the film Downfall, which focused on the last ten days of Hiler’s life, is now directing a film on Di with British-Australian actress Naomi Watts. The film will center on the romantic relationship between the Princess and British-Pakistani heart surgeon, Dr. Hasnat Khan.
The film is the first to deal with Princess Diana’s life directly although there have been many made-for-television that have focused on the topic. Watts has been nominated twice for Oscar last year and according to Telegraph, said that it would be an “honour to play this iconic role.” In the new trailer of the film, the audiences can see Diana, Princess of Wales, meeting Dr. Hasnat Khan (dashing and handsome Lost-star Naveen Andrews, video posted below).
The world premiere of Diana will be released on September 5th in London and the film will be released on September 20th worldwide.
According to DailyTimes, Diana told her friend and acupuncturist, Oonagh Toffolo that “He’s drop-dead gorgeous.” after their brief encounter at the Royal Brompton Hospital in London. Oonagh later told The Daily Telegraph, “I would say it was love at first sight.
She was so overwhelmed, it can only have been a soul encounter.” Shortly after their first meeting, Khan asked Diana out and their first date was at Stratford-Upon-Avon to visit his relatives and pick up some books. Khan said, “I did not think for one minute that she would say yes, but I asked her to come with me. After this, our friendship turned into a relationship.”
The affair between the two took place when she was 35 years old and both of them met in secrecy. They spent their time shuttling between Kensington Palace and Chelsea’s one-bedroom apartment in Chelsea. Diana is said to have been madly in love with Khan, devoting time to his life and family. Sometimes she would also meet him in a disguise and would frequently wear wigs and spectacles to avoid media attention.
Once she even climbed out of a ground-floor window to meet him at the Harefield Hospital in West London. In July 1996, she even met her boy friend wearing a fur coat and a pair of sapphire-and-diamond earrings.
The Princess was apparently bold enough to take the initiative of visiting Pakistan to meet with his parents. After the meeting it is said that Diana was dreaming of a settled life in Pakistan, Australia, or Australia thinking of a fairytale future with children.
Her friend, Annabel Goldsmith, suggested the name Allegra for a “beautiful brown daughter” that Diana dreamt of having with Khan, wishfully thinking that one day both of them could team together as a force to change the world together.
Jemima Khan, ex-wife of Pakistani cricketer Imran Khan and her friend said, “Diana was madly in love with Hasnat Khan [a distant cousin from the traditional Pashtun tribe] and wanted to marry him, even if that meant living in Pakistan.”
Khan was also uncomfortable in the limelight and did not like the media attention he received. This tension was at the heart of their relationship and frequently caused problems between the unlikely couple. More than that, he also had a fear of commitment having broken two engagements before during the last stages. Furthermore, Diana would have to live in Pakistan, which was a glaring roadblock.
Dr. Khan said, “She couldn’t have lived in Pakistan at that time — her children were too young [William was 14 and Harry 12]. She couldn’t live in two places at the same time, spending a month here or a week there.”
Their relationship ended in the summer of 1997. Dr. Khan concluded, “I think mainly the problem was that even after two years, the relationship wasn’t leading to a meaningful progression or conclusion, and that was the main stress on both of us. Everyone wants a relationship to be going somewhere.”
The estranged couple last met at Battersea Park in South London and gave each other a bittersweet and unhappy farewell.
Dr. Khan had also tried contacting her the night of August 31st 1997 when she had died an untimely death.
He currently works as a heart surgeon in Basildon, Essex while he is also building a cardiology clinic and his goal to provide free healthcare to children in the poor region of Badolte, Pakistan.
Feature Image: Readers Digest,
Old archive images:Dailytimes & BY BRENDAN BEIRNE/REX USA.
Images & Source: vancouverdesi.com, theguardian.com, and telegraph.co.uk, dailytimes.com