Princess Diana and Dr. Hasnat Khan: A Secret Love Story
Princess Diana was known for her compassionate hospital visits, bringing hope to the sick. But one visit led to something deeper — a secret love affair with heart surgeon Dr. Hasnat Khan.
It was 1995, two months before Diana’s famous Panorama interview. At London’s Royal Brompton Hospital, she met Khan — a handsome, reserved Muslim doctor whose charm reminded many of Omar Sharif. Their introduction came through Oonagh Shanley-Toffolo, a close friend of Diana’s whose husband was a patient there.
Diana began returning to the hospital almost daily, captivated by Khan. Beneath her public visits to raise awareness, she’d found personal happiness again.
Despite their differences — Khan loved jazz, cigarettes, and KFC — Diana was smitten, calling him “drop-dead gorgeous.” To keep their romance hidden, she used secret messages signed “Dr. Armani,” wore disguises, and even snuck Khan into Kensington Palace in a car trunk.
Their bond deepened. Diana met Khan’s family in Pakistan, studied Islam, and even considered marriage despite their religious differences. She introduced him to Princes William and Harry, calling him “Mr. Wonderful” and her “soulmate.”
But the pressure of public scrutiny strained their relationship. Khan, uncomfortable with media attention, feared for his privacy and career. Plans to move abroad never materialized, and they ended things in July 1997.
A month later, tragedy struck. On August 31, 1997, Diana died in a Paris car crash with Dodi Fayed. Khan, shocked by news of her new relationship, attended her funeral in grief.
Years later, Khan reflected:
“Sometimes I feel like screaming… I have moved on, but it keeps coming back.”
He later married Hadia Sher Ali but divorced in 2008. Today, he lives quietly in the UK, working as a heart surgeon and doing humanitarian work abroad.
“It feels like a sanctuary,” he said. “Very peaceful.”