The other men in Princess Diana's life.

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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