Heart surgeon Hasnat Khan dated Princess Diana from 1995 to 1997. Their romance is the subject of the book 'Diana: Her Last Love' and its film adaptation, 'Diana.'
Who is Hasnat Khan?
A cardiac heart surgeon, Kahn dated Princess Diana from 1995 to 1997. In 2000, Kate Snell published Diana: Her Last Love, about Khan and Diana's relationship. As of 2013, Diana — a film based on Snell's book — was slated to be released despite Khan's disapproval.
Early Life
Hasnat Ahmad Khan was born in Jhelum, Pakistan, on April 1, 1959. His father, Abdul Rasheed Khan, is a graduate of the London School of Economics. Rather than following in his father's footsteps, Hasnat grew up to pursue a medical career.
Medical Career
As a junior heart surgeon in England, Khan worked 90 hour weeks for a modest salary. It was during this time that he would meet his famed love interest, Diana, Princess of Wales.
As of 2013, Khan has continued his medical career at Basildon University Hospital in Essex, England, as a cardiothoracic surgeon on a consulting basis. Scheduled for September of that year, he intended to take a year and a half-long unpaid sabbatical from the hospital. His short-term future plans as a physician included establishing free cardiac health services for the poor, at the Abdul Razzaq Welfare Trust Hospital in the Pakistani village of Badlot near Jhelum, his hometown.
Relationship With Princess Diana
Khan met Princess Diana in the Royal Brompton Hospital waiting room on September 1, 1995, while she was visiting a sick friend. The princess — who had separated from her husband, Prince Charles, three years prior — felt an immediate attraction to Khan. In hopes of encountering him again, she began visiting the hospital on a daily basis. A few weeks later, Khan agreed to go on a date with Diana. A relationship blossomed and would last for the next two years. Their romance was not without its storms: as Khan worked grueling hours at the hospital, Diana grew increasingly frustrated by his lack of availability. Their struggle to keep the relationship out of the public eye further compounded the tension within their relationship. While Diana found herself yearning for a serious commitment, Khan viewed the prospect of their marriage as unrealistic, due to cultural differences.
The princess and the doctor broke off their relationship in late July 1997. According to her friend, Rosa Monckton, Diana remained infatuated with Khan even as she started dating Egyptian millionaire Dodi Fayed. After Diana and Fayed died in a car accident in Paris on August 31, 1997, Khan remained respectfully silent about his relationship with Diana for the next 16 years. During that time, Khan was married once, briefly, to Hadia Sher Ali in May 2006. Their marriage lasted 18 months before they filed for divorce in 2008.
Book and Film
At the end of the 1990s, author Snell approached Khan about a book she was writing. The book was meant to focus on his relationship with Princess Diana, with Snell interviewing Kahn's friends and relatives to get their perspectives on the couple. Khan said he didn't approve of her writing the book, but couldn't stop her from speaking to willing participants. Diana: Her Last Love, by Kate Snell, was published in 2000. Assuming that the book was fabricated from gossip, Khan opted never to read it.
Director Oliver Hirschbiegel created a 2013 film based on Snell’s book — starring Naveen Andrews as Khan opposite Naomi Watts as Princess Diana — simply titled Diana. After seeing a still image from the film, Khan has been vocal in the press about his disapproval. Not only has he cited the movie as an inaccurate portrayal of the couple's relationship, but he has also said he has no plans to watch it.
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