It’s been nearly 24 years since the untimely death of Princess Diana, and now, a new television special is chronicling the summer that led to her tragic passing.
Her last few days, which aired on ABC, was hosted by Martin Bashir, a British journalist who secured the only extended interview Diana ever gave, in 1996.
Here are the few THINGS that even her fans might not know.
THE LOVE OF HER LIFE.
She dated a man her friends would call the “love of her life”—and it wasn’t Dodi Al-Fayed. Diana had an on and off relationship with Hasnat Khan, a surgeon of Pakistani descent who was working in London at that time. They met in a hospital where Princess Diana’s friend was being treated.
Also read: Shocking details about what happened in the seven days after Princess Diana’s death.
But at that time Hasnat Khan wasn’t sure their relationship had a future due to their cultural differences. According to the special, they ended up having a shouting match in Hyde Park and Princess Diana gave Khan an ultimatum which was either go public with their relationship or end it entirely.
THE OFFICIAL INVESTIGATION.
Khan later said during an official investigation into Diana’s death that she hid her relationship with Dodi Al Fayed from him. On the last night of her life, Khan said he called her constantly but thinks she may have changed her phone number.
THE SUMMERTIME.
During the summers, she was spending her time with Mohamed Al-Fayed, Dodi’s father, a businessman 20 years her senior who had taken her on several dates. “It developed into a romantic relationship for part of the time that we were together,” Lalvani said in the special.
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But her friend Roberto Devorik insisted the two never had a physical relationship. The relationship with Al Fayed was just for getting back at Khan, said Devorik. Princess Diana then ultimately accepted Al Fayed’s invitation to spend the vacations with him in Saint Topez. Diana took Prince William and Prince Harry along with her. There, on the vacation, Diana met Dodi.
THE PRESS TALK.
She hated the press/media but used it to her advantage. She was furious her friends and family talked to the press. In a candid interview, her mother gave details about her divorce from Prince Charles. “If anyone was to say anything, she felt that she should be saying it,” former royal press secretary Dickie Arbiter said. Princess Diana felt “hunted and haunted” by the media. But according to the special, there may have been a few times that she tipped off the press to get back at Prince Charles and Khan.
SHOWING IT OFF.
After Prince Charles threw a birthday party for Camilla, that made all the front pages. Diana staged a photo while on vacation in Saint Tropez. The pictures were of going on jet skis and hanging out in a bathing suit in front of photographers. Later, while on vacation with Dodi Al Fayed in Sardinia, she may have tipped off the paparazzi to get the blurry “kiss” picture that hit every tabloid.
MOTHER-DAUGHTER RELATIONSHIP.
She never enjoyed her relationship with her mother. When she was a child, her mother, Frances Shand-Kydd, left her father for another man. So it was crucial that her marriage to Charles work out. “She wanted what she never had. She wanted to have a home”, Devorik said. But Princess Diana chafed at the royal family, which was known for not being very open and emotional. She even had to call Prince Charles “sir” while they were dating.
NOT GETTING THE APPROVAL.
After her divorce, the mother didn’t approve of her dating a Muslim man. This caused a strain when she dated Khan. The strain got worse when her mother spoke to the tabloids about Princess Diana’s divorce from Prince Charles.
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