Hasnat Ahmad Khan FRCS (Urdu: حسنات احمد خان; born 1 April 1958) is a British-Pakistani heart and lung surgeon. He is widely known for his romantic relationship with Diana, Princess of Wales, from 1995 to 1997.

Hasnat Khan

Born
Hasnat Ahmad Khan

(1958-04-01) 1 April 1958 (age 65)
Nationality
Alma materImperial College School of Medicine
Occupation(s)Heart and lung surgeon
Spouses
  • Hadia Sher Ali
    (m. 2006; div. 2008)
  • Somi Sohail
    (m. 2017)

Early life and education edit

Khan was born on 1 April 1958 in Jhelum, a city in the Punjab province of Pakistan.[1][2][3] He is the eldest of four children.[1] His father, Rashid Khan, a graduate of the London School of Economics, ran a glass factory.[4] Hasnat Khan is a distant cousin of Imran Khan, former prime minister of Pakistan.[5]

Career edit

Until 1991 he worked in Sydney, Australia and then began to work in London.[6][7] He served at the Royal Brompton Hospital in London from 1995 to 1996, then he began to work at the London Chest Hospital. In 2000, he worked at St Bart's hospital, after which he served at Harefield Hospital. In November 2007, he resigned from the post and began to head a cardiac hospital in Malaysia.[8] As of August 2013, Khan is working as a consultant cardiothoracic surgeon at Basildon University Hospital.[9]

Personal life edit

Relationship with the Princess of Wales edit

Khan had a two-year relationship with Diana, Princess of Wales, who is said to have described him as "Mr Wonderful."[10] In May 1996, Diana visited the Khan family in Lahore.[11][12] Diana's butler Paul Burrell said in testimony at her 2008 inquest that Diana described Khan as her soulmate. Diana ended the relationship in July 1997.[13][14]

Diana's friends are reported to have described Hasnat as the "love of her life" and to have spoken of her distress when she ended their relationship.[4] He, however, is said to be reticent about speaking of how much he may have meant to her or even how much she meant to him.[15] Khan attended Diana's funeral ceremony at Westminster Abbey in September 1997.[8][16]

Khan told the police in 2004 that he doubted she had been pregnant when she died because she always took her contraceptive pills.[17] In March 2008, he said in a written statement to Lord Justice Scott Baker's inquest into Diana's death that their relationship had begun in the late summer of 1995, and that although they had talked about getting married he believed that he would find the inevitable media attention "hell." Khan also said he believed the car crash which caused Diana's death was a tragic accident.[18]

Marriage edit

Khan married 28-year-old Hadia Sher Ali in Pakistan, descended from Afghan royalty, in May 2006.[19][20] In July 2008, Khan and Ali filed an application for divorce in the local arbitration council of Islamabad.[15] He later married Somi Sohail.[21][22]

In the media edit

The relationship between Khan and Diana, Princess of Wales is portrayed in the film Diana (2013), directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel and based on Kate Snell's book Diana: Her Last Love (2001).[23] Khan is played by Naveen Andrews, while Diana is played by Naomi Watts.[23]

Khan was portrayed by Pakistani actor Humayun Saeed in the fifth season of The Crown.[24]

References edit

  1. ^ a b Brown, Tina (1 July 2007). "Diana's Final Heartbreak". Vanity Fair. p. 4. Archived from the original on 8 May 2013. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
  2. ^ Luchina Fisher (31 July 2013). "Report: Princess Di Wanted to Marry Again". ABC News. Archived from the original on 2 August 2013. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
  3. ^ Timur Moon, "Di’s doctor finds a doctor in Lahore" Archived 9 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine, The Telegraph, Calcutta, 19 May 2003, Retrieved 25 August 2008.
  4. ^ a b Ansari, Massoud; Alderson, Andrew (16 January 2008). "Dr Hasnat Khan: Princess Diana and me". Sunday Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 7 September 2008. Retrieved 25 August 2008.
  5. ^ "The Grandmother Prince George Never Knew: Revisiting Diana and the True Love of Her Life". Vanity Fair. 30 July 2013. Archived from the original on 1 August 2013. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
  6. ^ Terry O'Hanlon; Rick Hewett (28 January 1996). "Diana's secret dinner dates with dishy doc; Candlelit four-hour meal for two". Sunday Mirror. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
  7. ^ Davis, Simon (14 January 2008). "Diana's 'great love' Hasnat Khan speaks out". News. Archived from the original on 21 August 2013. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
  8. ^ a b Roy, Amit (14 January 2008). "Diana doctor's marriage on the rocks". The Telegraph Calcutta. Archived from the original on 21 August 2013. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  9. ^ Andrew Pulver (26 August 2013). "Princess Diana film 'got it completely wrong' says former lover Hasnat Khan". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 28 August 2013. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
  10. ^ Multiple sources:
  11. ^ Philipson, Alison (31 July 2013). "Princess Diana was 'madly in love' with heart surgeon Hasnat Khan". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 20 August 2017. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  12. ^ "Imran and Jemima Khan Welcomed Princess Diana in Pakistan". Huffington Post. 25 May 2011. Archived from the original on 13 June 2017. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
  13. ^ "Hasnat Khan Tells Diana Inquest They Enjoyed "Normal" Sex Life, Says She Ended Affair". Huffington Post. 25 May 2011. Archived from the original on 13 February 2012. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
  14. ^ Rayner, Gordon (16 January 2008). "Diana 'planned secret wedding to Hasnat Khan'". The Daily Telegraph . London. Archived from the original on 17 January 2008. Retrieved 24 August 2008.
  15. ^ a b "Diana's lover divorces wife" Archived 23 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine, Times of India, 20 July 2008, Retrieved 25 August 2008.
  16. ^ Hunt, Liz (15 January 2008). "Was Hasnat Khan a victim of Diana after all?". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 19 May 2014. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
  17. ^ "Inquest jury hears statement from Princess Diana boyfriend Hasnat Khan". NY Daily News. London. AP. 3 March 2008. Archived from the original on 6 November 2013. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
  18. ^ "Diana jury told of surgeon affair" Archived 2 August 2017 at the Wayback Machine, BBC News, 3 March 2008, Retrieved 25 August 2008.
  19. ^ Dean Rousewell, "Diana Doc Weds his New Love" Archived 3 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine The People, London, 14 May 2006, Retrieved 25 August 2008.
  20. ^ "Princes Diana's former lover Hasnat Khan's marriage ends". dna. PTI. 13 January 2008. Archived from the original on 14 August 2013. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
  21. ^ "Di's ex 'finds new love'". www.telegraphindia.com. Archived from the original on 13 January 2022. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
  22. ^ Wet, Nici de. "BEST OF 2021 | Hasnat Khan, the doctor who stole Princess Diana's heart, finally breaks his silence". You. Archived from the original on 13 January 2022. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
  23. ^ a b Peter Bradshaw (1 September 2013). "Film highlights of autumn 2013: from Diana to The Selfish Giant". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 6 September 2013. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
  24. ^ Ramach, Naman; ran (9 January 2022). "'The Crown': Pakistani Star Humayun Saeed Cast as Princess Diana's Companion Dr. Hasnat Khan (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on 10 January 2022. Retrieved 10 January 2022.