Hasnat Khan

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
Jhelum, Punjab, Pakistan
NationalityBritish • Pakistani
Alma materImperial College School of Medicine
OccupationHeart and lung surgeon
Spouse(s)
Hadia Sher Ali
​
​
(m. 2006; div. 2008)​
Partner(s)Diana, Princess of Wales (1995–1997)

Early life and education

Khan was born on 1 April 1958 in Jhelum, a city in the Punjab province of Pakistan, in a Kakazai Pashtun family.[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.[5]

Career

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

Relationship with the Princess of Wales

Khan had a two-year relationship with Diana, Princess of Wales, who is said to have described him as 'Mr Wonderful'. [10][11][12][13][14] In May 1996, Diana visited the Khan family in Lahore.[15][16] According to Diana's butler Paul Burrell, who, in his book 'Diana: The Royal Truth' described Khan as her true soul mate, the princess ended the relationship in June 1997.[17][18]

Diana's friends are reported to have described Hasnat as the 'love of her life' and to have spoken of her distress when he 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.[19] Khan attended Diana's funeral ceremony at Westminster Abbey, in September 1997.[8][20]

The heart surgeon told the police in 2004 that he doubted she had been pregnant when she died, because she always took her contraceptive pills.[21] In March 2008, Khan 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.[22]

Marriage

Khan married 28-year-old Hadia Sher Ali in Pakistan, descended from Afghan Royalty, in May 2006.[23][24] In July 2008, Khan and Ali filed an application for divorce in the local arbitration council of Islamabad.[19]

In the media

The relationship between Khan and Princess Diana is portrayed in the film Diana (2013), directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel and based on Kate Snell's book Diana: Her Last Love (2001).[25] Khan is played by Naveen Andrews, while Diana is played by Naomi Watts.[25]

References
  1. Brown, Tina (1 July 2007). "Diana's Final Heartbreak". Vanity Fair. p. 4. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
  2. Luchina Fishe (31 July 2013). "Report: Princess Di Wanted to Marry Again". ABC News. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
  3. Timur Moon, "Di’s doctor finds a doctor in Lahore", The Telegraph, Calcutta, 19 May 2003, Retrieved 25 August 2008.
  4. Ansari, Massoud; Alderson, Andrew (16 January 2008). "Dr Hasnat Khan: Princess Diana and me". Sunday Telegraph. London. 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. 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. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
  7. Davis, Simon (14 January 2008). "Diana's 'great love' Hasnat Khan speaks out". News. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
  8. Roy, Amit (14 January 2008). "Diana doctor's marriage on the rocks". The Telegraph Calcutta. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  9. Andrew Pulver (26 August 2013). "Princess Diana film 'got it completely wrong' says former lover Hasnat Khan". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
  10. "Princess Diana's 'Mr Wonderful' Hasnat Khan Still Haunted by her Death". Sky News. 13 January 2008. Archived from the original on 8 February 2009. Retrieved 25 August 2008.
  11. Truscott, Claire (14 January 2008). "Background to Dr Hasnat Khan and Diana, Princess of Wales". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 August 2013.
  12. Khoshaba, Christy (31 July 2013). "Princess Diana: Mag details 'secret romance' with Pakistani doctor". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 5 August 2013.
  13. "Princess Diana's ex-lover Hasnat Khan to give evidence". Herald Sun. Victoria, Australia. 9 January 2008. Retrieved 24 August 2008.
  14. "The story of Dr. Hasnat and Princess Diana". ARY News.
  15. Philipson, Alison (31 July 2013). "Princess Diana was 'madly in love' with heart surgeon Hasnat Khan". The Telegraph.
  16. "Imran and Jemima Khan Welcomed Princess Diana in Pakistan". Huffington Post. 25 May 2011. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
  17. "Hasnat Khan Tells Diana Inquest They Enjoyed "Normal" Sex Life, Says She Ended Affair". Huffington Post. 25 May 2011. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
  18. Rayner, Gordon (16 January 2008). "Diana 'planned secret wedding to Hasnat Khan'". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 24 August 2008.
  19. "Diana's lover divorces wife", Times of India, 20 July 2008, Retrieved 25 August 2008.
  20. Hunt, Liz (15 January 2008). "Was Hasnat Khan a victim of Diana after all?". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
  21. "Inquest jury hears statement from Princess Diana boyfriend Hasnat Khan". NY Daily News. London. AP. 3 March 2008. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
  22. "Diana jury told of surgeon affair", BBC News, 3 March 2008, Retrieved 25 August 2008.
  23. 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.
  24. "Princes Diana's former lover Hasnat Khan's marriage ends". dna. PTI. 13 January 2008. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
  25. Peter Bradshaw (1 September 2013). "Film highlights of autumn 2013: from Diana to The Selfish Giant". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.