DR HASNAT KHAN

THEN: Highly respected heart surgeon Dr Hasnat Khan was said to be the love of Diana’s life, but they kept their romance a well-kept secret. They met at a London hospital in 1995 when Diana was visiting a friend’s husband, who had been operated on by Hasnat. She was won over by his lack of airs and graces, and they quickly became inseparable.

Diana called Hasnat “Mr Wonderful”, and met his family in Pakistan. He, meanwhile, snuck into Kensington Palace for visits hidden in the back of a car.

They saw each other for two years and friends said she wanted to marry him, but their relationship ended in 1997 shortly before Diana went on holiday with Dodi Fayed.

She was killed in the Paris car crash not long afterwards. NOW: Hasnat (54) maintained his silence about his love for Diana until 2013, when he spoke out about the way their relationship was to be portrayed in the film Diana, starring Naomi Watts. He said the movie was a “betrayal” of the couple’s love and “based on a superficial idea”.

“It is all based on hypotheses and gossip,” he said.

Hasnat is single after an arranged marriage in 2006 lasted just 18 months. He took time off from his job in London to travel to Ethiopia, where he works for a charity, performing surgery on gravely ill children.

He told a journalist, “Sometimes when I do a job like this, I have these very strong feelings that Diana is still with me somehow.”

‘ When I do a job like this, I have these very strong feelings that Diana is still with me’