Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Diana would park outside Oliver’s house and call him in the middle of the night.. she used to enjoy taunting him
Friend on scorned royal The others who adored beautiful Di Barry Mannakee James Gilbey Will Carling Hasnat Khan James Hewitt Dodi Fayed
during her failing marriage to Prince Charles, which ended in divorce in August 1996. Diana’s affair with Oliver began after her father’s death in 1992.
He was just one of a string of lovers she took during her marriage. They included close protection officer Barry Mannakee, heart surgeon Hasnat Khan, England rugby captain Will Carling, lifelong pal James Gilbey and Dodi Fayed.
Oliver was also a close friend of Charles, who once used his house in France to recover after a polo accident.
He was a student at Sorbonne University in Paris, before joining Christie’s auction house and going on to become a specialist in Islamic art. Diana’s friend confirmed Oliver occasionally sneaked into the palace in a car boot, but added: “He was a gentleman, so he would have been less pleased to get in the boot than [lover] James Hewitt or Hasnat Khan.
“You knew when Hoare would be coming to visit because it was one of the few times Diana would order in champagne. She didn’t drink, but she’d always get a bottle of Krug on ice for him.
“They would love a quiet dinner together. They were quite boring when they got together, but Diana liked that.
“She liked having someone by her side, who worshipped her. She would dream of setting up home in Italy, then she wanted a chateau in France. For a while it was America. But when she realised all his toys were paid for by his wife, she knew it would never happen.”
Oliver bought Diana a gold bracelet that she kept until she died in 1997. The friend said Prince Charles knew of the affair, adding: “It was an open secret.
“And Charles knew. But what could he say? He wasn’t in a position to comment.” The married close protection officer was Diana’s first lover. She told friends: “He was my father figure and looked after me.” Mannakee, 37, died in a motorbike accident in
1987.
Affectionately called Diana “Squidgy”. He was caught speaking to her on the “Squidgygate” phone tapes secretly recorded in 1989. He knew the princess since before her marriage.
She fell out with the rugby legend when their affair was exposed in 1995. Carling’s then wife Julia criticised Diana’s conduct, while the princess said he followed her “like a puppy”.
The cardiologist has never sought to cash in on his two-year relationship with Diana which began in 1995. They once discussed marriage but his mother intervened and they split up.
They were lovers from 1986 to 1991, he was a Cavalry officer and royal riding instructor. He considered selling her love letters and was a source for Princess in Love by Anna
Pasternak.
She started dating Dodi, son of Harrods owner Mohamed Al-fayed, barely two months before they died in a crash in Paris on August 31 1997. Some said they were in love, others dismissed it as a fling.