Both James Hewitt and Princess Diana confirmed that they had a years-long
affair starting in 1986. What's followed for Hewitt has been a swirl of rumors,
tough financial times, and even a stint of celebrity on reality TV.
James Hewitt was born in 1958 in Derry, Northern Ireland, to John Alfred and Shirley Hewitt. His
father was a world-class athlete who competed in the 1952 Summer Olympic Games in Helsinki,
Finland. The elder Hewitt's specialty was the modern pentathlon,
a combination sport in which athletes compete in fencing, pistol marksmanship,
cross-country running, freestyle swimming, and equestrian show jumping.
According to John's official Olympics biography, he didn't bring home any medals, finishing in 30th
place in the individual competition, while Great Britain's modern pentathlon team came in 10th.
James didn't follow in his father's footsteps by becoming an Olympian himself, but he did compete
in an Olympics-inspired television competition that aired on British television in 2003,
titled "The Games." Hewitt engaged in various athletic challenges alongside other celebrity
competitors. Hewitt and the other celebrities underwent intensive training from actual
Olympic coaches. The Daily Mail reported that Hewitt comported himself admirably.
"That is three good lifts in a row for James!"
"A fantastic lift! James definitely showed there he's the best technical lifter in this group."
He didn't win, but wound up coming in a close second to rapper Harvey,
who is 20 years his junior.
People notes that James Hewitt's father and grandfather both served in the Royal Navy.
Hewitt continued that tradition, attending Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. After graduating,
at the age of 20, Hewitt enlisted in the British Army, ultimately serving for 17
years in the Household Cavalry, which includes the British Army's two most senior regiments,
the Life Guards and the Blues and Royals. Hewitt saw combat during the Persian Gulf War,
where he was a tank commander charged with leading 14 Challenger tanks during
Operation Desert Storm, part of the effort to liberate Kuwait.
Nearly a decade after his retirement from the military,
in 2003, he drew on his experience for a new role as a war reporter
for Fox News. But Hewitt was fired before even filing a single report,
according to The Guardian. His lawyer, Michael Coleman, called the firing "a kick in the teeth."
Hewitt met Princess Diana at a party in 1986. In his book, "Diana: Closely Guarded Secret,"
Diana's bodyguard at the time, Ken Wharfe, recalled that fateful first meeting, writing,
"Their first conversation felt natural, she said,
and it was this that sparked her attraction. As she put it, they got along famously."
In that initial conversation, the subject of horses came up. Diana told Hewitt that
she was terrified of horses. That fear was an actual, serious problem for her,
given that horseback riding was a beloved hobby of her mother-in-law, Queen Elizabeth II,
and many other royals. Hewitt, still serving in the cavalry, had a significant degree of
equestrian experience, and offered to lend his services to Diana as a riding instructor.
Sparks flew between the two. Their meeting, Wharfe noted, came at a time when Diana was
at her most vulnerable, having discovered that then-Prince Charles was cheating on
her with Camilla Parker-Bowles, who is now queen consort. Wharfe wrote,
"Shattered by her husband's betrayal, the princess was ready for an affair. Hewitt,
a natural womaniser, gave her the attention and affection she relished,
and then the passion she yearned for."
It didn't take long for the relationship between
James Hewitt and Princess Diana to become romantic. Given Diana's fame and position,
their romance had to be kept top secret, with the pair never venturing out together
in public. Hewitt recalled to Vanity Fair that their romance heated up rapidly, saying,
"It's a gradual period and then, you know,
suddenly you can't get enough of each other or see each other as much as you want."
According to Hewitt, Diana would sneak away from her official residence to visit him at
his farm. There, they'd settle into a bubble of domesticity, away from the prying eyes of the
public. Hewitt said on the Australian news show "Sunday Night" of the time,
"I'd cook and [Diana] would wash up. Just dinner and relaxing and laughing."
Wharfe was clearly aware of everything that was going
on at the time. Diana's former bodyguard wrote,
"The pair usually met at an old cottage in Devon belonging to Shirley, Hewitt's mother,
where the creaking bedroom floorboards told the story more loudly than any confession."
Hewitt's affair with Princess Diana ended when he was called into service
during Operation Desert Storm. Hewitt could likely have refused by pulling strings that
would let him remain in London, so Diana took his deployment as a slap in the face.
"I was torn between duty and love, really."
Wharfe wrote in "Diana: Closely Guarded Secret,"
"At first, she did everything she could to prevent him from going, even threatening to speak to his
commanding officer. When James refused to give up his career, Diana let the affair wane."
A few years after the affair ended, Diana sat down for her bombshell interview with
BBC's "Panorama," opening up about her struggles with bulimia and her knowledge
of her husband's infidelity. She also confirmed her affair with Hewitt, saying,
"Yes, I adored him. Yes, I was in love with him. But I was very let down."
Before Diana's interview, Hewitt spilled the details about their relationship in author
Anna Pasternak's "Princess in Love." For Diana,
this proved to be an even bigger betrayal. She said in the "Panorama" interview,
"Well, there was a lot of fantasy in that book, and it was very distressing
for me that a friend of mine, who I had trusted, made money out of me."
Hewitt retired from the military in 1994, ending a 17-year career. The next decade
or so proved to be a difficult period for him. His involvement with Princess Diana — and the
ensuing public animosity toward him — had left him pretty much unemployable. In a 2004 profile
for the Independent, he described himself as being "between jobs." For his involvement in
"Princess in Love," he was rewarded by the press with such nicknames as "the cad" and "love rat."
"They do say terrible things about other people. Yeah. I can't help that."
Despite the backlash against "Princess in Love," a few years later, he wrote his own book,
1999's "Love and War." The British press once again portrayed Hewitt as a scoundrel,
tarnishing Diana's memory for his own personal gain. Hewitt responded to the
criticism in a 2003 appearance on "Larry King Live," asking,
"Am I the only person in the world not allowed to write a book about myself?"
Hewitt's various business ventures flopped, including a golf driving
range in which he invested £30,000. In the late 2000s, he relocated to Marbella, Spain,
where he opened a bar and nightclub called Polo House. It shut down in 2013. In 2021,
the Daily Mail reported that Hewitt was working as a gardener for a paltry £4,000 per year.
In December 2002, Hewitt was approached by someone purporting to represent a Swiss tycoon looking to
buy his love letters from Princess Diana. Hewitt reportedly agreed to sell and asked
for $16 million. What Hewitt didn't know was that the man looking to make the deal was actually an
undercover reporter for the tabloid News of the World, basically conducting a sting operation.
Hewitt disputed the tabloid's account. He told "Good Morning America,"
"I wasn't willing to sell the letters. I was approached and was offered a substantial sum."
But Hewitt said the whole experience made him change his mind about selling, adding,
"I was intrigued to see if it was possible to achieve this. So in the end,
I suppose, yes, I am willing to sell."
Two potential buyers reportedly emerged: Diana's sons. A source told the Daily
Mail that Prince William and Prince Harry expressed interest in purchasing the letters,
allegedly saying that there was "no price not worth paying" for them. Ultimately,
Hewitt never did find a buyer. However, as he subsequently told The Telegraph,
that didn't mean that he someday wouldn't. He said,
"Nobody is going to tell me what to do with my own property. I'm pig-headed in that respect."
In 2004, Hewitt's reputation took another hit when he was arrested on suspicion of
possessing cocaine. As the Evening Standard reported, Hewitt was having dinner with his
then-girlfriend, British TV presenter Alison Bell, when they were approached by officers,
who had reportedly been tipped off. Hewitt and Bell were kept at a police station overnight
because the two were far too intoxicated to undergo questioning, sources claimed.
The person who called in the tip was paparazzi photographer Dennis Gill,
who had been covertly trailing Hewitt. Gill told The Sydney Morning Herald that
he called cops after observing that Hewitt was, quote, "so out of it he was swinging
around like a monkey," and suspected that drugs were involved. Gill added,
"I don't feel James Hewitt should go to jail;
jail will teach him nothing. But I do hope he is found guilty because he is guilty."
Gill, unsurprisingly, photographed Hewitt's arrest. Both Bell and Hewitt
were ultimately released without facing charges, getting off with a warning.
By the 2000s, Hewitt found himself in the unenviable position of being notoriously
famous, widely reviled, and flat broke. That combination made him a perfect candidate for
reality television. In addition to his aforementioned 2003 appearance on "The
Games," the following year, Hewitt competed in the British TV competition "Back to Reality,"
with viewers voting on stars' fates until only one remained. That one turned out to be Hewitt,
who won the competition. In 2005, he starred in the twisted dating
show "Fool Around With" in which he was introduced as a "serial cad."
In 2006, Hewitt continued his reality-show run by competing in "The X-Factor:
Battle of the Stars," in which he showcased his singing ability,
or perhaps lack thereof. The Evening Standard snarked about his appearance,
"Hewitt had the stage manner of a Thunderbird puppet cut loose from its strings,
and his clipped elocution made hits like Robbie Williams' 'Rock DJ' sound like a
series of vocal exercises from 'My Fair Lady' — when he could remember the lyrics, that is."
After Hewitt moved to Spain to run his nightclub,
he'd apparently lost interest in doing more reality TV. He told The Telegraph in 2009,
"They keep asking me to do 'I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here!' It's
good money — £70,000 they've offered — but the club is my priority now."
In May 2017, Hewitt was living quietly in his mother's home in Devon when he suffered a heart
attack and a stroke. The Daily Mail reported that the 59-year-old's condition was dire;
doctors had given him just a "slim chance" of surviving. However,
a member of Hewitt's family told the Mirror that they were optimistic about his recovery, saying,
"He's getting better, from what we know. He was a very fit man in
his youth so we're all sure he'll pull through."
After spending eight weeks in intensive care,
Hewitt was finally released from the hospital. A source told the Mirror,
"He is doing much better but still needs to build up his strength. Now
he just wants to put this behind him and get on with his life."
Arguably the biggest rumor about James Hewitt is that he's the biological father of Prince
Harry. This claim continues to circulate, mainly because Harry and Hewitt both have similar red
hair. As persistent as this rumor has proven to be, it's also demonstrably bogus: Harry was
born on September 15, 1984. Princess Diana and Hewitt didn't meet until the summer of 1986.
Hewitt has long refuted the claims. He told Larry King in 2003,
"Well, I think it is just ghastly and selfish of the tabloids who,
again, are running this story to make money. It's been suggested before and
I said many times I'm not. And I think it's just laughable."
"Are you Harry's father?"
"No, I"m not."
"Why does that keep being repeated?"
"Sells papers."
According to Harry, though, those rumors weren't simply a way of selling more
newspapers. The prince alleged something more nefarious when he testified in court in June
2023 during the phone-hacking trial against Mirror Group Newspapers. Harry said in court,
"They were hurtful, mean and cruel. I was always left questioning the motives behind the stories."
Harry theorized that by spreading rumors that Hewitt was his real father, the tabloids were
planting a seed in the public's eyes that he wasn't really a legitimate royal. He asked,
"Were the newspapers keen to put doubt into
the minds of the public so I might be ousted from the royal family?"