They eventually separated in 1992 after a tumultuous marriage in which both committed adultery.
While Prince Charles snuggled with the future Queen Camilla (then Mrs. Parker Bowles), Diana had several lovers.
One who has never been named was a married politician who was “famously” charming, according to royal expert Tom Quinn.
He revealed in his 2021 book Scandals of the Royal Palaces that the politician, whose identity has never been revealed, was seen wearing his boxer shorts late at night by a member of Kensington Palace staff.
According to a former employee, the lover “ran away” without pants and was then unable to return to Diana’s room because a door closed behind him.
His face turned red when an employee said good morning to him, Quinn said.
On other occasions, the lover reportedly had to hide behind curtains or in Diana’s private bathroom when staff entered her bedroom because the princess was “ashamed.”
Princess Diana returns to the Carlyle Hotel in New York after attending several events, June 1997
One of Diana’s lovers – a married politician – was famously caught wandering the halls of Kensington Palace in his underwear
Charles and Diana in Seoul, South Korea in November 1992
Mr Quinn said he interviewed an unnamed former member of Palace staff, who said of Diana’s beloved politician: ‘But he did get caught once – literally with his pants down.
‘I don’t know how it happened, but the staff laughed about it for weeks.
‘Somehow he got up in the night in his shorts and walked away until he discovered a door had closed behind him and he couldn’t open it to get back.
‘Diana quickly realized what had happened and went looking for him, but he had already been spotted by a member of staff who had just said good morning to him and walked past him as he froze, red-faced and tried to act as if nothing had happened. hand wash. wrong.’
One of Diana’s staff, Kitty Power, helped the princess secretly bring her lovers to the palace.
She used techniques such as saying they were there to discuss work-related issues, Mr. Quinn wrote.
Some of Diana’s loved ones became high-profile. One of these was Captain James Hewitt, with whom the princess had a five-year affair after the couple first met in 1986.
Princess Diana presents the Captain and Subalterns Cup to Captain James Hewitt after he led his army polo team to glory in Tidworth, Wiltshire in 1989
A perhaps unlikely suitor was art dealer Oliver Hoare – a friend of Charles. He was married to the French woman Diane de Waldner de Freundstein
Diana confirmed the affair with Hewitt during her now infamous 1995 Panorama interview with journalist Martin Bashir.
A photo taken during their secret relationship shows Diana presenting the Captain and Subalterns Cup to Hewitt after he led his army polo team to victory in Tidworth, Wiltshire, in 1989.
The relationship ended when he went to serve in the Gulf War.
She said at the time: ‘Yes, I loved him. Yes, I was in love with him. But I was very disappointed.’
Another lover was art dealer Oliver Hoare – a friend of Charles. He was married to the French woman Diane de Waldner de Freundstein.
Oliver and Diana met at a house party at Windsor Castle during Royal Ascot in 1985, Richard Kay previously reported.
The princess is said to be in love with the father of three and was accused of bombarding his family home with more than 300 phone calls.
Diana’s former lover, Hasnat Khan, a heart surgeon pictured in 1997
Princess Diana and film producer Dodi Fayed, the son of disgraced Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed, in St Tropez in August 1997. The couple were murdered less than a week later.
Neither Mr Hoare nor Diana ever publicly acknowledged the relationship and the art dealer died in 2019 at the age of 73.
Another former lover was heart surgeon Hasnat Khan. The couple met at the Royal Brompton Hospital when Diana was visiting a friend who was recovering from heart surgery.
They then carried out a discreet, two-year affair that ended in the early summer of 1997.
Speaking in 2008, Mr Khan broke an 11-year silence about the princess, saying: ‘I thought she was a very normal person with great qualities.’
Diana’s last relationship was with film producer Dodi Fayed, the eldest son of disgraced Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed.
The pair dated for about two months before dying in a car crash in Paris in 1997.