Princess Diana’s ‘Cad’ lover James Hewitt, 64, risks life helping rescue locals in war-torn Ukraine
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James Hewitt, 64-year-old lover of Princess Diana, risks his life to save locals in war-torn Ukraine – five years after heart attack and stroke
- James Hewitt, 64, had a five-year affair with Princess Diana that ended in 1991
- He then reportedly made £300,000 collaborating with an author on the affair
- Now he drives to and from Ukraine to bring vulnerable people to safety
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Princess Diana’s former lover James Hewitt, 64, has set up a non-profit to help vulnerable people escape war-torn Ukraine, along with the son of a distinguished British commander who set up a similar fund in Afghanistan.
Hewitt helped set up HOP, Humanitarian Online Payments, an organization that travels from the UK into the heart of Ukraine and takes a convoy of Ukrainians, consisting of up to nine vehicles, out of the war zone.
He co-founded the organization with Eton alumnus Mikey Stewart Richardson, son of the late Brigadier General Peter Stewart-Richardson, who founded Afghan Mother and Child Rescue in the early 1990s.
Hewitt had a five-year affair with Princess Diana when he was a young Household Cavalry officer, from 1986 to 1991. This was confirmed by the Princess of Wales during the now infamous Panorama interview with disgraced journalist Martin Bashir.
In recent years, Mr. Hewitt has suffered both a heart attack and a stroke, but this has not stopped him from rescuing and bringing the beleaguered Ukrainians to safety.
“He’s doing something useful,” a source close to Hewitt told the Daily Mail.
Princess Diana presents a trophy to James Hewitt (left) at the 1989 Interregimental Polo Championship
James Hewitt had a five-year affair with Princess Diana that ended in 1991
Ukraine continues to be bombarded with air strikes in cities and towns across the country
Ukrainian soldiers of Russian descent man a frontline trench about 150 meters from a Russian position on October 27
On their website, Mr Hewitt and Mr Stewart-Richardson describe the operation as a ‘not-for-profit’ taking Ukrainian families to safe locations in the UK or EU.
“We are visiting all parts of Ukraine, including areas close to the front lines, to find, help and collect the young, old and sick Ukrainians who want to flee Putin.
The pair added: “It is vital work and we are humbled to play a small part in the incredible story of the charity, Operation SafeDrop.”
They are partnering with Operation SafeDrop to assist with evacuations, a charity that has been operating in Poland and Ukraine since March.
Hewitt declined to comment on the revelations, but has reportedly made two “very successful” rescue trips. “He finds the missions very satisfying,” a friend told the Daily Mail, adding that a third is “scheduled very soon.”
Slavian, a former Russian special forces sergeant who now fights for Ukraine after living in the country for ten years with his Ukrainian wife
Mr Stewart-Richardson wrote on Facebook shortly after the fund was launched in April condemning Putin’s “evil” war.
He wrote: ‘I don’t understand why Putin’s Russia is trying to take over Ukraine.
“The Ukrainian army drove the Russians out of the Kiev sector, but what the Ukrainians found then was a catalog of rapes, torture, summary executions and the most horrific war crimes.
“When I saw this bad man, Putin, waging war, I was immediately determined to help the Ukrainians in any way I could.”
When he left the military in 1994, Mr Hewitt caused controversy after his partnership with Anna Pasternak, author of Princess In Love, was reportedly paid £300,000 for sharing details about their affair.
Less than a decade later, he said he was willing to sell Diana’s letters, hoping to raise £10 million. But accusations of treason from Diana followed and the letters remain unsold.
Last year the Daily Mail revealed that Mr Hewitt was living with his mother in her two bedroom flat in Devon.