- Hasnat Khan is a British-Pakistani heart and lung surgeon.
- He dated Princess Diana for two years after her split from Prince Charles.
- He’ll be played by Humayun Saeed in season 5 of ‘The Crown’.
Dr. Hasnat Khan was an important person in Princess Diana‘s life before her tragic 1997 death. Hasnat, 64, dated the Princess of Wales for two years (from 1995 to 1997) after the end of her marriage to Prince Charles, now King Charles. They broke up just months before Diana was killed in a car accident while fleeing paparazzi in Paris. Hasnat will be played by Pakistani actor Humayun Saeed, 51, in the fifth season of the Netflix series The Crown, which premieres Nov. 9. The new season shows when Diana met Hasnat as her marriage to Charles was completely crumbling.
Keep reading to learn more about Dr. Hasnat Khan, including his whirlwind relationship with Princess Diana, and what he’s been up to following her death.
1. Hasnat is a heart and lung surgeon.
Hasnat worked as a heart and lung surgeon before, and after, his relationship with Diana. He worked in Sydney, Australia before moving to London, where he worked at the Royal Brompton Hospital and then the London Chest Hospital. It’s been reported that Hasnat currently works a consultant cardiothoracic surgeon at Basildon University Hospital, in Essex, England
2. He dated Princess Diana after her divorce.
Hasnat met Diana in August 1995, while he was working at the Royal Brompton Hospital. Diana was there visiting her close friend’s husband who was recovering from heart surgery, according to Bustle. Hasnat reportedly invited Diana to his uncle’s house where he was going to collect books, and she agreed to come. This happened as her marriage to Charles was falling apart, but before they officially divorced.
3. Diana referred to Hasnat as ‘Mr. Wonderful’.
Hasnat described his relationship with Diana in his statement for the 2004 inquest into Diana’s death. She reportedly referred to him as “Mr. Wonderful” and immersed herself into Pakistani culture. Diana’s friends reportedly said that Hasnat was “the love of her life” and her “soulmate”, according to The Telegraph. Diana and Hasnat tried to avoid paparazzi during their relationship, but eventually Diana was caught sneaking into the hospital to see him. “The only place we could have any real privacy was at Kensington Palace as they could not get us there,” Hasnat reportedly wrote in his inquest, adding that the media followed him everywhere, including at work.
Reports have said that Diana was the one to end the relationship. Shortly after the split, Diana started dating Dodi Fayed, who died alongside her in 1997. Hasnat reportedly wrote in his inquest that while “she denied there was anyone else involved,” he told her that he “strongly suspected there was someone else,” according to Bustle.
4. He attended Diana’s funeral.
Hasnat attended Diana’s funeral ceremony at Westminster Abbey in September 1997. He spoke about the impact of her passing in a rare interview with The Mail on Sunday in 2008. “She did a lot of work. She got to where she was on what she was. “She didn’t just shake hands and wave at people. She actually did things. Now she has gone, there is a huge vacuum – she has left a gap,” he reportedly said.
5. He’s on his second marriage.
10 years after Diana’s death, Hasnat got married to Hadia Sher Ali, a Pakistani descendant from Afghan royalty. But the relationship wasn’t mean to be and Hasnat and Hadia got divorced after 18 months of marriage. He’s currently married to his second wife, Somi Sohail. They tied the knot sometime around 2017.