The TRUTH About Princess Diana: Tragic Princess' Pals Reveal Secrets She Took to Grave as Her Ex-Lover Speaks Out About 'Misunderstood' Royal
Details of Princess Diana's five-year affair with James Hewitts has been revealed.
March 14 2025, Published 7:00 p.m. ET
Princess Diana's inner circle has opened up on the "secrets" she took to the grave, including her first major love affair and her true personality, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Nearly three decades after the Princess of Wales was killed in a car accident in Paris, her former lover James Hewitt continues to defend her legacy – and recently claimed the beloved royal was "misunderstood."
Diana said in 1995 she was 'devastated' James Hewitt revealed their romance in Anna Pasternak's 1994 book.
During an interview with Good Morning Britain, Hewitt slammed BBC and claimed late journalist Martin Bashir "lied" and "inveigled" to land an interview with Diana in 1995, which he called "appalling."
But during her chat with Bashir, Diana accused Hewitt of bad behavior. She said she was "devastated" after Hewitt shared intimate details of their five-year romance with author Anna Pasternak for her 1994 book, Princess in Love.
She added: "It was very distressing for me that a friend of mine, who I had trusted, made money out of me – I was in love with him. But I was very let down."
Diana's butler Paul Burrell said he was 'entrusted' with her 'secret' romance with Hewitt when he began working for the household in 1987.
A source told InTouch Hewitt's recent emergence, after largely avoiding the spotlight, leads some to believe he's planning another major tell-all.
They added: "He could clear up a lot of myths and tell the truth about Diana."
According to her longtime butler, Paul Burrell, Hewitt knows secrets Diana took to the grave.
Burrell told the outlet: "He knew the princess intimately for years. She wrote to him almost every day during their passionate affair.
"He has information and a personal insight which is unrivaled. Certainly enough to write another book."
Diana was said to share her marriage issues, including lack of intimacy with Charles, to Hewitt.
Diana and Hewitt first met at a cocktail party in 1986. Then 25-year-old Diana asked Hewitt, who was three years older than her and played polo with then-Prince Charles, if he could give her riding lessons.
According to Princess in Love, the duo eventually gave in to their mutual attraction after a private dinner at Kensington Palace.
Hewitt noted the evening in his memoir, writing: "That night, our affair began. It was Diana who initiated it."
Burrell said Diana 'trusted' Hewitt 'with everything in her world.'
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Burrell was said to be in charge of arranging their secret rendezvous.
He recalled: "When I joined the household 1987, I was entrusted with this secret."
Diana's butler claimed he often helped smuggle the "very charismatic" Hewitt into the palace to see the princess, adding, "Diana was in love with James and trusted him with everything in her world."
As a result, Diana was said to have poured her heart out to Hewitt, including marital problems with Charles, the lack of intimacy in their marriage and her jealousy over his relationship with future-wife Camilla Parker Bowles.
Diana also shared her struggled with bulimia and self-esteem.
Pasternak wrote: "What is seemed she most craved from him was his approval. It was not only she hungered for personal acceptance, that she needed to be constantly reassured that she was a beautiful, sexual woman... She also needed someone to voice some appreciation for her public life and duties."
