James Hewitt today claimed his former lover Princess Diana ‘would be concerned’ about the ongoing rift between her warring sons Princes William and Harry.
The former cavalry officer said in a rare TV interview that the late Princess of Wales, who died in Paris in 1997, would have done ‘her best to try and get them together’.
He was asked on ITV’s Good Morning Britain by host Richard Madeley whether Diana would have been able to ‘make a rapprochement possible’ between her sons.
The 66-year-old said: ‘I think any mother would be worried and concerned about such a rift, as you put it, and she’d do her best to try and get them together.’
Diana confessed in a BBC Panorama programme in 1995 that she and Mr Hewitt had had an affair. Diana and then-Prince Charles separated in 1992, divorcing in 1996.
Mr Hewitt was appearing on the ITV show this morning primarily to talk about his involvement in Operation Safedrop, which is delivering humanitarian aid to Ukraine.
Asked whether the approach to mental health had changed since Diana died, Mr Hewitt said: ‘I think we’ve progressed and it’s seemingly possible to talk about those kind of problems now, in a way I think that’s a good thing.’
He also spoke about the BBC’s treatment of Diana for the infamous Panorama interview, for which the corporation has since apologised.
James Hewitt appears on ITV’s Good Morning Britain today to talk about Operation Safedrop
Princess Diana with James Hewitt in 1989. Diana confessed in 1995 that they had had an affair
Prince William and Prince Harry outside St Paul’s Cathedral in London in December 2017
Mr Hewitt said: ‘It was a stitch up job. It was appalling of (Martin) Bashir to inveigled, lied to her, criminal activity, absolutely appalling. As I’ve said, I hate bullies and bullying and arrogant people and I think it’s appalling.’
Asked when he last spoke to Diana, Mr Hewit said: ‘After that, just after.’ Mr Madeley asked him ‘how was that’, and he replied: ‘Distant, probably.’
Mr Madeley said it ‘created real problems, didn’t it’, and Mr Hewitt responded: ‘Yes, it did create problems, but I’m trying to move on from that, and this is admittedly personal for me to try and move on and to help as best I can.’
In a previous interview in March 2017, Mr Hewitt spoke out about his affair with Diana, denying long-standing rumours he could have been Harry’s father.
In an interview with Channel Seven’s Sunday Night in Australia, Mr Hewitt was asked: ‘Are you Harry’s father?’ He replied: ‘No, I’m not.’
The host asked him: ‘Why does that keep being repeated?’ He said: ‘It sells papers’.
Hewitt has previously described the couple’s five-year relationship as ‘exciting and sexy’.
In a magazine interview with Zoo in January 2013, he said: ‘The situation that Princess Diana and I were in made it exciting and sexy because it was risky.
‘The danger spiced it up a bit, if you know what I mean.’
Diana’s now infamous Panorama interview saw her open up about her struggles with royal life, how she felt isolated and unsupported and how her husband Charles’s staff wanted to undermine her.
She confessed to adultery with Mr Hewitt, and said of Charles’ affair with Camilla Parker Bowles: ‘There were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded.’
More to follow
