The heart surgeon with whom Princess Diana fell passionately in love has relocated to Pakistan, where he has been photographed for the first time in years. Dr Hasnat Khan, whom Diana affectionately dubbed 'Mr Wonderful,' was described as the only man she ever truly loved. The princess had a doomed two-year romance with the Pakistan-born surgeon, who became her secret 'soulmate' after they met at the Royal Brompton Hospital in London. They separated just weeks before her death in Paris in August 1997.
New Role in Lahore
It has now been announced that Dr Khan has returned to the country of his birth to oversee a heart hospital. He serves as the Dean of the Jinnah Institute of Cardiology in Lahore. Dr Khan has always shunned the limelight; in recent years, he worked tirelessly as a consultant cardiothoracic surgeon at Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals in Essex, living with his second wife and their young daughter. Seen for the first time in years, Dr Khan was photographed in Pakistan meeting the chief minister of Punjab, Maryam Nawaz, as he takes up his new post.
Ongoing UK Ties
It is believed he will continue to return to the UK for consultancy work while establishing a base in Pakistan. The hospital has stated that he is still employed there and has not moved to Pakistan full time yet. Dr Khan was photographed wearing a smart suit and striped yellow tie as he was congratulated by the chief minister, who said: 'It is heartening that a son of the soil has chosen to serve his underprivileged compatriots.' The new hospital aims to become a leading centre for heart treatment, with ambitious plans to transform the region into 'a global hub for medical tourism.'
Background and Romance with Diana
Born in 1958, Dr Khan completed his early medical training before moving to Britain, where he built a distinguished career as a cardiologist at the Royal Brompton Hospital. He trained under the world-famous transplant surgeon Sir Magdi Yacoub. In 1995, Princess Diana was visiting a friend at the hospital when she struck up a friendship with Dr Khan. Described as shy and intensely private, Dr Khan was single and just two years older than Diana at the time.
'One day I came out of the hospital and she was going in and she shouted at me, "Oi, where are you going?"' Dr Khan recalled in a rare interview with the Daily Mail. 'I said I was going to my uncle's house in Stratford-upon-Avon to collect some books and I blurted out, "Do you want to come?" She said yes and that was it really. We drove up there, drove back and found this wonderful connection. She was very ordinary in many ways, a normal person with great warmth.'
Secret Dates and Family Meetings
The couple enjoyed unlikely dates at the Breakspear Arms, a pub near Harefield Hospital where he also worked. Diana is said to have smuggled Dr Khan into Kensington Palace hidden in the boot of a car. Although he liked Diana, who was still married to Prince Charles but firmly separated, Dr Khan could not bear the thought of living in the glare of publicity as the partner of the world's most famous woman. The Princess's closest friends spoke of her distress when the surgeon ended their relationship.
Diana had met Dr Khan's family during a February 1996 visit to Pakistan, where she wore a traditional shalwar kameez. While there, she visited a cancer hospital run by former cricketer Imran Khan, a distant cousin of Hasnat's, and made a significant effort to win over his family, including his grandmother. The couple discussed marriage and having children, the possibility of moving to Pakistan, and Diana even introduced him to her sons. She was so smitten that she considered converting to Islam for the marriage.
End of the Relationship
Describing how the relationship ended, Dr Khan once said: 'I knew I would not be able to live a normal life and if we ever had children together, I would not be able to take them anywhere or do normal things with them.' Even after their break-up, she remained in contact with his family. Dr Khan said: 'There are a hundred could-have-beens. She could be living very happily and married and having more kids, with me or with someone else. It could have led in that direction. I try not to think about these things. I can't change anything now.'
Diana went off with Dodi Fayed, believed by some to be an act of recklessness to make Dr Khan jealous, which proved fateful as they died together in a car crash in Paris on August 31, 1997. Dr Khan attended Diana's funeral at Westminster Abbey in September 1997. He once said of her legacy: '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.'
Life After Diana
Dr Khan was furious when a 2013 movie titled Diana claimed to reveal their romance. He said: 'You could tell from that picture that it is all just presumed about how we would behave with each other, and they have got it completely wrong. There wasn't any hierarchy in our relationship. She wasn't a princess and I wasn't a doctor.' After Diana's death, Dr Khan devoted his life to his work, living quietly in east London. A decade later, he married Hadia Sher Ali, a Pakistani descendant from Afghan royalty, but the arranged marriage ended after 18 months. In 2017, the Daily Mail revealed he had found love again with Somi Sohail, and they were photographed together at a charity ball in London's Mayfair.
Of all the men in Diana's life, none acted with more dignity and discretion than Dr Khan. He ignored speculation about her death and rejected financial rewards from writing about their love affair. When the Mail interviewed him in 2021, he remained the same gentle, unassuming figure, dedicated to his work in Britain. Now, he has expanded his horizons with an ambitious role in Pakistan, but his devotion to his patients remains unchanged.
