James Hewitt

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other people named James Hewitt, see James Hewitt (disambiguation).

James Hewitt (born 30 April 1958) is an English former household cavalry officer in the British Army. He had an affair with Diana, Princess of Wales for five years,[1][2] receiving extensive media coverage after revealing details of the affair.

Early life

Hewitt was born in Derry, Northern Ireland,[3] and grew up in Kent[1] and Devon. He was educated at Millfield School and Sandhurst.[4]

Career

He served as a Challenger tank commander in the Persian Gulf War, and failed his exam for the rank of major three times.[5] In March 1994 [citation needed], he was retired from the Life Guards after 17 years in military service and six months before the publication of Anna Pasternak's Princess in Love, a book for which Hewitt was a major source. Princess in Love by David Greene was a film released in 1996 that is based on this publication. Julie Cox and Christopher Villiers were the actress and the actor who played Diana, Princess of Wales and Hewitt respectively.[6]

Personal life

Diana stated in her 1995 Panorama interview that she had committed adultery with Hewitt. His former military regiment declared him persona non grata at their barracks.[5]

Hewitt had considered committing suicide after his affair with Diana ended. He was preparing for a trip to France, and he wanted to shoot himself. He said, "I got in my car and loaded a few things up to get on the ferry to go to France – to shoot myself". He also said, "And then my mother insisted on coming with me. And, if she hadn't, I would have probably shot myself. So I owe her my life really".[7]

Persistent suggestions have been made in the media that Hewitt, and not Charles, is the biological father of Prince Harry. Hewitt stated to the press in 2002 that Harry had already been born by the time the affair between him and Diana began (a statement corroborated by Diana's police bodyguard).[8]

Hewitt opened a golf driving range in 1994.[1] In 2003 he tried to sell his 64 personal letters from Diana for £10 million.[1][9] The act of selling the letters was considered to be a betrayal of trust, and Sarah, Duchess of York, criticised his decision to sell these letters. She was reported to have said, "Betrayal, I think is the most horrible, horrible, disloyal thing you can do to anyone".[10] In July 2004, Hewitt was arrested outside a restaurant in Fulham with Alison Bell, a CNN journalist, for the possession of cocaine.[11] A drunken Hewitt had 0.36 grams (0.013 oz) of cocaine in his pocket. He was given a warning, and Bell was released without charge. As a result, he was refused reinstatement of his firearms licences because of his 'intemperate habits' after police found a disassembled 16-bore shotgun on his living room floor.[12]

He opened The Polo House, a bar in the fashionable Golden Mile of Marbella, Spain, in 2009.[5] It closed in 2013 but Hewitt remained in Spain to pursue other interests.[13]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Walden, Celia (31 Mar 2009). "James Hewitt: the comeback cad". Telegraph.co.uk (London: Telegraph Media Group Limited). Retrieved 3 August 2009. 
  2. ↑ The Biography Channel article on Hewitt
  3. ↑ Walker, Andrew (10 January 2003). "James Hewitt: BBC Profile". BBC News. Retrieved 21 June 2011. 
  4. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Ipsen, Erik (5 October 1994). "'Kiss and Tell' Officer Draws Heaps of Scorn". International Herald Tribune. Retrieved 3 August 2009. 
  5. ↑ http://dianaslegacy.com/Difilms/?page_id=30
  6. ↑ Allen, Nick (25 April 2011). "James Hewitt 'considered suicide after Diana affair ended'". The Telegraph. Retrieved 7 May 2012. 
  7. ↑ "Hewitt denies Prince Harry link". BBC News. 21 September 2002. 
  8. ↑ Daily Telegraph article "I want 10m for Diana letters says Hewitt' 2003
  9. ↑ "Hewitt ready to sell Diana letters". BBC News (UK). 9 January 2003. 
  10. ↑ Davies, Caroline (23 Jul 2004). "Hewitt spends night in cells after cocaine arrest with newsreader". Telegraph.co.uk (London: Telegraph Media Group Limited). Retrieved 3 August 2009. 
  11. ↑ Davies, Caroline (26 Nov 2004). "'Liar' Hewitt can't have gun licences back, says judge". Telegraph.co.uk (London: Telegraph Media Group Limited). Retrieved 3 August 2009. 
  12. ↑ Eden, Richard (2013-03-10). "Princess Diana’s lover James Hewitt suffers closure of Spanish business". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2013-08-03. 
Authority control
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike; additional terms may apply for the media files.