Princess Diana was planning to move to South Africa with her then-boyfriend, British-Pakistani heart surgeon Dr. Hasnat Khan, in the months before her death, according to her brother, Charles Spencer, in his new memoir, “Swan Song: Diana, My Sister.”
Spencer writes that Diana hoped to build a new life with Khan in Cape Town and had spoken with renowned heart surgeon Dr. Christian Barnard about finding him a position at Groote Schuur Hospital. During a visit to Spencer’s home in Cape Town in March 1997, Diana was reportedly exploring whether South Africa could offer a place where she and Khan could live together away from the intense scrutiny surrounding her life in Britain.
According to Spencer, Diana and Khan had been in a secret relationship for about two years after meeting in 1995. Their relationship was considered Diana’s most serious romance following her separation from then-Prince Charles. Spencer also recounts how Diana’s interest in Khan became so serious that she asked her butler to find a priest who could marry them, although Khan later dismissed the idea as unrealistic.
Khan later told an inquest into Diana’s death that he had feared married life with her would be extremely difficult because of the level of public attention surrounding her. He said the couple had considered moving to Pakistan but ultimately rejected the idea. Diana ended the relationship after returning from a July 1997 vacation with Mohamed Al-Fayed and his family, according to Khan’s account.
Diana died in a car crash in Paris on August 31, 1997, at age 36. Spencer’s memoir, which was published Tuesday, offers his account of Diana’s final months and other aspects of her relationship with the royal family.
