Princess Diana’s former lover Oliver Hoare died aged 73 after a long battle with cancer.
The art dealer, who Diana became ‘obsessed’ with in 1992, died at home in France.
A married father-of-three, he was a close friend of Prince Charles.
It’s thought he began an affair with Diana in 1992, after her dad Earl Spencer passed away.
Hoare was 16 years older than Princess Diana.
A former bodyguard said he had once spotted him “semi-naked behind a potted bay tree in a Kensington Palace corridor, smoking a cigar”.
Hoare was allegedly discovered by the Princess’ former royal protection officer, Ken Wharfe.
But he never publicly admitted to the affair.
His affair with the princess ended when his French born wife Diane threatened divorce.
Princess Diana had become infatuated with Hoare and once told her confidante, Lady Bowker, she dreamed of living in Italy with him.
After the affair cooled off, Diana reportedly admitted in a 1995 Panorama interview she’d called him sometimes, over a period of up to nine months, but not in an obsessive manner.
Hoare began as an art history student at the Sorbonne.
Later he became an Islamic art specialist and is believed to have sold Sheik Saud Al Thani of Qatar artworks worth more than £20million.
Leave a Reply