Princess Diana’s ‘Obsession,’ Former Lover Oliver Hoare Dies At 73

Prince Charles friend and Princess Diana's ex-lover, Oliver Hoare, has died. Pictured: Prince Charles, Princess Diana at Westminster Abbey, London, for a centenary service for the Royal College Of Music, 28th February 1982. Getty Images/Fox Photos/Hulton Archive

Princess Diana’s former lover, Oliver Hoare, died of cancer at the age of 73.

Sebastian Shakespeare, a journalist for Daily Mail, said that Princess Diana was once obsessed with Hoare. Their relationship is believed to have flourished in the 1990s, but it is also important to note that Hoare was a friend of Prince Charles.

The journalist also claimed that out of Princess Diana’s lovers, namely, James Hewitt, James Gilbey, Will Carling, and Dodi Al Fayed, Hoare was arguably the most debonair.

Princess Diana also sneaked Hoare into the Kensington Palace. Stories revealed that one of the palace staff once found Hoare half-naked and hiding behind a bay tree after an alarm went off in the middle of the night. The Princess of Wales also told her good friend, Lady Bowker, that she daydreamed about living in Italy with Hoare.

“However, Hoare, a father-of-three, was not inclined to leave his wife, French oil heiress Diane de Waldner. After he tried to cool the relationship in 1994, Diana bombarded his Chelsea home with nuisance telephone calls. On his wife’s insistence, Hoare contacted the police and some of the 300 calls were traced to the Princess’ private line in Kensington Palace, others to telephone boxes in the Kensington area. The police later announced the inquiries had been ended at Mr. Hoare’s request,” Shakespeare noted.

In 1995, Princess Diana sat down for an interview with Martin Bashir and admitted to calling Hoare for six to nine months. However, the mom of two said that she didn’t ring him up in an obsessive manner.

Lady Colin Campbell, a royal biographer, said that Princess Diana was struggling at that time because she learned that she was pregnant, but was forced to get an abortion. In order to help ease her grief, she relied on Hoare.

However, it was Princess Diana’s relationship with Al Fayed that made the most headlines. The couple was in the car together when they met a fatal accident. Both of them passed away following the incident.