Hewitt Breaks Silence on Royal Rift: Diana’s Former Lover Weighs In on William and Harry’s Feud

James Hewitt, the former lover of the late Princess Diana, has publicly addressed the strained relationship between Prince William and Prince Harry. Hewitt, who engaged in an affair with Diana during her marriage to the then-Prince Charles, appeared on Good Morning Britain to discuss his involvement with Operation Safedrop, a humanitarian effort providing aid to Ukraine. However, the conversation inevitably turned to the ongoing rift between the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Sussex, prompting Hewitt to offer his perspective on the sensitive matter.

The interview segment saw host Richard Madeley questioning Hewitt about how Princess Diana would have reacted to the brothers’ estrangement. "Any mother would be grief-stricken over the separation we’ve seen between Harry and Wills," Madeley stated, before posing the question: "Do you think she would have been able to make a rapprochement possible?"

Hewitt responded, "I think any mother would be worried and concerned about such a rift, as you put it. And she’d do her best to try and get them together." His carefully worded response suggests a deep understanding of Diana’s maternal instincts and her desire for familial harmony.

Hewitt’s affair with Diana began in 1986 after they met at a party. He subsequently became her riding instructor, and their relationship evolved into a multi-year affair. Due to the nature of his past relationship with Diana, his comments on the royal feud are sure to attract significant attention and scrutiny.

His remarks coincide with similar observations made by former palace aide Jason Knauf. Speaking on 60 Minutes Australia, Knauf discussed the deterioration of the relationship between William and Harry in recent years. He emphasized the difficulty of the situation playing out publicly, stating, "It’s very difficult to have this stuff play out in the public eye, but [William]’s chosen to keep his thoughts on it private, and I think all of us who know him really have to respect that we should do the same." Knauf added, "But I will say, of course, it’s been hard and sad, especially for all of us who know both of them."

Reports suggest that the seeds of discord were sown around 2016 when William allegedly voiced concerns about the rapid pace of Harry’s relationship with Meghan Markle. These concerns reportedly angered Harry, contributing to the widening divide between the brothers. Harry married the Suits actress in 2018.

Knauf declined to speculate on the future role Harry might play within the royal family once William ascends to the throne. He instead highlighted their past accomplishments, saying, "I can’t speculate about the future. They achieved a lot together, and none of that can ever be taken away."

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s decision to step down as senior royals in 2020 and relocate to California further complicated matters. They cited unbearable media intrusion and racist attitudes within the British press as contributing factors to their decision.

Since their departure, William and Harry have reunited on only a handful of occasions. Their most recent appearance together was at a memorial service for their uncle, Lord Robert Fellowes, in August, where they reportedly avoided any interaction. Sources have revealed that Harry’s attempts to communicate with his father, King Charles III, through calls and letters have gone unanswered. Similar efforts to connect with William have also been ignored.

The brothers’ fractured relationship was further exposed in Harry’s 2023 memoir, Spare. In the book, Harry recounted an alleged physical altercation with William in 2019, during which William reportedly called Meghan "difficult" and "rude" before allegedly grabbing Harry by the collar and knocking him to the ground. Harry claimed he suffered cuts and bruises from landing on a dog bowl. According to Harry, Charles pleaded with his sons to reconcile.

Following the funeral of Prince Philip in 2021, the king reportedly implored, "Please, boys, don’t make my final years a misery."

Harry himself acknowledged the strain in his relationship with William while promoting Spare, stating that his mother would be "sad" about the tension. "I think she would be looking at it long term to know that there are certain things we need to go through to be able to heal the relationship," he said.

For years, persistent rumors have circulated suggesting that James Hewitt, not Charles, is Harry’s biological father. The speculation stems from the physical similarities between Harry and Hewitt, including their ginger hair and freckles.

Richard Dalton, Diana’s former hairdresser, dismissed these claims as unfounded. In 2024, Dalton told Fox News Digital that "it’s not possible." Dalton, who recently released his memoir It’s All About the Hair, emphasized that Harry was born before Diana’s relationship with Hewitt even began.

Dalton pointed to the Spencer family’s history of red hair as the true source of Harry’s coloring. "Harry and the Spencer family have red hair. Charles, Diana’s brother, had bright red hair when he was [in] college. And I used to cut his hair then. [Diana’s sister] Sarah, has bright red hair. [Diana’s other sister] Jane was more or less the same coloring as Diana," he explained.

Furthermore, Harry was born in 1984, two years before Diana’s affair with Hewitt commenced.

Dalton revealed that Diana "used to get very upset" by the tabloids’ insistence that Hewitt was Harry’s father. "The red hair was a trait from the Spencer family," he wrote in his book.

Dalton also recalled his initial surprise when Diana began taking riding lessons from Hewitt, as she had previously disliked riding horses. However, he understood that Diana was a young woman "longing to be truly loved."

"I knew nothing about their affair and was not involved with any of the rendezvous, other than maybe unwittingly doing Diana’s hair each day," Dalton wrote. "She was certainly giddy at times when she talked about him because it was all new to her; however, we need to remember the context in which this all took place."

He added, "Diana was starved of affection and intimacy from her husband, the man she loved. She was also an heir-making machine for Charles and was coming to terms with the betrayal within her marriage."

Dalton expressed his disappointment in Hewitt’s decision to write a tell-all book about their affair, stating that it "clearly signal[ed] that this relationship was a conquest and not a matter of love at all." He concluded, "He got her at her most vulnerable and, for her, he was just the first man who rolled along – a twist of fate, time and place. If it had not been him, it would have been someone else. He was certainly not the love of her life at the time, Charles was – there is no question in this matter at all."

In conclusion, James Hewitt’s recent comments on the royal rift offer a glimpse into how those who were close to Princess Diana might view the ongoing tension between her sons. His remarks, along with those of Jason Knauf and Richard Dalton, provide a complex and nuanced understanding of the challenges facing the royal family and the legacy of Diana’s relationships.