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Hewitt brags over Diana sex
By Robert Jobson Royal Correspondent, Evening Standard Last updated at 00:00am on 16.07.03
Close: Diana's letters reveal the strength of her feelings
James Hewitt has spoken for the first time of Princess Diana's prowess as a lover.
The ex-cavalry officer, who had an affair with the late princess, also brags on a TV programme that he did Prince Charles a favour by sleeping with her.
His comments will infuriate Princes William and Harry, already upset over Hewitt's attempts to sell, for millions, the love letters their mother sent him.
The 45-year-old former soldier - whom Diana once said she "loved and adored" - made the remarks during filming of Channel 4's documentary Confessions Of A Cad, to be shown a week tomorrow.
In one clip a friend mimics Hewitt's voice and says Diana was good in bed. Hewitt then laughs and says: "It's true. Don't worry. We can edit that bit out."
He also says he believes Charles was "probably grateful" someone was sleeping with his wife while he was conducting his secret affair with Camilla Parker Bowles, who was married at the time.
Despite Hewitt's claim that the documentary was made to rebuild his reputation, he lets his lawyer Michael Coleman read out extracts from Diana's 64 intensely personal letters, sent during the 1991 Gulf War.
In one, she wrote: "Boy, oh boy, does the earth shake when I get a letter from my desert friend. Screams of delight, tears, you name it. Demented female on the loose, that's for sure."
"I'm extremely worried and pray the war will be over soon. Your letter was such a joy. Me and the boys think of you lots and pray for your return."
And in another note, Diana joked: "So there are 30,000 ladies in the Gulf . That should keep you busy, my friend. Variety is the essence, I'm told."
She also referred to her brother Earl Spencer's affair with cartoonist Sally Ann Lasson: "My brother is in trouble with a legover situation after he was married." She added: "I miss you terribly." Channel
4 was able to use the letters because of a legal loophole. Copyright belongs to Diana's estate, but the law permits " reasonable extracts" to be made public where they forward legitimate debate.
The documentary follows Hewitt over the past six months, including his trip to America where he tried - and failed - to sell the letters for £10million.
In the film, Hewitt also scoffs at rumours that he is Prince Harry's father, and boasts that he has had more lovers than the English cricket team scores runs in an average season.
Channel 4 says Hewitt was paid a modest fee and sources close to him say he sees the documentary as a way of drumming up interest in the letters, which Diana once begged him to destroy.
