Diana's revenge: Dodi affair was calculated to snatch attention from Camilla

Princess Diana started her high-profile love affair with Dodi Fayed as revenge on Prince Charles for his relationship with Camilla Parker Bowles, her inquest heard yesterday.

Close friend Lucia Flecha de Lima said Diana's well-publicised romance with the son of the Harrods boss was in response to a lavish party Charles hosted to celebrate Camilla's 50th birthday.

The event at Highgrove in July 1997 was aimed at raising Camilla's profile, and there was intense speculation at the time that Diana would try to deflect attention from the woman she blamed for destroying her marriage.

Mrs de Lima, speaking by videolink from Brazil, told the London hearing: "Prince Charles gave a huge party on that occasion and the Princess was really hurt by that.

"I think that many of her acts in this occasion were due to that.

"What I saw in the press suggested she was doing exactly what she told me she was going to do - to distract Charles's attention from Camilla and the press's attention from Camilla Parker Bowles's birthday party."

Mrs de Lima, the wife of the former Brazilian ambassador to London, said Diana was "infatuated" with Dodi - but insisted that it was "not a serious relationship".

Diana also fantasised about being a "middle-class princess" and living an ordinary life with her previous lover, heart surgeon Hasnat Khan, the inquest was told.

Scroll down for more...

Mrs de Lima, who talked to the Princess by phone most days, said that Diana's previous relationship with Mr Khan had no long-term future.

She said: "They were in love.

"It was one of the most serious relationships she had apart from Prince Charles.

"But that does not mean that it was a love that was serious, that would mean living together and getting married. They came from different backgrounds.

"I do not think that she intended to marry him and I do not think he intended to marry her.

"Hasnat was completely infatuated by her but to marry her was different."

Diana had hinted at trying to start a new life in South Africa, and had asked about finding a job for Mr Khan there, Mrs de Lima added.

"She said she would like to marry Hasnat Khan.

"I said to her, 'You are not a middle-class Princess and cannot dream of living a middle-class life'.

"I don't think she was being serious about it. She was dreaming."

Mrs de Lima suggested that a letter allegedly sent from Diana to her butler, Paul Burrell, expressing fears for her life was a fake.

Diana was said to have written: "I am longing for someone to hug me and encourage me to keep strong and hold my head high ... This particular phase in my life is the most dangerous ...

"My husband is planning an accident in my car - brake failure and serious head injury - in order to make the path clear for him to marry."

Mrs de Lima said Mr Burrell was "perfectly capable of imitating Princess Diana's handwriting".

She added: "I still don't believe in it.

"I still don't believe she was fearing for her life, especially from Prince Charles, the future king of your country."