Princess Diana and James Hewitt first met in 1986 at a party. The two began spending time together after Hewitt began coaching Diana in horseback riding; things between the pair quickly turned from friendly to romantic, and they engaged in an affair that was said to have happened during the same time when Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles were carrying on their own romance.
"The Crown" briefly showcases the relationship that Diana and Hewitt developed, but the reality of the matter is that their relationship lasted five years, from 1986 to 1991. Diana's former security officer Ken Wharfe told Marie Claire that Hewitt opened up Diana in a way that Charles could not, and that, "The pair usually met at an old cottage in Devon belonging to Shirley, Hewitt's mother, where the creaking bedroom floorboards told the story more loudly than any confession."
Eventually, Hewitt went to the Middle East during the Gulf War, reportedly angering Diana in the process. In 1994, Hewitt was interviewed by author Anna Pasternak for her book "Princess in Love," a transgression that Diana was saddened by. While speaking of Hewitt, she told Martin Bashir in 1995, "Yes, I adored him. Yes, I was in love with him. But I was very let down" (via Marie Claire).
