Oliver Hoare dead – Princess Diana’s art dealer lover dies aged 73 in France
The married dad-of-three was a friend of Charles and began an affair with the princess after her dad died in 1992
PRINCESS Diana's art dealer lover Oliver Hoare has died aged 73 in France, according to reports.
The married dad-of-three was a friend of Charles and began an affair with the princess after her dad died in 1992.
reports the posh art dealer who became Diana’s lover died of cancer.
His affair with Diana ended when his wife threatened divorce, but not before he was allegedly found by a guard semi-naked behind a potted bay tree in a palace corridor, smoking a cigar.
Oliver - who remained married to his French-born wife Diane - who was 16 years older than the princess.
Their affair began after the death of Diana’s father, Earl Spencer, in March 1992.
Hoare, then 46, was a friend of Charles and he and his wife Diane had been guests at Windsor Castle.
Old Etonian Hoare has never spoken about their affair but its extent was revealed after Diana’s death by her former bodyguard Ken Wharfe.
He described finding Hoare semi-naked behind a potted bay tree in a Kensington Palace corridor, smoking a cigar.
Diana is said to have told her confidante, Lady Bowker, that she "daydreamed of living in Italy with the handsome Hoare".
But when his heiress wife threatened divorce in 1993, Hoare broke off the relationship.
Diana is then said to have bombarded his home with phone calls and he contacted the police over it.
In her infamous Panorama interview Diane admitted she called him, but added: "Over a period of six to nine months, a few times, but certainly not in an obsessive manner, no."
In 2005 he was embroiled in an inquiry into the financial dealings of Qatari sheikh Saud Al Thani.
The sheikh was accused of embezzling funds from the country by getting vastly inflated invoices sent for art he was buying for the Qatar state.
But Hoare maintained his innocence, as did Al Thani, and charges against the sheikh were eventually dropped.
In 2015, he lost his driving licence for 17 months after being pulled over following a boozy lunch.
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