James Hewitt Biography
Summary
Major "James Hewitt" (born in Dublin, on 30 April 1958), a former British household cavalry officer, is famous for being the longterm lover of the late Diana, Princess of Wales. He has courted controversy by revealing details of their affair.
Early life
Hewitt grew up in Kent and Devon. He was educated at Millfield School and Sandhurst.
Relationship with Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana admitted in her famous "Panorama" interview that she had committed adultery with Hewitt, saying, 'Yes, I adored him. Yes, I was in love with him.' As Diana was then the wife of the Prince of Wales, heir to the throne, this would be high treason, if prosecuted. (... more) The affair ended in 1992.
He retired from the Life Guards in March 1994 after 17 years of service.
In 2002, Hewitt strongly denied long-standing rumours that he was the natural father of Prince Harry. He claimed that Harry was a toddler by the time he met Diana (Harry was born in 1984) (... more) . However, in a 2005 interview with the television company Making Time Productions, Hewitt admitted under hypnosis that he had met Diana in 1981 or 1982 and that their affair began shortly afterward. (... more)
Hewitt made the news by attempting to sell letters that Diana had written to him. On 21 July, 2004 he was arrested at a bar in London on suspicion of being in possession of cocaine, for which he was later cautioned.
Television career
Hewitt lifted 82.5kg in the 2003 weightlifting event of Channel Four's "The Games" (a celebrity athletics tournament), setting a record which he held jointly with 2004 competitor Shane Lynch, until this was beaten in 2005 by Philip Olivier. He eventually came second.
In 2003, Hewitt took part in the Five reality TV show "Back To Reality" and eventually won it.
In July 2004, he took part in the Swedish TV show "High Chaparall", in which he was interviewed over several days whilst carrying on his normal life.
In 2005, he took part in the ITV wrestling competition "Celebrity Wrestling" where he went under the moniker of 'Gentleman Jim', and appeared on Heads Up with Richard Herring to discuss his life, career and his love of poker.
In 2005 Hewitt also appeared on "Car Cruzin'", a UK documentary series showcasing the cars of rich and famous individuals. On the show, Hewitt presented his Range Rover Sport, and also revealed the fact that he is not allowed to own firearms.
In 2005 he also appeared in Bullrun: Cops, Cars & Superstars II, riding with Ryan Dunn in 1 out of the 5 Bravo cars.
In 2006, he appeared on the BBC show "Top Gear" as a celebrity guest, achieving a lap time around the Top Gear test track in the Chevrolet Lacetti of 1:47.69. He was not recognised by presenters Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond, who referred to him as 'well-spoken man'.
In May 2006, Hewitt starred as a contestant in The X Factor: Battle Of The Stars, alongside fellow kiss-and-tell 'celebrity' Rebecca Loos, but was evicted after the final showdown on Thursday night (Night 4). He was mentored by Simon Cowell who, despite being supportive in his role, did not deny Hewitt's notable lack of vocal talent.
In February 2007, he appeared on Al Murray's Happy Hour.
Featured in ITV 'prank show' "All New Celebrity Pranks with Frank Bruno" in which Hewitt was 'arrested' by two actors pretending to be policemen. Accusing Hewitt of using live firearms, they proceeded to have him fire paintball guns planted in the car to test the theory that 'a bullet will come flying out of them'. Finally the arresting officer declared that this was a prime case of 'Guns, Birds, and Hewitt' and he was released without charge.
Credit
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article about James Hewitt.
