Royal Exes-Spouses and significant others

[royalanthropologist]

TLLK I have not heard that he was a heavy smoker but little of substance has written about him apart from those that want to attack him for writing his memoirs.

On a separate issue, it is a measure of the stupidity that surrounds some of the Diana cult counterculture that this man is  constantly blamed for kissing and telling. What  some people really wanted was for Charles' sins to be out in the public while Diana's own failings were kept hidden. In that way she could remain a saintly figure  above reproach whilst her husband and all her lovers would be criticized for somehow getting involved with her. You see this pattern being repeated again and again. Diana finds someone to be with, then the cult begins to haunt them. When they withdraw, the cult continues to haunt that man unless he says only lovely things about his time with Diana. Very disturbing behavior IMO.

Yes James should not have tried to make money from his affair but he was not the first or last person to go to the press. He was single and not obligated by any vows of marriage. He was not royal so he had no pension to fall back on. It is unreasonable for someone whose association with Diana ended up costing his job, career, income and reputation to be expected to starve all because he has to maintain the fairy tale. In any case Diana fans should have been grateful to James for at least giving her 5 years of happiness, something she was never going to get from her own marriage for obvious reasons. That guy was used and dumped. The stress must have been horrendous for him to be crucified in public without the benefits of an institution or fan base to protect him.

I totally blame some of Diana's more irrational fans and other implacable critics of the late princess  for ruining the life of virtually every man she got involved in. Ultimately it is those unreasonable obsessives that ended up making her life so miserable. Any man that came close to her would be hounded and declared the bad guy. If that was no longer possible then we would go back to the old chestnut of Charles being responsible for all her troubles in life. I heard one silly woman actually saying that had it not been for Charles, she would be securely installed in a palace instead of driving down a tunnel in Paris. Using that silly logic, we might say it was all Johnny Spencer and Frances fault for having given birth to her in the first place. Otherwise she would not have had to suffer in life.  That sounds ridiculous but it is the logical conclusion of the silliness that has surrounded debates about the princess' life.

I was just reading a comical exchange on the DM where some nut was saying that it must be Charles and "the establishment" who have led to James' illness. Really? How stupid can a person get? Charles and "the establishment' have never shown an ounce of animosity to James. None whatsoever. Charles never minded that he was with Diana and neither did the royal family. As far as they were concerned, Diana was free to do as she pleased as long as it did not become too public or too embarrassing.  The children did express concern that their mother's private life was being put out in the press, but even then they were being hypocritical since it is actually their mother that first invited the press into her private life. The people that have hounded James all this time are the Diana ultra fan club, her determined critics and the nasty media. It is absolutely nothing to do with Charles, the royal family or "the establishment".

[sandy]

He liked to party. I think at one point he owned a bar. I think he had an unhealthy lifestyle. He was filmed when he was drunk (and in a bathtub! for a TV special).

Diana's fans are not irrational and "obsessives" and our posts are all rational as we are all. This is stereotyping posters. We all have a place at the table so to speak without this sort of labeling.  Hillary Clinton made the mistake of saying her opponents' followers were "deplorables."  I object to this sort of thing.

Nobody forced Hewitt to sleep with Diana, nobody forced Hewitt to go to Anna Pasternack and sign a contract and tell all.  His life was ruined by his own doing. Diana was dead and gone when Hewitt was desperately trying to sell her letters.  How on earth are Diana's fans responsible for the mess the man made of his life? He could have moved on and not tried to make money off Diana.  He wanted apparently to get rich quick. But he went through money very quickly and had to move back home.

Saying where Diana would have been if Charles had not dumped her is Kismet. But that said, chances are she would not have ended up in the tunnel in Paris if her life had perhaps taken different turns. Everybody thinks like this about their own choices and decisions. It is a what if sort of thing.

Why would the establishment be blamed about Hewitt? Once again, the man made his own bad choices and decisions. And no, Charles is not to blame, nor the Diana "obsessives: nor his parents but Hewitt is the one who could have done things differently.

The royals don't have to "invite the press." The press invites themselves when they see a "story" opportunity. The royals use PR to this day and a necessary evil is the press is involved.

Blaming the so-called "ultra fan club" and the "nasty media" is just giving a free pass to James Hewitt. Unless he is deluded as he ages, he may realize that he made the bad choices in his life. No it has nothing to do with Diana or DIana's fans.

James Hewitt did not have to be married to Diana to be a sell out. He even tried to spread gossip about Harry on some dimwitted program where he was "hypnotized" and said he and Diana "started earlier". Then he retracted it.

If James Hewitt did not want to be "hounded" he would not have tried to live off the Princess even after she has died. Burrell has heavily criticized for his books on the Princess. Hewitt is doing the same thing, IMO only much worse.

If he needed money, he could get a real job and not try to "get rich quick." He got himself into his own mess.

[Duch_Luver_4ever]

I had a late start to the day and read about James at work...first off, poor Shirley, she must be out of her freakin mind right now, I do hope she has some extended family and friends to support her during this time, she seems ever so nice and sweet in anything ive seen her in. Whatever your metaphysical beliefs it would be nice to send her and James some good thoughts, vibes, prayers, whatever suits you.

We all know what James has done during his time, and I think the Diana board is the more appropriate place to talk about that,the man is on deaths door, and right now the decent thing would be to focus on the news of it, wishing a speedy recovery, and possibly discussing the health related aspects of the cause of the illness over here.

I dont speak with any authority on the matter, but I would say that the posts on the thread so far have been yet again very illustrative of peoples character, so I hope people take that into account. Yes, its opinion and as such "allowed" but theres a difference to whats "allowed" and what makes for being a "decent chap or chapette"(dont know the brit slang for a lady chap).

My take on it, is smoking will certainly raise ones risk for those types of health events, not to mention im sure the stresses of events over the last 2 decades or so, depression,failed businesses,etc. can be tough on the ticker, he used to have a tipple or two after dinner, and who knows how much that got worse or not as he got older, harder things like whiskey vs red wine are harder on the circulatory system.

There was also the  legal caution for drugs in 2004 (which i cant name , but is a famous Eric Clapton song), idk if that was a rare recreational use or if he used regularly, it is very hard on the circulatory system as well, as most stimulant drugs are.

We also dont know yet at this time what the illness he had a couple weeks ago and how that precipitate this event.

I wish James all the best at this time, and hope he makes a speedy recovery, and for Shirley and the family to get as much comfort and peace during this time.

Im off to the Diana board to discuss the aspects related to his entanglement with her and the posts made here about it. One thing i will say as it relates to his condition, in yet another irony of the whole overall story, while it wasnt trauma related, and different causes, it didnt escape my notice that he and Diana both had coronary and stroke......doesnt mean anything, I just tend to notice these little things.

Get well, James. :flower:

[dianab]

If James Hewitt did not want to be "hounded" he would not have tried to live off the Princess even after she has died. Burrell has heavily criticized for his books on the Princess. Hewitt is doing the same thing, IMO only much worse.

The books and interviews/lies of Burrell are much worse IMO

[sandy]

Both did nothing to be proud of. Both coincidentally authorized two books.

[Trudie]

I have to feel bad for James in his current health crises. No one deserves to be ill with two life threatening issues. That said I think James would have done better had he acted like Camilla and kept his silence but the hypocrisy shown in the loss of his army career for his affair with Diana is what IMO did him in. Charles also committed the sin of sleeping with the wife of a fellow officer but those magical HRH in his title prevented him from the same fate as James.

[TLLK]

No one deserves to be ill with two life threatening issues

:goodpost:@Trudie

[dianab]

Both did nothing to be proud of. Both coincidentally authorized two books.

His books are fairly inoffensive next to the Burrell, Jephson and Ken Wharfe books stuff IMO... I'm not going to start in Penny Junor, Sally B Smith, others friends of Charles slandering the poor Diana and the effect this people (close to Charles) and their books had on William and Harry.
Double post auto-merged: May 15, 2017, 03:12:32 PM

I have to feel bad for James in his current health crises. No one deserves to be ill with two life threatening issues. That said I think James would have done better had he acted like Camilla and kept his silence but the hypocrisy shown in the loss of his army career for his affair with Diana is what IMO did him in. Charles also committed the sin of sleeping with the wife of a fellow officer but those magical HRH in his title prevented him from the same fate as James.

Charles will be Commander-in-Chief of the British Armed Forces!!! Probably the Brigadier Andrew Parker Bowles will be invited to Coronation and whatever military events involving his ex-wife and the man she cheated on him with... I'm afraid JH isnt the most sordid of this bunch

[sandy]

The worst thing Hewitt did was to go under "hypnosis" and hint that the affair with Diana "could have" started earlier which promoted more ugly gossip about Harry. The others were not commendable but what Hewitt did was really rotten (he retracted the "could have" statement since then).

But I would rate Junor and Smith as the worst.

[dianab]

I think worst he did is try selling the letters. All what he did was for money. Her former employees were much worse. They genuinely made a career of hers being dead and saying whatever they wants/ed. Seeing themselves as authorities on Diana. When I see any of 3 former employees on royal docs... the creepy vibes are strong.... totally shameless. If Charles wanted he'd have put a rest on the Harry rumor. Well known Camilla was a promiscuous woman when single. But when 'that' is openly commented nowadays???

[Curryong]

I think it's a myth that James Hewitt was driven out of the army because of the affair with Diana. Like others, he was was an outstanding soldier (whatever we may think of him as a man) and was mentioned in despatches during the Gulf War. However, he failed his exams to be promoted to Major no less than three times, and finally left the army after 17 years because of it. He was given his Majority after he retired.

He would probably, like Harry, have remained in the army until his sixties had he been born a generation earlier than he was, but, like other organisations, the British army has been very exam based for the last thirty years if people wish to reach the upper echelons.

[TLLK]

I think it's a myth that James Hewitt was driven out of the army because of the affair with Diana. Like others, he was was an outstanding soldier (whatever we may think of him as a man) and was mentioned in despatches during the Gulf War. However, he failed his exams to be promoted to Major no less than three times, and finally left the army after 17 years because of it. He was given his Majority after he retired.

He would probably, like Harry, have remained in the army until his sixties had he been born a generation earlier than he was, but, like other organisations, the British army has been very exam based for the last thirty years if people wish to reach the upper echelons.

:goodpost:@Curryong

[Trudie]

I think it's a myth that James Hewitt was driven out of the army because of the affair with Diana. Like others, he was was an outstanding soldier (whatever we may think of him as a man) and was mentioned in despatches during the Gulf War. However, he failed his exams to be promoted to Major no less than three times, and finally left the army after 17 years because of it. He was given his Majority after he retired.

He would probably, like Harry, have remained in the army until his sixties had he been born a generation earlier than he was, but, like other organisations, the British army has been very exam based for the last thirty years if people wish to reach the upper echelons.

What I meant to say Curryong was once the book came out Hewitt became persona non grata within his regiment and the army. He was ousted from the clubs and is not welcome at any ceremonies that honor these vets. As I said Charles committed the same sin and admitted his own adultery with the wife of a fellow officer and did more damage causing the end of that marriage and marrying the mistress. Yet because of his HRH he is most welcome and to add insult he will head the armed forces one day.

[royalanthropologist]

Thank you for educating me @Curryong. I did not know those details about his career.

Harry (thankfully) is the child that so closely resembles Charles that it is moot point as to whether he is a "bastard" or a genuine prince of the blood. All that palava started with the admission of an affair. Women might rail against it but the decks are stuck against them in the adultery stakes. The moment you admit an affair, people start to speculate about the children. It is standard practice. You are better off not talking about your private life and resolving your issues quietly. Otherwise it is the kids who have to put up with all sorts of paternity rumors.

I once read somewhere that the rumors about Harry became so bad that Charles had to speak to him about it. What a conversation to have with your son? Absolutely horrendous. Royals would be served by this mantra: "Never Complain, Never Explain". It is the best way to keep the media off your backs.

[sandy]

Unless people are bad at math, it is evident that Harry could not be Hewitt's since the affair started when Harry was two. So there should not have been "speculation" of the kind.

But even so the Queen did not admit any affair and there were years of gossip about Andrew's paternity (his allegedly being Porchy's son).

Charles admitted his affair with Camilla but in an interview with Dimbleby (published ca. 1994) he was careful to admit the times of intimacy with Camilla so he could stop the rumors about his siring one or both of the PB children.

[Trudie]

There are many people who simply refuse to do the math Sandy just to stir the pot of gossip because they have nothing else to do in life.

[amabel]

Andrew and Hewitt are botht fairly lacking in the brains depet.. and possibly aslo didn't really like desk jobs or weren't up to them.

[dianab]

^ I think you're talking about Harry

I once read somewhere that the rumors about Harry became so bad that Charles had to speak to him about it. What a conversation to have with your son? Absolutely horrendous. Royals would be served by this mantra: "Never Complain, Never Explain". It is the best way to keep the media off your backs.

REALLY? Harry has same small eyes (& same colour too) as Charles and Philip. And also rosacea as Charles. All the Spencers have big blue eyes. No rosacea. Hewitt has big brown eyes and no rosacea. It's been said Harry has same explosive temper as Charles and Philip, again. Hard to believe he some day thought he could to belong to a man with Big Brown eyes and No rosacea .... Harry will be a good looking man if he was the son of James Hewit (and Diana).

[sara8150]

Family of Princess Diana's Ex, James Hewitt, Says He Is 'Getting Better' After 'Heart Attack and Stroke'
Family of Princess Diana's Ex, James Hewitt, Says He Is 'Getting Better' After 'Heart Attack and Stroke'

[sandy]

^ I think you're talking about Harry

I once read somewhere that the rumors about Harry became so bad that Charles had to speak to him about it. What a conversation to have with your son? Absolutely horrendous. Royals would be served by this mantra: "Never Complain, Never Explain". It is the best way to keep the media off your backs.

REALLY? Harry has same small eyes (& same colour too) as Charles and Philip. And also rosacea as Charles. All the Spencers have big blue eyes. No rosacea. Hewitt has big brown eyes and no rosacea. It's been said Harry has same explosive temper as Charles and Philip, again. Hard to believe he some day thought he could to belong to a man with Big Brown eyes and No rosacea .... Harry will be a good looking man if he was the son of James Hewit (and Diana).

Hewitt did not age well. I am glad he is not the son of Hewitt and Diana.

Harry is handsome like his grandfather Philip and his hair color the same as his Aunt Sarah and her children, his cousins.

I think Harry always knew darn well he is Diana and Charles' biological son.

[dianab]

Harry isnt handsome (or even nice-looking) at all

[sandy]

The Windsor men start out handsome (some of them that is) then the looks start to go. William was considered Drop Dead Gorgeous but then he started looking like a Windsor (Uncle Edward aged the same way). Charles never really had good looks but he looked best in the early eighties.

Harry did not do himself any favors growing the scruffy beard. IMO

But I think Hewitt still  has not aged well, maybe it is his lifestyle.

[Trudie]

Harry isnt handsome (or even nice-looking) at all

I think Harry facially is not bad looking at this stage he has some of Phillips features, whereas William is starting IMO to resemble the Duke of Kent. If you look close at Harry's frame though he has the same physique as Charles and William has the same physique as Phillip.

[Curryong]

Harry's resemblance to a bearded Philip was pointed out by many when an early 1950's coloured photo of Prince Philip in naval uniform on a magazine cover resurfaced recently.

William resembled the Spencers as a teenager and very young man. If you look at the way William's face shape has changed in the last few years it's aquired the same rather slab like appearance as Charles's Spencer's.

[dianab]

The Windsor men start out handsome (some of them that is) then the looks start to go. William was considered Drop Dead Gorgeous but then he started looking like a Windsor (Uncle Edward aged the same way). Charles never really had good looks but he looked best in the early eighties.

Harry did not do himself any favors growing the scruffy beard. IMO

Harry isnt handsome (or even nice-looking) at all

I think Harry facially is not bad looking at this stage he has some of Phillips features, whereas William is starting IMO to resemble the Duke of Kent. If you look close at Harry's frame though he has the same physique as Charles and William has the same physique as Phillip.

Harry is sort of a Philip and Johnnie Spencer mix, no?
Harry will be handsome IMO if he was the spitting image of Johnnie
http://c8.alamy.com/comp/E0MBC5/viscount-althorp-and-frances-roche-at-their-wedding-E0MBC5.jpg
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/79/a6/57/79a65729b7b0de38d0b99a2e86a05dda.jpg

Harry has the mannerisms of his maternal grandfather IMO
https://i.skyrock.net/8537/69708537/pics/2796981607_1_13_djxrDIRV.jpg