The late Princess Diana considered converting to Islam, a royal photographer who accompanied her on a tour in the mid-90s has claimed.
Anwar Hussain, a royal photographer who chronicled Diana’s life until she died and was the longest-serving photojournalist to the Royal Family, said Diana asked him about religion and interfaith marriage during a flight.
Hussain, now 83, shared the story about Princess of Wales to People magazine. He said: “All the lights were dimmed on the flight, and she came and whispered, ‘Can I have a chat?’ She knew that I was married to an English girl, Caroline. She wanted to know about Islam. She was asking about being married when one person is Muslim and another is Protestant…
“She was interested because of what she was going through with Dr Hasnat Khan. She didn’t mention him, but she assumed I knew it. I think she was wondering how the family would react to him and things like that.”
Diana was romantically involved with Dr Hasnat Khan, a surgeon and cardiologist of Pakistani descent who she dated for two years from 1995 to 1997. During that time Diana visited Pakistan to meet Hasnat Khan’s family and contemplated converting to Islam.
Jemima Khan was a close friend of Diana said in 2013 that the princess was so “madly in love” with Hasnat Khan that she was considering moving to Pakistan and spending the rest of her life with him.
Judy Wade, a royal biographer, told People: “She had wanted to marry him. She had this vision that together they could bridge east and west, crossing creeds and continents. They could save lives and make it a better world.”
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But the relationship didn’t work after Hasnat Khan decided to end it. His father said that his son told the family: “If I married our marriage would not last more than a year. We are culturally so different from each other. She’s from Venus and I’m from Mars. If that ever happened, it would be like a marriage of two different planets.”
According to Jemima Khan, Hasnat Khan “also hated the idea of being in the public spotlight for the rest of his life.”
Anwar Hussain had a close working relationship with Diana and would often be seen talking to her at public events.
He told People: “The story of Diana unfolded in front of us. I saw every side of Diana. She was a genuine, good human being.”
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