James Hewitt - wikipedia James Hewitt For other people named James Hewitt, see James Hewitt ( disambiguation ). James Hewitt James Lifford Hewitt ( 1958 - 04 - 30 ) 30 April 1958 ( age 59 ) Derry, Northern Ireland Military career Allegiance United Kingdom Service / branch British Army Years of service 1978 -- 1994 Rank Major Unit HCR James Lifford Hewitt ( born 30 April 1958 ) is an English former cavalry officer in the British Army. He rose to public prominence in the mid-1990s after he disclosed a romantic affair that he had engaged in with Diana, Princess of Wales, while she was still the wife of the heir to the throne of the United Kingdom, Prince Charles. Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 2.1 Military career 2.2 Business and media career 3 Personal life 4 References Early life Hewitt was born in Derry, Northern Ireland, and grew up in Kent and Devon. He was educated at Millfield, a public school, in Street, Somerset. Career Military career Having attended the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, Hewitt was commissioned into the Life Guards, British Army, on 8 April 1978 as a second lieutenant. He was promoted to lieutenant on 8 April 1980. He transferred from a short service commission to a special regular commission on 1 October 1981. He was promoted to captain on 8 October 1984. On 21 October 1985, he transferred from a special regular commission to a regular commission. In 1991, he served as a Challenger tank commander in the Gulf War. He was mentioned in despatches ' in recognition of service during the operation in the Gulf ' in June 1991. He failed the exam for promotion to major three times. The rank of Major was conferred on Hewitt after he had retired. On 1 March 1994, he was retired from the British Army after 17 years ' military service. Business and Media career Hewitt opened a golf driving range in 1994. He opened The Polo House, a bar in the fashionable Golden Mile of Marbella, Spain, in 2009. It closed in 2013. In 2006, Hewitt appeared as a contestant in The X Factor : Battle of the Stars, the celebrity version of The X Factor, in a duo with Rebecca Loos. He also appeared in the first episode of Top Gear UK 's Series 8 in May of the same year to participate with other celebrities in setting power lap times around the Top Gear Test Track in the show 's newest `` reasonably priced car '' : when the presenters seemingly did not recognise him upon his arrival, they were apparently too embarrassed to admit as much, and rather than ask him his name, they listed his lap time as `` Well Spoken Man ''. Personal life In 1994, six months after his retirement from the military, Anna Pasternak published the book Princess in Love. Hewitt was a major source, and it alleged that Hewitt had had a five - year affair with Princess Diana, from 1986 to 1991. Diana confirmed the affair in her 1995 Panorama interview. In 1996, the film Princess in Love by David Greene was released, based on the book. Julie Cox and Christopher Villiers were the actress and the actor who played Diana and Hewitt respectively. Hewitt had considered committing suicide after his affair with Diana ended. He was preparing for a trip to France, and he wanted to shoot himself. He said, `` I got in my car and loaded a few things up to get on the ferry to go to France -- to shoot myself... And then my mother insisted on coming with me. And, if she had n't, I would have probably shot myself. So I owe her my life really ''. Persistent suggestions have been made in the media that Hewitt, and not Charles, is the biological father of Prince Harry. Hewitt stated to the press in 2002 that Harry had already been born by the time Hewitt and Diana began their affair, a statement also made by Diana 's police bodyguard. He reiterated this in an interview in 2017. In 2003, Hewitt tried to sell his 64 personal letters from Diana for £ 10 million. The act of selling the letters was considered to be a betrayal of trust, and Sarah, Duchess of York, condemned his action. She was reported to have said, `` Betrayal, I think is the most horrible, horrible, disloyal thing you can do to anyone ''. In July 2004, Hewitt was arrested outside a restaurant in Fulham with Alison Bell, a CNN journalist, for the possession of cocaine. A drunken Hewitt had 0.36 grams ( 0.013 oz ) of cocaine in his pocket. He was given a warning, and Bell was released without charge. As a result, he was refused reinstatement of his firearms licences because of his `` intemperate habits '' after police found a disassembled 16 - bore shotgun on his living room floor. On 14 May 2017, it was reported that Hewitt had suffered from both a heart attack and stroke, leaving him fighting for his life in hospital. References ^ Jump up to : Walden, Celia ( 31 March 2009 ). `` James Hewitt : the comeback cad ''. The Daily Telegraph. London : Telegraph Media Group Limited. Retrieved 3 August 2009. Jump up ^ `` Hewitt denies Prince Harry link ''. BBC News. 21 September 2002. Retrieved 8 March 2008. Jump up ^ The Biography Channel article on Hewitt Jump up ^ Walker, Andrew ( 10 January 2003 ). `` James Hewitt : BBC Profile ''. BBC News. Retrieved 21 June 2011. Jump up ^ `` No. 47566 ''. The London Gazette ( Supplement ). 12 June 1978. p. 7138. Jump up ^ `` No. 48170 ''. The London Gazette ( Supplement ). 28 April 1980. p. 6335. Jump up ^ `` No. 48970 ''. The London Gazette ( Supplement ). 30 April 1982. p. 5962. Jump up ^ `` No. 49933 ''. The London Gazette ( Supplement ). 19 November 1984. p. 15653. Jump up ^ `` No. 50567 ''. The London Gazette ( Supplement ). 16 June 1986. p. 8047. ^ Jump up to : Ipsen, Erik ( 5 October 1994 ). `` ' Kiss and Tell ' Officer Draws Heaps of Scorn ''. The New York Times. Retrieved 20 February 2014. Jump up ^ `` No. 52588 ''. The London Gazette ( Supplement ). 28 June 1991. p. 14. Jump up ^ `` No. 53601 ''. The London Gazette ( Supplement ). 28 February 1994. p. 3172. Jump up ^ Tapper, James ( 28 May 2006 ). `` Late news : No X Factor for Andrea ''. Daily Mail. Retrieved 16 August 2015. Jump up ^ James Hewitt. Who is the well spoken man on the top gear leader board ? ( Television ). United Kingdom : kgbanswers.co.uk. Archived from the original on 9 December 2015. Retrieved 9 December 2015. James Lifford Hewitt is the one listed as the `` Well Spoken Man '', star in a reasonably priced car ( The Chevrolet Lacetti ), in Top Gear Season 8 Episode 1. Jump up ^ Diss and Tell, People ( magazine ), 17 October 1994 Jump up ^ `` Archived copy ''. Archived from the original on 16 January 2013. Retrieved 2012 - 11 - 24. Jump up ^ Allen, Nick ( 25 April 2011 ). `` James Hewitt ' considered suicide after Diana affair ended ' ''. The Telegraph. Retrieved 7 May 2012. Jump up ^ `` Hewitt denies Prince Harry link ''. BBC News. 21 September 2002. Jump up ^ `` James Hewitt denies he is Prince Harry 's father as he says he feels sorry for the royal having to put up with rumours ''. The Telegraph. Retrieved 2017 - 03 - 13. Jump up ^ Davies, Caroline ( 10 January 2003 ). `` I want £ 10m for Diana letters, says Hewitt ''. The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 22 February 2014. Jump up ^ `` Hewitt ready to sell Diana letters ''. UK : BBC News. 9 January 2003. Jump up ^ Davies, Caroline ( 23 July 2004 ). `` Hewitt spends night in cells after cocaine arrest with newsreader ''. The Daily Telegraph. London : Telegraph Media Group Limited. Retrieved 3 August 2009. Jump up ^ Davies, Caroline ( 26 November 2004 ). `` ' Liar ' Hewitt ca n't have gun licences back, says judge ''. The Daily Telegraph. London : Telegraph Media Group Limited. Retrieved 3 August 2009. Jump up ^ Walker, Peter ( 14 May 2017 ). `` Princess Diana 's former lover James Hewitt ' fights for life after heart attack and stroke ' ''. The Telegraph. Retrieved 15 May 2017. Jump up ^ Khan, Shehab ( 14 May 2017 ). `` Princess Diana 's former lover ' fighting for his life ' following heart attack and stroke ''. The Independent. Independent Print Limited. Retrieved 15 May 2017. Jump up ^ `` Princess Diana 's former lover James Hewitt ' fights for his life after suffering a heart attack and stroke ' ''. Daily Mail. London : DMG Media. 14 May 2017. Retrieved 14 May 2017. VIAF : 166923687 LCCN : no95034272 ISNI : 0000 0003 7475 9872 GND : 11941631X NKC : xx0171990 BNE : XX1763039 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=James_Hewitt&oldid=798897080 '' Categories : 1958 births Living people British Army personnel of the Gulf War British Life Guards officers Diana, Princess of Wales Graduates of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst People educated at Millfield People from Derry ( city ) Hidden categories : Pages containing London Gazette template with parameter supp set to y Use British English from September 2015 Use dmy dates from August 2016 Articles with hCards Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Wikipedia articles with LCCN identifiers Wikipedia articles with ISNI identifiers Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers Talk Contents About Wikipedia Deutsch Français Svenska Edit links This page was last edited on 4 September 2017, at 12 : 53. 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Question: who is the well spoken man on top gear
Answer: Hewitt