To Princess Diana she was almost like a second mother.
Lucia Flecha de Lima rarely speaks of their friendship but the opening of the film Diana in her native Brazil has seen the former ambassador’s wife open up about the woman who, 16 years after her death, continues to intrigue.
On the three significant men in Diana’s life, Madame De Lima, who became friends with the Princess after her husband was appointed to the Court of St James’s, is clear.
She was ‘not in love with Dodi Fayed’, she may have had a ‘passion’ for heart surgeon Hasnat Khan but ‘the love of her life’ was Prince Charles.
Mme De Lima is, of course, in a unique position to know, as a close friend of the Princess throughout the turbulent years from before her separation from Charles up until her death.
Even after her husband’s posting to the U.S. Lucia continued to be Diana’s confidante. She regularly stayed at their home in Mayfair, where she put up a sign on her bedroom saying ‘Diana’s Room’.
Mme de Lima recalls of the passionate Princess: ‘I told Diana, “You don’t seem to be English but Latin.”’
She relates how Diana told her she was convinced Charles was in love with her when they married. And when William was born he was ‘very enchanted’.
Asked about the film, which is based on the Princess’s relationship with Pakistan-born Dr Khan, Mme De Lima says: ‘If you ask me if she had some passion for Hasnat, I don’t know, it is possible. But for Dodi Fayed I am certain she did not. I know because I asked her.’
Mme de Lima, who spoke to Diana during her last holiday with the son of the former Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed, says: ‘The love of Diana’s life was Prince Charles, I have no doubt about this.’
Comparing the Princess’s life with that of the modern royals, she says: ‘Look at the relationship between Prince William and Kate.
‘They chose to spend the first two months of their son’s life with her family. This was simply unthinkable years ago.’
Source: Daily Mail
