Variety revealed an exclusive look of Humayun Saeed playing Diana’s love interest, Dr.Hasnat Khan in Season 5 of hit Netflix series, “The Crown”.
Saeed told Variety: “Dr. Hasnat Khan and Princess Diana were total opposites. He was a very ordinary man in every way and I feel this is what attracted Princess Diana towards him. His nature and simplicity made him special to Princess Diana.”
Hasnat Khan, a British-Pakistani physician, first met Princess Diana in 1995 while working as a cardiac surgeon at London’s Royal Brompton Hospital. In “The Crown,” it is shown that Diana befriended Khan while she was visiting a friend whose husband was having surgery with Khan. She broke up with him after she met Dodi Fayed while on vacation with Mohamed Al Fayed and his family, according to Khan’s 2004 testimony to the Metropolitan Police, which was submitted in 2008 to an inquest into Princess Diana’s murder.
Khan, who Diana dubbed “Mr Wonderful,” was born in Jhelum, Pakistan, to a Mohmand Pashtun family. Additionally, he is a distant relative of Pakistan’s Ex Prime Minister Imran Khan.
Paul Burrell, Diana’s butler, claimed that Khan was not sporty nor attractive nor even sufficiently affluent to be Diana’s lover. The Princess of Wales adored him, nonetheless, because of his character.
The romance between the people’s princess and Khan was a hush-hush affair. They even avoided the media and met at unusual places. At times, Diana wore a black wig to avoid being identified, The Guardian reported.
I haven’t played a real life character on-screen and to play the role of Dr. Hasnat Khan who everyone knows due to Princess Diana was a huge responsibility,” Saeed added. “I am confident audiences will love the simplicity of the relationship and how it is portrayed on-screen.
Humayun Saeed’s co-star, Elizabeth Debicki also sang praises for him stating that she is very lucky to have him.
The Crown has a brand-new cast for its fifth season, including Elizabeth Debicki as Princess Diana, taking over from Emma Corrin in Season 4, and Dominic West as Prince Charles, taking over from Josh O’Connor, who won an Emmy for his portrayal. Imelda Staunton takes over from Olivia Colman as Queen Elizabeth II. Also joining the cast are Jonathan Pryce as the Queen’s husband, Prince Philip, Lesley Manville) as her sister Princess Margaret and Jonny Lee Miller as Prime Minister John Major
According to reports, Season 5 of The Crown is the show’s penultimate season. It examines the royal family’s lives throughout the 1990s.
The show will premiere on 9th November 2022.
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