“It cannot have made any difference to us because we loved the house but it added some interest.

“It makes for an interesting point in conversation.

“There are photos around of Hewitt in the old bathroom but nobody really knows which room Diana stayed in.” 

Mum of two Emma, 38, said the history of Diana, Hewitt and the cottage have been well documented in books and the media.

She said: “No-one says much about Hewitt, no-one likes the guy around here but people in Ebford know that Diana definitely came here.”