Princess Diana's former lover James Hewitt has a secret country hideaway in Oxfordshire.

The ex-soldier is using 400-year-old Walcot House, on the outskirts of Charlbury, as a weekend retreat.

Hewitt, 41, has set tongues wagging by driving his distinctive green Lotus car around the village, and he has been spotted in local pubs and the post office.

The Gulf War veteran visits the 1,000-a-month farmhouse with millionairess Kate Simon, 50, who made a fortune in her divorce from Peter Simon, the founder of clothing chain Monsoon. Walcot House, off Forest Road, has its own palatial driveway and offers stunning views over the surrounding countryside. Ray Marshall, who runs Charlbury's website, said it was "like a little hamlet of its own".

Hewitt, who notoriously sold the story of his romance with Princess Diana to the tabloid press, seems keen to keep a low profile.

But Peter Hiscock, who runs the village post office, served Hewitt when he popped in for a book of stamps.

He said: "It was a flying visit. I didn't even realise who he was until someone in the queue pointed it out after he had gone. That came as rather a shock." A spokesman for The Bell Hotel, in Church Street, said Hewitt enjoyed an occasional drink there.

Hewitt, who also owns a property near Ms Simon in London, has been lined up for a speaking slot at the Oxford Union this term. He will talk about his time as an officer in the Gulf War and his treatment by the press. A date has not been set.