Michael Jackson and Princess Diana met only once, but the encounter had a profound effect on both of them.
Joining a line-up backstage at Wembley Stadium on July 16, 1988, superstar Michael Jackson shifts on his feet and looks nervous.The ‘Thriller’ singer was not only about to meet the most famous woman in the world, but also perform in front of royalty and in front of thousands of fans.Yet the tables are turned as a shy Princess Diana makes her way along the line-up and can be seen blushing as she comes face-to-face with the King of Pop.
The mother of two was in fact a huge fan of the star, often listening to ‘Thriller’ and ‘Bad’ on repeat, and Michael Jackson later revealed she even gave him a song request that evening.
Speaking to Barbara Walters in 1997, Michael recalled he had left ‘Dirty Diana’ out of the show – a song about a wild groupie – to make the gig more appropriate for royalty, but the Princess immediately put a stop to it.
“Are you going to do Dirty Diana?” he revealed the Princess asked.
“So I said, ‘No, I took it out of the show because of you.’ She said ‘No! I want you to do it. Do it. Do the song.’”
After the line-up Michael and a bashful Princess Diana joined Prince Charles for a photocall where the singer gifted the royals miniature Bad jackets for William and Harry and a platinum disc wall hanging.
While it was the only time Michael and Diana would ever meet face-to-face in their lifetimes, from that day in 1988 onwards a strong friendship between the star and Princess started to form.
