Princess Diana and Michael Jackson only met once, but the encounter left a lasting impression on both of them. On July 16, 1988, the two met when, along with her then-husband Prince Charles, Diana attended Jackson’s concert at Wembley Stadium for the Bad tour. Diana had been a huge Jackson fan for years (she reportedly listened to Thriller and Bad repeatedly). Jackson donated £150,000 to the youth-oriented Prince’s Trust charity at the time and another $100,000 to the children’s charity of London’s Great Ormand Street Hospital.
Jackson, who frequently spoke of Diana throughout his life, had decided to remove the song “Dirty Diana” from the concert’s setlist before meeting the Princess for the first time. In his opinion, performing a track about a rock groupie in front of a member of royalty would be inappropriate. Diana asked him not to exclude the song when she was informed of his decision, as it is one of her favorites.
Jackson revealed what Diana said to him about the song in an Interview.
She said ‘No! I want you to do it. Do it. Do the song.
Princess Diana reportedly danced during the concert as Prince Charles sat. Jackson also gifted the couple two miniature tour jackets for their sons, Princes William and Harry. Despite only meeting face-to-face once in their lives, Michael and Diana formed a strong friendship from that day on.
Jackson said:
She was extremely close by phone… I was still married to Lisa Marie [Presley]. Diana woke me up usually late at night… mostly after three in the morning! And then she held me for hours on the telephone. She talked about children, the press.
