Nearly 40 years later, unseen photos of Princess Diana with music icon David Bowie have come to light. The pictures remained hidden for decades to allegedly avoid stirring controversy back then.
The pictures were taken backstage during Bowie’s 1987 concert at Wembley by photographer Denis O’Regan. He said legendary promoter Harvey Goldsmith helped arrange the meeting between Diana and Bowie.
When Denis asked Diana for a picture, she shyly wondered if Bowie would agree. Denis assured her, and the moment was captured.
However, the Royal Palace requested the photos not be made public at that time. The reason wasn’t the stars in the frame, but who was just out of it.
According to MailOnline, it was Army Major James Hewitt, whom Diana was secretly dating, as per rumours. Their rumoured affair was from 1986 to 1991. However, they were never photographed.
During her BBC Panorama interview in 1995, Lady Diana spoke about her affair in 1995. She married Prince Charles in 1981 and divorced in 1996.
One of Denis’ pictures of Diana and Bowie will feature in his new book David Bowie by Denis, which shares memories of photographing Bowie from 1974 to 1994. Denis also worked with music legends like Freddie Mercury, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Bob Marley.
Though he missed a chance to capture Diana and Hewitt together, Denis has no regrets.
“No one knew who he was, so I had no reason to picture him, and the word wasn’t out yet about their relationship,” he told MailOnline.
The concert night is also mentioned in Andrew Morton’s famous book Diana: Her True Story, which confirms Diana was at Wembley with friends.
Princess Diana told Morton that she had worn leather trousers to the event, thinking it was trendy and her age-appropriate. But, palace didn’t approve it, saying it wasn’t fit for a future queen.
Princess Diana’s boyfriends
Princess Diana was linked to several men during and after her marriage. She was believed to be deeply in love with Barry Mannakee, her former bodyguard. He died in a bike crash in 1987.
In 1989, James Gilbey was heard calling her by a romantic pet name in leaked phone calls. She later had an affair with art dealer Oliver Hoare, which ended when he chose not to leave his wife.
In 1995, she briefly dated rugby player Will Carling. Her longest post-divorce relationship was with heart surgeon Hasnat Khan, whom she called “Mr Wonderful”. Their two-year relationship ended in 1997.
Diana’s final romance was with Dodi Al Fayed. They died together in a Paris car crash.
There were also rumours about her with John F. Kennedy Jr. and singer Bryan Adams, though both were denied.
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