Why Princess Diana’s Photo With David Bowie Was Buried For Years

Nevertheless, the rationale it stayed hidden for many years is much more fascinating than the picture itself.

Backstage at Bowie’s 1987 Glass Spider live performance at Wembley Stadium, a quiet but charming second unfolded.

Photographer Denis O’Regan took a photograph that remained unseen for practically 4 a long time. The snapshot confirmed Princess Diana smiling beside Bowie. It was a uncommon, candid picture of two of essentially the most recognizable figures on the earth, captured simply earlier than the musician took the stage.

O’Regan, who labored with Bowie in the course of the tour, was together with his father and brother within the crowd when he heard {that a} very particular visitor was on her means.

“I used to be working with David on the Glass Spider live performance,” he recalled in a current interview with the Daily Mail. “I used to be serving to my father and brother discover a good place to observe once I was advised Diana was coming backstage.”

Music promoter Harvey Goldsmith organized the assembly, introducing the late Princess of Wales to the music legend. When O’Regan requested if he may take a photograph, Goldsmith merely advised him to ask Diana herself.

The Princess, ever humble, hesitated. “Would he even need a image with me?” she requested shyly. O’Regan reassured her: “I believe he would.”

The subsequent day, O’Regan acquired a name from the palace requesting that the picture not be revealed. At first look, it appeared the royal aides had been attempting to guard Diana’s picture by limiting pictures with celebrities. Nevertheless, the actual cause was way more private and secret.

Diana had attended the live performance with Military Main James Hewitt, who was, on the time, her lover. Their five-year affair, which started in 1986, did not change into public data till years later. In 1987, their relationship was nonetheless a intently guarded secret.

“James saved his distance from photographers all evening to keep away from being photographed with Diana,” O’Regan mentioned. “On the time, I had no thought who he was. There was no buzz or hypothesis about him but, so I didn’t even suppose to {photograph} him.”

Nonetheless, the palace was cautious. Any proof of Diana’s outings with Hewitt, particularly at such a high-profile occasion, may spark a scandal. Therefore, to keep away from any likelihood of publicity, they quietly requested O’Regan to not launch the pictures.

The pictures weren’t the one factor that caught the eye of royal aides. Diana’s outfit alternative that evening, a pair of black leather-based trousers, additionally made waves.

To the typical concertgoer, her look was fashionable and enjoyable. Nevertheless, the ensemble raised quite a lot of eyebrows behind palace partitions.

In “Diana: Her True Story,” writer Andrew Morton revealed that the Princess acquired “slapped wrists” for the daring outfit.

Diana later admitted she didn’t give the look a lot thought. “I went in leather-based trousers, which I believed was the correct factor to do,” she mentioned. “Utterly placing out of thoughts that I used to be the long run Queen, and future Queens don’t put on leather-based like that in public.”

Morton defined that Diana was attempting to be extra relatable and enjoyable, like her sister-in-law, Sarah Ferguson. However the palace courtiers weren’t amused. “As soon as once more, she was attempting to behave like Fergie,” he wrote, “however courtiers didn’t really feel her attire was appropriate for a future Queen.”

Nonetheless, the outfit turned an iconic a part of her model legacy and one other instance of how Diana balanced her royal duties along with her need to be her personal individual.

Although the 1987 picture has solely now surfaced, it wasn’t the one time Diana and Bowie interacted.

Their first identified assembly occurred in 1985 in the course of the historic Reside Assist live performance at Wembley Stadium.

Two years later, their transient however heat backstage assembly added one other chapter to their connection.

In 1993, Princess Diana as soon as once more supported Bowie by attending his Live performance of Hope. The occasion was held to boost cash and consciousness for AIDS charities, a trigger that she championed passionately all through her life.