Did Princess Diana Spend a Night Out in Drag With Freddie Mercury?

After Princess Diana married the future King Charles III in 1981, the couple moved into a large apartment at Kensington Palace, where Diana would remain even after they separated a decade later. Though the palace was in the middle of London, it is an isolated oasis surrounded by gardens. Still, the princess took advantage of city living and was apparently known to exit the palace grounds in disguise in order to enjoy nearby bars and hot spots, especially during the years after her divorce.

In his new book, Dianaworld: An Obsession, author Edward White retells a vivid story of the princess’s escapades, when she joined the actress and TV presenter Cleo Rocos on a journey to the Royal Vauxhall Tavern, a famous London gay bar in the late 1980s. In her memoir, Rocos writes that she, Diana, and Freddie Mercury were at the apartment of TV host Kenny Everett, watching Golden Girls on TV when the princess had an idea.

“At some point in the evening, Rocos claims, Diana persuaded them to take her to the Royal Vauxhall Tavern, a place that Everett warned was ‘not for you . . . full of hairy gay men.’ Diana was insistent, however, so Everett helped her disguise herself in male drag,” White writes, in an excerpt that appeared in People.

According to Rocos, Diana’s costume included aviator sunglasses, a leather cap, and army jacket. “It seemed to work,” White writes. “They stayed for one drink and left. Diana returned to Kensington Palace and sent back Everett’s clothes the following day.”

In his book, which dives into the worldwide fascination with Princess Diana and how it has lasted long after her death, White admits that the story seems a bit “far-fetched.” But the legend has had a fascinating afterlife, eventually becoming the subject of Desmond O’Connor’s cabaret musical Royal Vauxhall, which premiered at the Edinburgh Fringe Fest in 2016. “Irrespective of its veracity, the story of Diana in drag at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern has been taken up as an illustration of her connection with the gay community and a metaphor for her own search for a family in which she felt truly accepted,” White adds. Along with her activism with AIDS patients, Diana’s accepting attitude meant that she gained the status of gay icon in life and in death.

Though it’s unclear if Diana and Mercury really spent a night on the town together before his death in 1991, we know they were in the same place on one night. In 1985, both were present at the Live Aid concert in Wembley Stadium, which brought together some of the world’s biggest pop stars to raise awareness about world hunger. Together, Diana and Charles opened the concert, and Queen was on the night’s list of performers. According to Mark Blake’s 2011 book Is This the Real Life?: The Untold Story of Queen, the prince and princess spent the night sitting in front of the band and their entourage.