Princess Diana Once Broke Royal Protocol for ’80s Music Legend

Princess Diana was known to have many famous friends, such as Elton John and Liza Minnelli, and one ’80s music legend recently revealed that she once broke royal protocol for them. During an appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show in February, Culture Club singer Boy George — real name George Alan O’Dowd — opened up about his introduction to the late British icon, and shared how she went out of her way to show him kindness.

“The first time I met her, I was asked to be in a line up to meet her at some charity event and then when the palace official checked the list, I wasn’t on it, so they pushed me out of the [line],’ Boy George told Barrymore. “I went over to the bar pretty embarrassed thinking, ‘Oh my God. I can’t believe I humiliated myself.’ And I was standing in that line and [Diana] broke protocol and came over and spoke to me, and she was very sweet.”

George went on to reveal that he confessed to Diana that he was not really fond of the British royal family, but that his mother, Dinah, was. Diana then spent time talking to George’s mom, the singer shared. “She basically spent 20 minutes talking to my mum, that was what made me fall madly in love with her, because I said, ‘I’m actually not really into the royal family but my mum loves you. Will you meet her?’ She met my mum for 20 minutes and was adorable.” 

Diana and King Charles III — then Prince Charles — wed in 1981 and divorced in 1996. They shared two children: Prince William and Prince Harry. Diana died the following year — on Aug. 31, 1997 — when a car she was traveling in crashed in the Pont de l’Alma tunnel in Paris.