Michael Jackson wanted to marry Princess Diana and believed Charles was jealous of them: "She was my..."
Michael Jackson's life was far from ordinary. From captivating millions with his music to navigating a highly controversial personal life, the King of Pop always grabbed major headlines. However, no one was ready when it was revealed that Jackson allegedly wanted to marry Princess Diana. Furthermore, if reports are to be believed, he also suspected that Prince Charles viewed him as a threat.
For the uninitiated, Princess Diana and Jackson formed a strong friendship despite their different backgrounds. The duo bonded instantly at their only in-person meeting on July 16, 1988, during his 'Bad' tour at Wembley Stadium, as per Style. Princess Diana, a longtime fan of Jackson, was said to have frequently listened to 'Thriller' and 'Bad' before the concert. The singer was so smitten with Diana that he reportedly harbored hopes of marrying her, believing she was his ideal partner.
Not only that, Jackson also suspected that King Charles viewed him as a "threat" and was jealous of their connection, as per The Mirror. In a recorded conversation with his former friend and confidante, Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, Jackson spoke about his admiration for the late princess, saying, "I loved her very much. She was my type, for sure." Allegedly, Jackson and the princess formed a deep friendship, spending hours talking late at night, bonded by their shared struggles with fame and media scrutiny.
Jackson’s former bodyguard, Matt Fiddes, claimed that the singer was deeply in love with Princess Diana and even wanted to marry her. Fiddes shared that Jackson spent thousands of pounds on late-night calls to Princess at Kensington Palace, as per the Daily Star. "Michael told me he loved her, and he was in love with her, and he wanted to marry her. He told me she was his ideal wife," Fiddes revealed. "He felt an immediate bond with her as soon as they met. They were both very shy individuals, and he loved her; he wanted to marry her."
Jackson’s former bodyguard, Matt Fiddes, explained, "He felt she was the only person in the world who could understand his life in terms of not being able to go anywhere and the media stories that got out of hand." Fiddes further said, "The intrusion into the private life, having no privacy whatsoever, the children being hounded. They both had this tremendous amount of pain they suffered due to the role they were in." Jackson was devastated when Princess died in a car crash in 1997, canceling multiple concerts in his grief.
Notably, in a 1997 interview with Barbara Walters, Jackson recalled how he initially removed 'Dirty Diana' from his concert setlist out of respect for Princess Diana, only for her to insist he keep it. "Are you going to do Dirty Princess Diana?" he revealed the princess had asked him, as per Smooth Radio. "So I said, 'No, I took it out of the show because of you.' She said, 'No! I want you to do it. Do it. Do the song.'" After the lineup, Jackson and Princess Diana joined Prince Charles for a photocall, where Jackson gifted the royals miniature Bad jackets for William and Harry, along with a platinum disc wall hanging.