A photo of Princess Diana and David Bowie grinning side by side was spotted recently at a London concert, sparking questions about why it was never made public before. The image was taken in 1987 at a charity concert at Wembley Stadium but was hidden by the palace only seconds after being taken.
Back then, Princess Diana was only 25 years old and already being photographed worldwide. Because David Bowie was about to perform, everyone backstage was lively with excitement that night. The match was set up by promoter Harvey Goldsmith and musician Bowie’s regular collaborator Denis O’Regan was there to photograph the event. O’Regan says that Diana asked Bowie if he would mind having their picture taken together. Bowie enjoyed the opportunity and the now famous photo was taken.
The next day, the palace made a move to stop the protests. A request was received from the person in the photos: they did not want the photo to be published. Welp, the photo wasn’t inappropriate in terms of either of them looking out of place. It wasn’t the rock star that kept me watching.
Major James Hewitt was part of the story guiding Diana’s evening in a separate role. At the time, there were rumors about Diana and Hewitt dating, yet no one knew for sure until long after. Because the palace wanted to keep the royal image beyond taint, they took steps to ensure the photo could not start rumors by mistake.
O’Regan says that Hewitt was active, but managed not to let anyone see him during the festivities that night. Since nobody knew Matthew at that time, I didn’t picture him and the news about their relationship hadn’t broken yet. The palace decided to act beforehand because Diana was seen at the event with Hewitt, despite his absence from the photo.
Back in the ’70s, O’Regan refused to publish the photograph, possibly out of loyalty to both Diana and Bowie and he still agrees with his decision today. Not speaking about this helped protect a small part of Diana’s difficult royal life under public attention.
Dissatisfaction with Diana’s outfit also came from the royal family. Wearing leather pants the night formed a modern and imposing look to the world which unfortunately did not sit well with the palace. In her book, she remembered being disapproved of for her independetnce, a sign of the constant challenge between her choices and what royal custom demanded.
Because the photo appeared, it’s clear this wasn’t simply a lost image of two famous figures; it was an image meant to be kept secret to uphold a certain tale.