Michael Jackson's Desire to Marry Princess Diana Sparked Jealousy in Charles, Former Bodyguard Claims

While the women had eyes for Michael Jackson, the 'King of Pop' was reportedly head over heels in love with Princess Diana. Of course, he was aware that he couldn't get her at the time because she was married to Prince Charles, but his love was genuine, so much so that he nevertheless wished to wed the royal as revealed by his former bodyguard. 

Jackson allegedly told his friends about Charles' 'jealousy' and how the future king saw him as a 'threat' to his marriage. In a taped conversation, the Thriller singer told his good friend and confidant, Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, "I loved her [Diana] very much. She was my type, for sure." Furthermore, his former bodyguard, Matt Fiddes, added that he spent thousands of pounds in making late-night calls to the princess at Kensington Palace. Fiddes told 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." 

The bodyguard continued, "He felt she was the only person in the world who could understand his life in terms [of] not being able to go anywhere, the media stories that got out of hand, the intrusion into the private life...having no privacy whatsoever, and the children being hounded. 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 truth be told." He claimed that Diana and Jackson connected over the "tremendous amount of pain they suffered due to the role they were in."

Although they officially only met once, Jackson felt a deep connection to the late princess and was completely smitten. He selected Martin Bashir for his now infamous 2003 documentary Living with Michael because he worked with Diana for her controversial 1995 interview on the BBC series Panorama. Jackson, on one occasion, spoke about his first meeting with Diana at a London concert and revealed he refused to play the song Dirty Diana out of respect. He shared that when they finally spoke, she encouraged him to play the song just as Charles came over and asked what she said. The princess allegedly replied, “Nothing.”

Much like Diana who was stuck in a loveless marriage as Charles had an affair with now Queen Consort Camilla Parker Bowles, Jackson too had been unlucky with love. Although life couldn't bring them two together (not romantically at least), Jackson talked about her after he attended a memorial ceremony at St James Church in LA in the aftermath of the 1997 car crash. A man of few words, he briefly discussed Diana with reporters outside the church. "Diana was my friend. She is no longer here. I love her." In a separate statement, he added, "The sudden loss of Diana, Princess of Wales, is one of the greatest tragedies of the millennium. She was a friend to the world," and later canceled concerts in tribute.

In an interview with ABC News correspondent, Barbara Walters, Jackson recalled his reaction when he came to know of Diana's death. He said, "I woke up, and my doctor gave me the news. And I fell back down in grief, and I started to cry. The pain I felt...it was inner pain in my stomach and my chest." Fiddes opined that had they been married, they'd have made the "perfect couple." "He was completely devastated when she died. Michael would always talk about her, and he learned a lot from her death."