Why King Charles 'Put a Stop' to Prince Harry and William Meeting Michael Jackson

In 2002, on the fifth death anniversary of Princess Diana, the King of Pop, Michael Jackson, was keen to meet Prince William and Harry as he shared a close bond with their mum. However, King Charles III allegedly prevented the meet-up fearing fresh controversy given Diana’s past friendship with Jackson. Matt Fiddes, Jackson's former bodyguard, shared the story during a podcast interview with host James English earlier this year.

As reported by the Mirror, Fiddes revealed, "Prince Harry and Prince William wanted to meet Michael. Obviously, they knew their mum was friends with Michael Jackson – she used to go to the Wembley concerts during the ‘Bad' era and so on. We set it up, for Michael to meet them, but King Charles…we were told he had put a stop to it.” He claimed they received an official letter from the palace stating that neither William nor Harry was available. The singer, who was in London to meet the young royals, was also promised an honorary knighthood by 'certain government officials' and close confidants of the royal family. Jackson had hoped that meeting the royals in the House of Lords would seal the deal.

Charles' refusal to let his sons meet the legendary singer can be attributed to the fact that Jackson's close bond with Diana had previously created friction when they were married. Fiddes explained, “He [Jackson] used to talk about Diana a lot – he said that she was his ideal wife. They spent hours on the phone…she used to ring all the time and he used to ring her all the time. But Prince Charles, King Charles now, tried to put an end to it a lot.” 

In a Good Morning Britain appearance, Prince, Jackson's son, also recalled his dad's unique bond with Diana. He shared that Diana just wanted to be a good person and his father appreciated her devotion and dedication to being a good mother. Jackson, who wanted to be a wonderful father and a good person himself, resonated with her. Diana and the singer first crossed paths backstage at Wembley Stadium on July 16, 1988, just before the Thriller star took the stage to perform for the crowd. As reported by The Independent, in a 1997 interview with Barbara Walters, Jackson revealed that he deliberately omitted his hit song Dirty Diana from his setlist out of respect for the Princess of Wales.

Reflecting on how the meet-up would have helped the young royals, Fiddes shared that Harry, in particular, was a big fan of Jackson. “I met him at Cheltenham racecourse. He said, 'You’ve got to introduce me to Michael, I want to find out a bit more about my mum.'” Diana and Jackson, two of the most well-known figures in the late 1980s, allegedly grew close over their common experience of living under constant media scrutiny.