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Backstage before the concert, the two were introduced. Michael later recalled feeling deeply nervous about meeting Diana. Despite performing for massive crowds around the world, the idea of greeting a princess left him tense. In photographs from that evening, there is a visible stiffness in his posture and a kind of cautious politeness between them.
But Diana surprised him.
During their conversation before the concert, she reportedly asked whether he would be performing “Dirty Diana.” When he explained that he had taken it out of the show in her honor, she encouraged him to put it back in. She wanted him to perform the full concert as intended. With her approval, Jackson restored the song to the setlist and performed it that night.
That single meeting may have been brief, but it appears to have left a lasting impression on both of them.
In later interviews, Jackson spoke warmly about Diana. He described her as kind and gracious, someone who understood the pressures of public life in a way few others could. According to Jackson, they maintained contact by phone in the years that followed. He claimed that Diana would sometimes call late at night and that they spoke at length about their children and the challenges of media intrusion.
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