celebrity friendships can get real
unpredictable thank martha stewart and
snoop dogg but there was more than shock
value to the friendship between freddie
mercury and princess diana keep watching
to learn all about it
freddie mercury icon rocker and front
man for queen was undeniably a landmark
recording artist in the 70s and 80s his
band continues to be one of the most
famous musical acts to hail from the uk
but as freddie rose to international
notoriety throughout the 1980s a young
woman named diana spencer was being
courted by the heir to the british
throne she would eventually become the
globally loved figure we know today one
who changed the world through her
dedication to humanitarian causes
both she and mercury are now remembered
as british icons leaving behind
unmatchable legacies it might come as a
surprise though to learn that the two
knew each other well though not an
entertainer herself princess diana was
well versed in celebrity culture
befriended quite a few artists one of
those people would be freddie mercury
though the two cultivated a deep
friendship photos of them together have
sadly never surfaced for this reason it
is unclear exactly when freddie mercury
and princess diana met it is very likely
that their first opportunity to cross
paths would have been after diana's
marriage to the prince when she started
participating in royal tours sometime in
the early to mid 80s diana wed charles
on july 29 1981 just a year after queen
earned their second billboard number one
placement with another one bites the
dust at that point they were already a
globally famous band in their prime
meanwhile princess diana would have been
navigating the early and disorienting
path to fame perhaps her eagerness to
feel confident in her role drew her to
the endlessly charismatic mercury in
1985 freddie mercury and queen came back
together after a long hiatus to perform
for the live aid charity concert
princess diana also appeared at the
global event the performances by queen
that day are some of their most
memorable and princess diana got a
proverbial front row seat to see it all
it's unclear if this was the event where
the two met or if they already knew one
another from their rarefied and
overlapping social circles nonetheless
diana a young person who was already
deeply passionate about british pop
music was witness to freddie mercury's
unforgettable stage presence so how
close did diana and freddie get well
there are different definitions of
friendship of course but it's known that
diana let freddy help her don an
elaborate disguise the way the legend
tells it freddie mercury once helped
sneak the princess into a gay bar in
south london british comedy actress cleo
rockos revealed the event in her 2013
memoir the power of positive drinking
according to out magazine rakos claims
that one night she freddie mercury and
the princess were all hanging out with
the british comedy actor kenny everett
they had all been drinking and watching
episodes of the golden girls on mute
making up their own lines as it went
along mercury everett and rockos were
just having too much fun and they didn't
want the night to end the plan was to
continue their get-together at a gay bar
called royal vauxhall tavern but they
were both shocked when diana requested
to tag along she was a member of the
royal family after all and she was going
to be followed regardless hers was quite
possibly the most recognized face in the
uk so mercury cooked up a scheme to
disguise her dressing diana up in male
drag somehow the plot worked out
magazine quotes rakhas as remembering
that the princess did look like a
beautiful young man diana was able to
get into the historic club unrecognized
and even bought a few drinks during her
visit sadly those happy golden days
would become more infrequent for freddy
and diana as the 1980s came to a close
in 1987 freddie mercury was diagnosed
with aids then a disease shrouded in
mystery and with a frightening prognosis
ultimately the condition led to him
contracting bronchial pneumonia which
sadly claimed his life freddie mercury
died at the age of 45 on november 24th
1991. when mercury learned that he had
aids he kept the information private he
only announced it in a public statement
one day before his death princess diana
was one of the first public voices to
challenge the stigma around aids well i
think the princess actually helped get
that message across by the fact that she
wasn't wearing gloves
and to me the fact that she shook hands
with the patients from the year of
freddie's diagnosis to the year of her
untimely death in 1997 diana changed the
national conversation around the disease
by spending quality time with those
affected and doing her own significant
research maybe some of her infinite
compassion was inspired by her favorite
shooting star
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