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Princess Diana’s dance partner, Wayne Sleep, has revealed that the late royal would be doing the dishes in his London flat to “take a break” from his everyday life.
The 74-year-old choreographer, originally from Plymouth, appeared on BBC Radio 3’s Private Passions, where he discussed his friendship with the mother of two.
In 1985, the couple performed a routine for Billy Joel’s Uptown Girl during a charity gala at the Royal Opera House in London to commemorate King Charles’ 37th birthday.
Having struck up a friendship during rehearsals, Wayne says he kept in touch with Princess Diana long after her performance and was enthused by her “wit”.
He told host Michael Berkeley: “Every time we met again, the shoes would come off in my apartment, she would do the dishes, it was funny, and we’d laugh.”
Princess Diana and Wayne Sleep pictured performing their routine for Uptown Girl at the Royal Opera House in London in December 1985.
“I think she didn’t come to me as much because of the serious part that was going on in her life at the time, and things were moving so fast there, I think she just came to me for a break.”
During the radio segment, Wayne said that he met Diana at a small dance studio in the 1980s, and they became fast friends.
At first, Wayne says that he wasn’t sure how they could make the dance work due to Diana’s 5-foot-10 height.
Describing how they had a similar sense of humor, Wayne said Diana called him a “naughty boy” after he confessed to having a “very late night” during their first morning meeting.
Elsewhere in the interview, the dancer, who was Lord Principal of the Royal Ballet, discussed the lengths they went to keep his performance a secret.
In addition to practicing their routine in several different locations, the pair kept the surprise within a tight circle of people.
Explaining how Diana’s bridesmaid Anne Beckwith-Smith and her trainer Alan were in on the secret, Wayne said people in the know had concerns about how it would play out.
He added: “Everyone was scared for their lives or their jobs… if we had done a funny little routine that was disgusting.”
However, the professional said it was clear Diana had a talent for dancing from the early days of her rehearsals, as the princess had studied ballet as a child.
The 74-year-old choreographer appeared on BBC Radio 3’s Private Passions, where he discussed his friendship with the mother of two.
Elsewhere in the interview, Wayne says he gave Diana a gentle “nudge” to bow to King Charles in the royal box. The couple pictured during their tour of Australia in 1985.
Reflecting on the night of the performance itself, Wayne says it was drastically different from how it was presented in season four of The Crown.
While the Netflix series showed the crowd cheering as Diana, played by Emma Corrin, walked onto the stage, Wayne says he could hear all 2,500 audience members gasping.
However, he says the crowds reached that level of excitement later, resulting in the couple being drawn in by eight curtain calls.
In previous interviews, Wayne said that people originally assumed Diana was a lookalike when she took the stage.
As a result, Wayne says that Diana wrote to him days later saying that she could now appreciate the ‘buzz’ that comes from the live performance.
The couple received eight curtain calls after their performance and Wayne says Diana wrote to him afterwards to talk about the ‘buzz’ she felt.
Sleep’s 1985 Uptown Girl ball with Princess Diana was recreated in the fourth season of The Crown, above, with Jay Webb playing the flamboyant star escort to the princess, played by Emma Corrin.
Furthermore, the dancer claims that he even gave Diana a gentle push so that she curtsied to her husband, who was sitting in the royal box.
As they left the stage, Wayne claims that Diana turned to him jokingly, saying, “You won’t get your OBE like that!”
Last week, Wayne told the Daily Mail that Princess Diana would have loved The Crown’s depiction of her life and marriage.
He said: ‘Diana would have absolutely loved it. She doesn’t forgive anyone! Everyone gets the tickets from her.
However, Princess Diana wasn’t the only royal who liked to get caught up in some chores.
Appearing on Vicky Pattison’s The Secret podcast in December 2020, former royal butler Paul Burrell said the Queen always liked helping with the dishes at Balmoral.
He explained: ‘[The Queen] he likes to go on a picnic, but the food is prepared.
‘She likes to wash. She puts the marigolds on and when she goes out to the Balmoral log cabin she finds herself there with the marigolds on and she washes herself and the lady-in-waiting dries herself.