Princess Diana dressed in male drag to hit a gay bar with Freddie Mercury, new biography reveals

Princess Diana wasn’t dubbed the People’s Princess just for her royal status. She was also a woman who, like the rest of us, just wanted to have a little fun — and what’s fun without Freddie Mercury by her side?

In an exclusive excerpt from Dianaworld: An Obsession, an exploded biography of the former Princess of Wales, author Edward White unveils untold stories about Diana, sourced from various insiders.

One of the most surprising anecdotes reveals that Diana “took a trip to one of London’s most famous gay bars,” where she was joined by her friend and Queen frontman Freddie Mercury, along with other companions. The wild night was recounted by actress Cleo Rocos and is said to have occurred in the 1980s.

Rocos recalled that it was Diana’s idea to visit the Royal Vauxhall Tavern, despite warnings from English DJ Kenny Everett, who cautioned the princess that it was “not for you… full of hairy gay men.”

But Diana was insistent.

The group eventually agreed — but only with one condition. The excerpt narrates:

“Diana was insistent, however, so Everett helped her disguise herself in male drag: ‘a camouflage army jacket, hair tucked up into a leather cap and dark aviator sunglasses. Scrutinizing her in the half-­light we decided that the most famous icon of the modern world might just ... JUST, pass for a rather eccentrically dressed gay male model.'"

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Rocos went on:

“It was fabulously outrageous and so bizarrely exciting... no one, absolutely no one, recognised Diana.”

She continued, saying that the group only stayed for one drink before Diana returned to Kensington Palace. The next day, the princess returned Everett’s clothes.

Dianaworld: An Obsession was released on April 29, 2025.

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Not the first time? Princess Diana reportedly disguised herself in public on multiple occasions

Whether or not Princess Diana's trip to a London gay bar is a fact, one thing is certain: she often disguised herself in public.

In the late 90s, she would slip under the radar at a jazz bar, unrecognizable with glasses and a wig, accompanied by her lover Hasnat Khan.

Paul Burrell, her butler, recalled her incognito escapades to the New York Post, revealing that he was tasked with purchasing non-prescription lenses and wigs from a department store on Oxford Street. Burrell noted:

“The disguise was her ticket to normality and freedom.”

Psychic healer Simone Simmons, a close friend of the Princess, shared in the documentary Diana: The Woman Inside (2017) that Diana often went out disguised and frequently wore wigs to avoid being recognized. She recalled:

“In spite of the media putting her in the spotlight, she put on her wig, wore what she wanted, came for walks on Hampstead Heath, went to the charity shop with me in Camden High Street.”

Simmons also shared an amusing story of being fooled by Diana, which left Princes William and Harry in fits of laughter:

“The boys just could not stop laughing... then she said, ‘I fooled you!’”