

See the snaps and some of some of the moves recreated by Sleep in the CBS clip below.Īt one point, Sleep even carried Diana across the stage.

While sadly no video exists of this undoubtedly memorable performance, several photos do. (She was certainly living in an "uptown world," no?) The lyrics present an especially interesting parallel to Diana's royal troubles and affairs. "Uptown Girl" had reached number one in the United Kingdom in 1983 and staying atop the charts for five whole weeks, making it second biggest-selling single of the year. Sleep came up with the moves - including bits of jazz, ballet and even a kickline - but the music choice came from the princess. (At 5 feet and 11 inches, Diana towered over the 5-foot, 2-inch ballet dancer.) "But I soon realised she had a good sense of humour, and that we could have some fun with our height difference." "My first thought was, she’s too tall to dance with me," Sleep said in The Guardian.
#Princess diana uptown girl video archive
2 flowed from her fingertips, much to the surprise of the room.Īfter the performance, the broadcaster at the time recalled, “She almost ran for cover, clearly embarrassed at her musical debut.Photo credit: Princess Diana Archive - Getty Images After some persuasion, the princess walked over to the keys and a segment from Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. Diana's early death in 1997 devasted the British royal family and.

Princess Diana, also called the People's Princess, is remembered fondly worldwide for her impeccable fashion style, kind-hearted manner, and charity work. Moments later, Diana was asked if she might tickle the ivories. Princess Diana's Unexpected Dance Performance To ‘Uptown Girl’ Left The Audience Speechless. Charles bumped into an old friend who knew he once played the cello, and he agreed to play a few notes. It happened during a royal tour to Australia, when Charles and Diana were visiting a school. She is going to perform She wears a slinky white dress and begins dancing seductively to Billy Joels Uptown Girl. Read more: Moving moment ballerina with Alzheimer’s remembers Swan Lake >Įmma Corrin and Jay Webb reenact Diana and Sleep’s dance scene.ĭiana was an accomplished pianist, as demonstrated by the time (watch below) she shocked a room of young musicians by rattling off a passage of Rachmaninov. ”Īfter marrying Charles, Diana became a patron of the English National Ballet, supporting the company both as a private dancer and through fundraising, and attending a number of performances. “She had been taking dance classes somewhere off the Talgarth Road. “She was very good and very musical,” Sleep says, recalling how Diana prepared for her on-stage appearance in 1985. As a child, she took ballet and tap lessons.

The Crown: Charles' reaction to Diana's surprise duet.Īs Sleep attested to, ballet was one of Diana’s great loves. His Royal Highness has said he will not be watching the show. It is also unclear whether the performance was actually for Charles’s birthday, being a month earlier in real life.įriends of HRH The Prince of Wales have reportedly criticised the new season for “dragging his name through the mud”. The previous year, they had actually performed a ‘bit’ together. But Sleep told her that he believed Charles was offended at having been left out. His reaction was interpreted, Brown says, as “frigid disapproval of Diana’s lapse in royal etiquette”. Afterwards, he becomes cold, asking his wife “What were you thinking?” and calling the surprise a “grotesque, mortifying display”.Īccording to royal biographer Tina Brown, despite eight curtain calls from the audience, Charles did not stand. As soon as Diana makes her surprises appearance on stage, Charles is tense. The episode in question starts with the suggestion that Charles feels embarrassed, and perhaps a little envious, of the press attention given to Diana.ĭuring the scene, he appears sullen and deeply focused on the music.
