Princess Diana 'disguised herself in male drag' to sneak into gay bar for night out with Freddie Mercury
29 April 2025, 22:46 | Updated: 30 April 2025, 02:27
Princess Diana once disguised herself as a ‘rather eccentrically dressed gay male model’ to sneak into a gay bar for a night out with Queen frontman Freddie Mercury, according to a new biography.
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The Princess of Wales was reportedly warned that the bar was “not for you… full of hairy gay men”, but insisted on entering the venue with her friends.
She had been out with actress Cleo Rocos, Radio personality Kenny Everett, and iconic Queen singer Freddie Mercury, according to a new biography named ‘Dianaworld: An Obsession’, by author Edward White.
White reveals that Diana, who lost her life in a car crash in a Paris tunnel 1997 at 36 years old, “took a trip to one of London’s most famous gay bars”.
The bar in question was the Royal Vauxhall Tavern, south London’s oldest surviving gay entertainment venue housed in a Grade II listed building.
The story had originally been recounted by Cleo Rocos in her memoirs, describing how Diana was adamant to visit the venue.
“At some point in the evening, Rocos claims, Diana persuaded them to take her to the Royal Vauxhall Tavern, a place that Everett warned was ‘not for you … full of hairy gay men,'” White wrote.
The book continues: “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.”
The crowd in the bar apparently didn’t notice the well-known Princess, as they were too focused on Rocos, Everett and Mercury.
The plan “seemed to work,” according to the book, which quotes Rocos as saying “It was fabulously outrageous and so bizarrely exciting …no one, absolutely no one, recognised Diana.”
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The group stayed for one drink at the venue before leaving. Diana reportedly returned to Kensington Palace, and sent Everett his clothes the following day.
Admitting that the “story sounds far-fetched,” White highlighted that “there are other, slightly less fantastical tales about Diana disguising herself on nights out, such as when she accompanied Hasnat Khan to Ronnie Scott’s jazz bar in Soho, the princess obscuring her true self beneath a wig and glasses.”
The author concludes by highlighting the late Princess’ relationship to the gay community, and to her own family.
“The story of Diana in drag at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern has been taken up as an illustration of her connection with the gay community and a metaphor for her own search for a family in which she felt truly accepted,” he wrote.
