When Princess Diana married Prince Charles at London's St. Paul's Cathedral in 1981, it was the wedding of the century. But once the couple separated in 1992, the People's Princess suddenly became the most eligible single woman in the world. She was so in demand, in fact, that two of Hollywood's biggest stars of the '90s almost came to blows over the royal.
In author Edward White's new book Dianaworld: An Obsession, he details the story as told by none other than Elton John.
"Elton John had numerous opportunities to witness what he terms 'the Diana Effect,' the phenomenon whereby straight men 'seemed to completely lose their minds in her presence,'" White wrote. He continued that one particularly memorable "incident" took place "at a house party, thrown sometime in the mid-1990s when Diana and Charles were already separated."
"If John’s memory serves him well, Sylvester Stallone arrived 'with the express intention of picking Diana up' and was infuriated to see her 'in rapt conversation' with Richard Gere," White penned.
Apparently, John's husband, David Furnish, walked into a rather interesting scene later in the night. According to White, Furnish "came upon Stallone and Gere 'squaring up to each other, apparently about to settle their differences over Diana by having a fist-fight.'"
Where Princess Diana was at this point is unclear, but hilariously, Stallone quipped that "he wouldn’t have bothered turning up if he’d known that 'Prince f--king Charming was gonna be here."
The story gets even better, as Stallone was once again "thwarted in getting next to Diana" at a lunch for children's charity Barnado's. British charity executive Tessa Baring, who died in 2019, recalled the incident in Dianaworld.
"Stallone 'really, really wanted to come and sit next to the Princess of Wales,' said Baring," White penned. Instead, the actor was seated next to a little girl named Tracy, who was next to Princess Diana.
Baring shared that throughout the event, Diana leaned over, "asking Stallone questions about his love life as though she were asking them on Tracy’s behalf: 'Tracy and I want to know if you’re married,' and the like."
Alas, a relationship with Stallone (or Gere) wasn't meant to be. But somewhere out there, a now-grown-up woman named Tracy has one hell of a story to tell.
