This is what really happened when Princess Diana spent the night with John Travolta

In 1985, during a gala dinner at the White House, Lady Diana and John Travolta shared a dance. When asked about it more than 30 years later, John Travolta recalled the evening he spent with the beautiful young woman...

Princess Diana and John Travolta
© Getty Images
Princess Diana and John Travolta

During the gala, the two celebrities came together, had a conversation and shared a dance, as explained by John Travolta to the Telegraph.

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An evening of confessions

Lady Diana and John Travolta met at the gala and shared a dance. Travolta described the experience:

There really was something lovely and girlish about her and I felt that I had taken her back to her childhood when she had probably watched 'Grease' - and for that moment I was her Prince Charming. I'd seen her dance with Prince Charles beforehand so I knew that she was strong. But she looked like she was leading him and because I knew that the world was watching I thought that I really needed to give her certainty that I knew what to do. I put my hand in the middle of her back, brought her hand down so that it wouldn't be so high and gave her the confidence that we would do just fine. She was the real deal. And I think that was partly because she followed the rule that. 'it's OK to be important as long as everyone else is equally important'

A few things they had in common

The two of them probably came together because they have something in common: they had both been victims of fame. According to Travolta, it was hard for both of them to accept. They were always in the spotlight and had to deal with that. The Grease actor also speaks of the "voyeurism" that stems from fame.

Travolta and Lady Di had a nice evening of dancing and conversation. Diana enjoyed the evening so much that she named the dress she wore that night 'The Travolta Dress', and it was later auctioned for £240,000, in 2013.

Take a look at the video above to see footage from that fateful evening...

John Travolta speaks up about how Lady Diana made him nervous John Travolta speaks up about how Lady Diana made him nervous