Why Kensington Palace blocked Princess Diana's photo with David Bowie from being published

Princess Diana’s life still remains one of the most fascinating ones in royal history especially when it comes to her tumultuous marriage with then-Prince Charles.

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The two got married in 1981 in a fairytale wedding that was watched by millions worldwide. However, their relationship quickly became strained, with many experts claiming that Diana wanted to flee two days before the wedding. By 1986, both had reportedly turned to extramarital affairs; Charles famously rekindled his romance with Camilla Parker Bowles, while Diana became involved with James Hewitt, a dashing British Army officer who gave her horseback riding lessons.

This romantic entanglement, overlapping significantly with her marriage, became one of the most controversial aspects of Diana’s personal life.

Palace suppressed Diana’s David Bowie concert photo

In a new revelation, acclaimed music photographer Denis O'Regan disclosed that Kensington Palace actively suppressed a photograph he captured of Princess Diana after a David Bowie concert in June 1987. According to People, the palace was concerned with the fact that Diana went to the concert with Hewitt, her alleged lover at that time.

O'Regan explained that palace courtiers urgently contacted his agent, explicitly instructing him not to publish the photo, fearing it would intensify rumours about the princess’s affair. He recalled:

So the next day [after the concert], my agent got a call from [the] palace, saying don’t use the pictures because word had gone out about James Hewitt. So that’s when it kind of erupted.

It was interesting, on a number of levels.

Adding:

They just didn’t want Diana in the press. It was really [that] they didn’t want to fuel the fire.

So the more pictures that weren’t out there, the better, because someone would have said: ‘This is her at the show that she turned up to with James Hewitt, even though I didn’t get the multi-million dollar shot of the two of them together, because no one knew who he was.'

The photograph was eventually unearthed years later and captured a casual, smiling Diana with Bowie backstage, seemingly starstruck by the rock legend. Despite Hewitt did not appear in any published images, but the mere association was enough for palace aides to intervene preemptively.

Palace ‘tried to block picture of David Bowie and Princess Diana’https://t.co/8cSXm5GKsl
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A look into Princess Diana’s affair with James Hewitt

Princess Diana’s relationship with James Hewitt began quietly in 1986 and lasted approximately five years, running concurrently with Charles's well-known liaison with Camilla Parker Bowles. According to detailed accounts in Tatler and Town & Country Magazine, the princess was drawn to Hewitt’s charisma and comforting presence during a lonely, troubled period of her marriage.

Hewitt was initially Diana's horseback riding instructor and quickly became her confidant and romantic partner.

Their secret meetings often took place at a secluded cottage belonging to Hewitt’s mother in Devon, far from the prying eyes of the public and palace insiders. Diana’s trusted bodyguard, Ken Wharfe, detailed in his book Diana: Closely Guarded Secret that Hewitt gave Diana ‘the attention and affection she relished, and the passion she yearned for.’

However, the romance unravelled after Hewitt was deployed to serve overseas during the Gulf War, leaving Diana heartbroken and feeling abandoned. The relationship formally ended in the early 1990s, but the fallout would linger in the public sphere.

Hewitt eventually revealed their affair in the controversial 1994 book Princess in Love, creating a media frenzy. Diana herself famously confirmed their romance in a 1995 BBC Panorama interview, expressing deep sadness about Hewitt’s public betrayal, saying candidly: