‘It was a storybook moment’: John Travolta recalls the night he danced with Princess Diana
While dancing with royalty is many people’s dream, John Travolta actually got to live his when he danced with Princess Diana on her visit to the US in 1985. But it seems, it was her dream, too, to have a chance to twirl on the dance floor with the Hollywood actor.
According to a People report, wherein an exclusive clip from the new special In Their Own Words: Diana, Princess of Wales was shared, the two-time Oscar nominee got nostalgic about his famous encounter with the Princess of Wales, during her royal visit with President Ronald Reagan at the White House.
The now-67-year-old actor said that he “went with a very humble attitude” to the dinner because he felt he was “an extra in a room of very important people”.
adore this photo,? #johntravolta #princessdiana #ladydi pic.twitter.com/bhp9kHeRtp
— Diana Anna Dudová (@DiDudova) May 12, 2021
According to royal historian Kate Williams, Diana, too, was coming into her own not just as a royal, but also as a celebrity. “When Diana went to America in 1985, it cemented her place on a world stage. She was no longer this young, naïve girl. She was a huge celebrity, the most famous woman in the world. ‘Di-mania’ spread from Britain across the world, and then it seized the world,” she was quoted as saying.
Travolta vividly recalled the moment he was asked by the hosts to dance with Diana. “About 10 o’clock at night, Nancy Reagan tapped on my shoulder and said, ‘The princess, her fantasy is to dance with you. Would you like to dance with her tonight?’ And I said, ‘Well of course’.”
Then the first lady said she would escort Travolta to Diana so he could ask her to dance. And when the moment finally arrived, the actor, who earlier felt like an ‘extra’, was nervous.
The necklace Diana wore at the White House that night when she met with President Ronald Reagan. (Photo: Express Archives)
“My heart starts to race, you know, and I tap her on the shoulder and she turns around and looks at me, and she had that kind of bashful dip [of her chin] that she did, and she looked up at me, and I said, ‘Would you care to dance with me?’”
When the princess agreed, the pair took the centre-stage of Cross Hall in the White House. “I took her and the whole room cleared. We danced for what felt like 15 minutes,” Travolta shared.
And when it was all over, the actor felt like he was in a fairy tale. “It was a storybook moment. We bowed when it was over, and, you know, she was off, and I was off, and my carriage turned into a pumpkin.”
The iconic picture of the couple on the dance floor made headlines, and continues to be shared. In it, the young Travolta looked sharp in a black tuxedo. He was complemented by Diana, who wore a black off-shoulder gown to the event. She had accessorised with the famous pearl and stone necklace that continues to be a part of her heirloom.
We are thoroughly stoked after reading this account; what about you?
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