Princess Diana would still have been a keen dancer at the age of 60, Wayne Sleep has claimed.
The British dancer – who studied at the Royal Ballet School – famously performed a routine with Princess Diana at the Royal Opera House in London to the Billy Joel song ‘Uptown Girl’ during the Friends of Covent Garden show in 1985.
Sleep, 72, is certain that Diana – who tragically died in August 1997 in a Paris car crash at the age of 36 – would have still been a passionate dancer if she made it to her 60th birthday, which would have been on July 1 this year.
Speaking to the Eden Confidential column in the Daily Mail newspaper, he said: “Most definitely, Diana would still be dancing in her 60s. She would still be doing her exercises because it was a way for her to keep well and keep her body trim.”
Sleep admits there isn’t a day that goes by where he doesn’t miss his late friend Diana – who is the mother of Princes William and Harry.
He added: “Not only do I wish we could have any dance together, it’s our friendship I miss.”
The pair’s dance at the Royal Opera House was practiced in secret so it could be performed as a surprise for Diana’s husband Prince Charles, but Sleep had major reservations about whether they would be able to pull it off due to the height difference between the pair as he is 5ft 2in, whilst Diana stood at 5ft 10in.
Previously recalling the moment when Diana approached him with the idea, Sleep wrote in The Daily Telegraph newspaper: “I said to Princess Diana – this will never work, Ma’am. You’re so much taller than me.”
The dance was recreated in Netflix royal drama series ‘The Crown’ with Sleep, Diana and Charles played by Jay Webb, Emma Corrin and Josh O’Connor respectively.