Latest news with #RoyalVauxhallTavern
Daily Mirror
12-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Freddie Mercury's brutal Princess Diana snub at Live Aid that raised eyebrows
When the iconic rock band Queen performed at Live Aid in 1985, Freddie Mercury refused to sit with Charles and Diana in the royal box at Wembley Stadium for one reason Princess Diana charmed millions of people across the world, including celebrities - but Freddie Mercury seemingly had no interest in schmoozing with royalty. In 1985, thousands of people gathered at Wembley Stadium for Live Aid: a charity concert to raise money for those struggling with the famine in Ethiopia. The concert, which was broadcast to more than one billion people around the world, was also attended by royal couple Princess Diana and the then Prince Charles, who watched on from the royal box. One of the day's most anticipated performances came from iconic rock band Queen, who have since gone on to perform for royalty many times. Band members Brian May and Roger Taylor went on to headline the late Queen Elizabeth's Platinum Jubilee concert in 2022, and both received OBEs throughout their career. However, during Live Aid, the late Freddie Mercury had no such desire to mix with the royals, opting not to join Taylor and May in the royal box to watch the performance in the company of Charles and Diana. In an interview with The Express, Freddie's close friend and long-term assistant, Peter Freestone, revealed that Freddie simply had 'better' things to do backstage at Live Aid than mingle with the royals. He said: "Even at Live Aid, you see Brian May and Roger Taylor in the royal box. Freddie didn't go. He was more interested in being with friends backstage, talking with Elton John, hanging out with his people. His friends were always the most important to him." Despite choosing not to spend his time with Charles and Diana, there has long been a rumour that Freddie Mercury did have a level of friendship with Diana, with the pair allegedly having a wild night together at a gay bar in South London. According to urban legend, Freddie and Diana struck up a friendship and bonded over their love of the sitcom The Golden Girls, along with celebrities like Rupert Everett and Kenny Everett. Kenny's friend Cleo Rocos said: "The group spent the afternoon drinking champagne in front of reruns of The Golden Girls with the sound turned down and improvising show dialogue with a much naughtier storyline." The evening quickly got wilder, with Diana allegedly wanting to tag along with the rest of the group as they planned to party the night away at a famous South London gay bar, the appropriately named Royal Vauxhall Tavern. According to Rocos, they disguised the princess as a man in a baseball cap, sunglasses and army bomber jacket, as she said: "When we walked in ... we felt she was obviously Princess Diana and would be discovered at any minute. But people just seemed to blank her. She sort of disappeared. But she loved it." Despite the years of rumours over the wild night, Peter Freestone debunked the claims as he told Express: "No, not at all. Maybe Diana went with Kenny but Freddie wasn't there. He never met her."
The Guardian
16-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
My unexpected Pride icon: Jurassic Park's strutting, swaggering T rex is pure camp
'That's camp,' proclaimed my drag queen friend Vanity as we watched the T rex rip a tyre off a Jeep in the first Jurassic Park movie. It's 2012, 2am and we're in her bedroom playing our favourite Jurassic Park drinking game, where you swig every time you see a dinosaur. 'Is it, though?' I said, doubtfully, dipping a Walkers Sensation in some coleslaw. 'Course it is. All the gays love Jurassic Park. Don't be an idiot, Jones.' She pointedly slapped down the lid on the coleslaw as if that were the end of the matter. I thought about it a bit and ultimately agreed with her. I absolutely loved Jurassic Park. And so did just about every queer person I knew. Jurassic Park, in fact, made me feel proud. Prouder than seeing a load of 00s popstrels perform at Pride parades, prouder than drinking in the street in Soho, prouder even than M&S's Pride sandwich. Granted, my judgment was a little clouded from the drinking game. But still. I've since wondered if this was specific to my strange little bubble of pop-culture-obsessed London reprobates. But its surprisingly innuendo-ready quotes ('clever girl', 'hold on to your butts', 'dinosaur eats man, woman inherits the Earth') and unforgettable performances (human and raptor) are an enduring staple everywhere from drag brunches to bleary afterparties. London's historic queer venue the Royal Vauxhall Tavern held a Jurassic Park cabaret night in 2023 called 'Life Finds a Slay'. In San Francisco last year, the Brava theatre hosted 'Jurassic Drag', two Jurassic Park nights celebrating various drag legends ('they've survived a hostile world and trekked the Earth collectively for more than 170 years … which we all know in drag time is roughly 250 million'). Also last year, the Canadian podcaster and academic Hannah McGregor published a feminist-focused queer memoir, Clever Girl, billed as 'a smart and incisive exploration of everyone's favourite dinosaur movie and the female dinosaurs who embody what it means to be angry, monstrous and free'. (An honourable mention goes to the British gay couple and their dog who went viral in 2020 for recreating scenes from the films during lockdown.) It makes sense when you look at the first two movies. Their director, Steven Spielberg, has always had a propensity for the camper, more fun side of mild to moderate peril, flinging damsels into snake pits and children into shark-infested waters at the first chance he gets. He and the screenwriter David Koepp wield this impish inclination with gusto in Jurassic Park and Jurassic Park: The Lost World, whether it's a dilophosaurus wobbling her wattles or Julianne Moore gasping on glass over a gulch. Laura Dern is constantly in peril in the first movie – and for a lot of gay men, women in peril is a favourite genre – there is a stampede of psychosexual and misogynistic issues to dive into with that one. (Other notable women-in-peril franchises beloved of gay men include Scream, Buffy, Tomb Raider and, depending on Tyra Banks's mood, America's Next Top Model.) Also, if you are a millennial gay man, Jeff Goldblum's tanned, heaving bosom inside a liberally unbuttoned shirt was definitely at least part of your sexual awakening. A special mention should go to Bob Peck as park warden Robert Muldoon, who sported short-shorts that would make even Lara Croft raise one of her perfectly plucked eyebrows. (The later Jurassic World films are notably sanitised, safe and sexless in comparison – like smooth, scaly iPhones.) Really, though, if I stand up in the Jeep, take off my sunglasses and really look at it, the main reason I find pride in Jurassic Park is right there, rumbling and stomping in front of me: the dinosaurs. Dinosaurs are deeply camp – their fierce, confident assuredness followed by their fiery, dramatic downfall. Their strutting, swaggering gaits. It's very drag, with their relentless energy and fierce joie de vivre, not to mention their various ruffs and feathers and talons and shiny teeth. They just served. Some may say it's ridiculous to have an emotional affinity with 65m-year-old extinct reptiles, to which I say: why is it any more ridiculous than having an affinity with Strictly Come Dancing or Taylor Swift or raccoons? It's not. It's completely normal. Now, pass those night-vision goggles: we're going to Hampstead Heath.
Daily Mail
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Inside Princess Diana's secret night out with Freddie Mercury - from her 'male drag' disguise to visiting the most famous gay bar in London
Princess Diana was one of the most photographed women in the world. So it is no surprise that she went above and beyond to break free from the intrusive lens of the paparazzi. The late Princess of Wales once disguised herself as a 'rather eccentrically dressed male model' to sneak into one of London 's most famous gay bars, according to a new biography excerpted by People Magazine. In Dianaworld: An Obsession, which is to be released by Penguin on May 8, author Edward White describes the night Diana joined TV personality Cleo Rocos and Queen frontman Freddie Mercury at the apartment of radio DJ Kenny Everett to watch Golden Girls. But later in the evening, as Rocos confirms in her own memoir, Diana persuaded the group to take her to the Royal Vauxhall Tavern - a Grade II listed entertainment venue in London that still hosts weekly cabaret drag acts. Although Everett warned the royal that the club was 'not for you... full of hairy gay men', Diana was apparently insistent and promised she 'just wanted the thrill of going in, undetected, to order one drink, and would then leave right away'. In order to do so, the princess borrowed Everett's clothes to 'disguise herself in male drag'. 'A camouflage army jacket, hair tucked up into a leather cap and dark aviator sunglasses,' Rocos wrote in her 1988 autobiography The Power of Positive Drinking. 'Scrutinising her in the half-light we decided that the most famous icon of the modern world might just... JUST, pass for a rather eccentrically dressed gay male model.' The haphazard disguise seemed to work with Rocos describing the night out as 'fabulously outrageous' and 'bizarrely exciting'. 'No one, absolutely no one, recognised Diana,' she wrote. As promised, Diana only ordered one drink before leaving the venue, making sure to send Everett his clothes upon her return to Kensington Palace the following day. 'The story sounds far-fetched,' White admits in his new book. 'Like one of the many apocryphal yarns of royal transformation that litter folklore and fairytales. 'Equally, Diana at the gay bar could be said to have a Shakespearean quality, with a girl dressed as a boy slipping into an enchanted world. 'Irrespective of its veracity, the story of Diana in drag at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern has been taken up as an illustration of her connection with the gay community and a metaphor for her own search for a family in which she felt truly accepted.' In 2017, cabaret performer Desmond O'Connor wrote a musical called Royal Vauxhall based on the infamous tale of Diana's night out. The Royal Vauxhall Tavern in London still hosts cabaret nights Its performance coincided with the 20th anniversary of Diana's death and came at a time when a string of famous London gay venues were going out of business - including the Royal Vauxhall Tavern. White writes: 'It struck O'Connor as a powerful theme that united Diana's life with the experiences of London's gay community: both needed places to go where they could be themselves. 'Diana may have had the luxurious residences of Kensington Palace, Highgrove, and Althorp at her disposal but, Royal Vauxhall contends, each of them was a gilded cage where only her material needs could be fully met. 'It was in the guise of a different person that, for at least one night, she could discover herself.' There is a long list of tales about Diana disguising herself to go unnoticed by the paparazzi. Indeed, the late Princess of Wales allegedly accompanied Hasnat Khan, the British Pakistani surgeon she dated between 1995 and 1997, to Ronnie Scott's jazz bar in Soho while wearing a wig and glasses. 'She'd wear a wig as a disguise and in the gloomy atmosphere of the club no one noticed her', said Simon Cooke, the managing director of the club. In her book Diana: Her Last Love, author Kate Snell said that the princess would often dress in disguise to avoid public recognition while dating the doctor. Snell tells of the time her close friend and psychic healer Simone Simons was too stunned to speak when Diana appeared in the drawing room of Kensington Palace wearing a 'long dark brown wig recently acquired on her behalf by her butler Paul Burrell from the Oxford Street department store, Selfridges.' 'It was one of several wigs Diana had adapted for herself, and such disguises became key to going out with Khan, safe from detection by public and paparazzi,' wrote Snell. In the 2017 documentary Diana: The Woman Inside, Simmons would also go on to reveal that the princess would wear disguises in order go shopping without attracting attention. 'In spite of the media putting her in the spotlight, she put on her wig, wore what she wanted, came for walks on Hampstead Heath, went to the charity shop with me in Camden High Street,' Simmons told the documentary crew. 'One time she was experimenting and this person answered the door to me, walked me up the stairs into the small lounge and William and Harry were there, and she said "the princess will see you now," and the boys just could not stop she said "I fooled you!"'
Express Tribune
29-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
Diana in Drag? New Biography details how the Princess of Wales' snuck into a gay bar with Freddie Mercury
A new biography of Princess Diana is making headlines for revisiting a decades-old story that blurs the line between royal myth and cultural legend. In Dianaworld: An Obsession by Edward White, the late Princess of Wales is said to have disguised herself in drag to visit the Royal Vauxhall Tavern—a well-known London gay bar—accompanied by Queen frontman Freddie Mercury and television personality Kenny Everett. Photo: W. W. Norton & Company The account, originally shared by actress Cleo Rocos, describes Diana's ensemble as a camouflage jacket, leather cap, and aviator sunglasses. According to Rocos, the group managed to enter unnoticed, with Diana's disguise convincing enough that she passed as an eccentric male model. They stayed briefly for a drink before returning to Kensington Palace, and Diana reportedly returned Everett's clothing the next day. Though never officially confirmed, the story has resurfaced over the years as a symbol of Diana's unique relationship with the LGBTQ+ community and her desire to experience life outside the confines of royal protocol. The book places this anecdote within a broader narrative about Diana's search for identity, privacy, and connection—especially following her separation from then-Prince Charles. Author Edward White revisits Diana's early years, her evolving public persona, and her lesser-known escapades with empathy and detail. The biography portrays these moments not as isolated episodes, . Dianaworld: An Obsession is out 29 April.
New York Post
29-04-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Princess Diana's trip to gay bar with Freddie Mercury resurfaces as new book details late royal's night out in drag
Princess Diana's night out at a gay bar with Freddie Mercury is making headlines again as a new book recounts the late royal's escape from the palace dressed in male drag. The story is one of many enmeshed in Diana's mythology dissected in 'Dianaworld: An Obsession' (out Tuesday) by biographer Edward White, who cites actress Cleo Rocos' 2013 memoir for evidence of the princess' wild London night. In 'The Power of Positive Drinking,' Rocos claimed that the she, along with her friend Kenny Everett and Mercury, disguised the late Princess of Wales in drag so she could go to one of London's most popular gay bars, the Royal Vauxhall Tavern. 10 Princess Diana's night out at a gay bar with Freddie Mercury is making headlines again as a new book recounts the late royal's escape from the palace dressed in male drag. UK Press via Getty Images 10 The story is one of many enmeshed in Diana's mythology dissected in 'Dianaworld: An Obsession' (out Tuesday) by biographer Edward White, who cites actress Cleo Rocos' 2013 memoir for evidence of the princess' wild London night. Getty Images The trip allegedly happened in 1988 after Rocos, the princess, the Queen frontman and Everett spent an afternoon 'drinking champagne in front of reruns of 'The Golden Girls' with the sound turned down' so they could improvise dialogue with 'a much naughtier storyline.' When Diana — 'in full mischief mode' — learned of her friends' plans to go to a gay bar that evening, she insisted on going. Rocos and Everett attempted to dissuade her, with Everett telling Di that the bar was 'not for you ' and 'full of hairy gay men.' The princess was intransigent. Mercury then supposedly chimed in with, 'Go on, let the girl have some fun,' and the matter was settled. 10 The trip allegedly happened in 1988 after Rocos, the princess, the Queen frontman and Everett spent an afternoon 'drinking champagne in front of reruns of 'The Golden Girls' with the sound turned down' so they could improvise dialogue with 'a much naughtier storyline.' Getty Images 10 When Diana — 'in full mischief mode' — learned of her friends' plans to go to a gay bar that evening, she insisted on going. Edward White Everett decided that, if the show must go on, he would disguise Di in drag: 'a camouflage army jacket, hair tucked up into a leather cap and dark aviator sunglasses.' 'Scrutinizing her in the half-light we decided that the most famous icon of the modern world might just . . . JUST, pass for a rather eccentrically dressed gay male model,' Rocos recalled. 'She did look like a beautiful young man.' As the group 'inched through the leather throngs and thongs' at the Royal Vauxhall, Diana's friends were terrified the ruse would collapse. 10 'Scrutinizing her in the half-light we decided that the most famous icon of the modern world might just . . . JUST, pass for a rather eccentrically dressed gay male model,' Rocos recalled. 'She did look like a beautiful young man.' Getty Images 10 As the group 'inched through the leather throngs and thongs' at the Royal Vauxhall, Diana's friends were terrified the ruse would collapse. Getty Images 'When we walked in…we felt she was obviously Princess Diana and would be discovered at any minute. But people just seemed to blank her. She sort of disappeared. But she loved it,' Rocos remembered. 'We were nudging each other like naughty schoolchildren. Diana and Freddie were giggling… Once the transaction was completed, we looked at one another, united in our triumphant quest. We did it!' Per Rocos, the princess sent Everett's clothes back to him the following morning with a note: 'We must do it again!' 10 'When we walked in…we felt she was obviously Princess Diana and would be discovered at any minute. But people just seemed to blank her. She sort of disappeared. But she loved it,' Rocos remembered. WireImage 10 'We were nudging each other like naughty schoolchildren. Diana and Freddie were giggling… Once the transaction was completed, we looked at one another, united in our triumphant quest. We did it!' Steve Jennings/ The story has been disputed by Mercury's former assistant and friend Peter Freestone, however. 'No, not at all,' Freestone replied when asked by Express Online in 2019 whether the night out ever took place. 'Maybe Diana went with Kenny but Freddie wasn't there. He never met her.' As White wrote in his new book, Diana's trip to a London gay bar with Freddie Mercury 'sounds far-fetched, like one of the many apocryphal yarns of royal transformation that litter folklore and fairytales.' Yet, it also fits with Diana's documented penchant for escaping royal life undercover so she could experience the wider world. 10 The story has been disputed by Mercury's former assistant and friend Peter Freestone, however. UK Press via Getty Images 10 'No, not at all,' Freestone replied when asked by Express Online in 2019 whether the night out ever took place. 'Maybe Diana went with Kenny but Freddie wasn't there. He never met her.' Redferns '[T]here are other, slightly less fantastical, tales about Diana disguising herself on nights out, such as when she accompanied Hasnat Khan to Ronnie Scott's jazz bar in Soho, the princess obscuring her true self beneath a wig and glasses,' White emphasized. Apocryphal or not, the story — which inspired the cabaret musical, 'Royal Vauxhall' — 'has been taken up as an illustration of her connection with the gay community and a metaphor for her own search for a family in which she felt truly accepted,' White added.
