Inside Princess Diana's Secret Wild Party Life — From Hanging With Freddie Mercury at a London Gay Hotspot to Impersonating a Police Officer
Freddie Mercury once helped sneak Princess Diana into a gay club during a wild night out in London.
Sept. 5 2025, Published 5:45 p.m. ET
Everyone needs to let their hair down and blow off some steam every once in a while, even royal family members.
On what would have been Freddie Mercury's 79th birthday on September 5, RadarOnline.com can reveal the wild night he shared partying in London with Princess Diana – and how their group ended up getting arrested after visiting a gay club.
Mercury Urged Diana to 'Have Some Fun'
Mercury joined Diana and friends to watch 'The Golden Girls' but the group ended up at a gay club instead.
The evening started with Diana and pals Mercury, comedian Cleo Rocos, and DJ Kenny Everette getting together to watch episodes of one of their favorite shows, The Golden Girls.
According to Rocos' book The Power of Positive Drinking, the harmless plans turned raunchy when the Queen frontman seized the opportunity to paint the town red after the poised princess declared she was in "full mischief mode."
Mercury urged Diana: "Go on, let the girl have some fun!"
Mercury Snuck Diana Into Gay Club Dressed as a 'Male Model'
The group hatched a plan to sneak Diana into the Royal Vauxhall Tavern dressed as a man.
After some coaxing, the group decided they would take the Princess of Wales to one of London's hottest gay clubs, the Royal Vauxhall Tavern. The only problem was how they were going to get Diana into the club unrecognized.
So, they devised a plan to disguise Diana as a "rather eccentrically dressed gay male model."
Diana was said to be all-in and quickly pulled together a look with an army bomber jacket, baseball cap, and sunglasses. Rocco noted when the makeover was done, "She did look like a beautiful young man."
The nightclub was packed, but the plan worked, and Diana was able to coolly walk up to the bar and order a round for her friends.
Rocos recalled: "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.
"We were nudging each other like naughty school children. Diana and Freddie were giggling ... Once the transaction was completed, we looked at one another, united in our triumphant quest. We did it!"
Sources claimed Diana had an extra bounce in her step for several days following her secret night clubbing.
Diana Arrested?
A friend recalled Diana and Freddie 'giggling' inside the club after the plan worked.
But Diana and Mercury's night at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern wasn't the only time the princess donned a costume to cut loose before she was tragically killed in a car crash in August 1997.
As part of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson's pre-wedding festivities in 1986, Diana and her future sister-in-law hit up a nightclub dressed as cops.
The stunt ended up leading to actual police officers arresting them for impersonating law enforcement.
Ferguson later recalled the "extraordinary" experience of clubbing with Diana before her wedding.
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Diana was arrested during another club night when she dressed up as a police officer with Sarah Ferguson.
She said: "We sat down, and the waiter came up to us and said, 'Excuse me, this is a members' club. It's for fun, and we don't serve police officers here."
Ferguson said after they were arrested, they hid their engagement rings when they were put inside the police van. Diana apparently wasn't concerned much about her criminal fate as Fergie recalled she spotted a bag of "smoky bacon-flavored crisps" and "started taking and eating them."
A cop reprimanded Diana, "You can't do that!"
Eventually, the officers realized who they had nabbed and made arrangements to get the princesses home.
