Princess Diana's Dance Partner Reveals How She Would 'Take A Break' From Royal Life

During an appearance on BBC Radio 3’s Private Passions, the 74-year-old British dancer talked about the routine he famously did with Diana on King Charles’ 37th birthday.

Back in 1985, the two performed at a charity gala in honor of the then Prince’s birthday. They danced to Billy Joel’s Uptown Girl onstage at the Royal Opera House in London.

They became friends after spending a lot of time together during rehearsals, and stayed in contact long after the performance.

“Whenever we saw each other again, the shoes came off at my flat, she’d do the dishes, it would be fun and we’d giggle,” Sleep told host Michael Berkeley.

“I think she didn’t come to me so much for the serious part that was going on in her life at the time, and things were moving so fast there, I think she just came to me for a break,” he added.

The dancer/choreographer recalled meeting Diana in the 1980s at a small dance studio.

They quickly hit it off because of their love of dance (Diana took up ballet as a child) and a similar sense of humor.

Sleep spilled the details on their famous dance routine. One of his first thoughts? How they could pull it off given their height difference – he was 5’2” and she was 5’10”.

They also made sure to keep the whole thing under wraps. They did that by rehearsing at different venues and letting only a few people in on the secret.

Among the few who knew about it were Diana’s lady-in-waiting, Anne Beckwith-Smith, and his coach.

“They were all scared for their lives or their jobs... if we’d done a funny little routine that was naff,” he said.

As for the actual performance, which was reenacted in season four of The Crown, Sleep said the show didn’t quite get it right.

In the series, Diana (played by Emma Corrin) was cheered on by the audience as soon as she stepped onstage. The Royal Ballet alum, however, said that didn’t happen right away.

First, there was an audible gasp from the 2,500 spectators. They couldn’t believe it was actually the Princess of Wales, and some even thought it was a lookalike.

Later, though, the audience warmed up to the performance and the duo ended up doing eight curtain calls.

Sleep said he even coaxed the Princess to bow to her husband, who was watching from the Royal Box, after the performance.

“You won't get your OBE like that!” she allegedly said to him as they exited the stage.

He said Diana enjoyed the moment so much that she wrote him days later to say she now understood the “buzz” a live performance could give.

Last week, Sleep also talked to Daily Mail about The Crown, saying the late Princess would have approved.

“Diana would have absolutely loved it. It spares nobody! Everybody gets their innings,” he said.