When Diana and Freddie Crashed the Party

A new biography takes a fresh look at the Queen of People's Hearts and tells the beloved story of her "nocturnal adventure" to a famed London gay bar with none other than Freddie Mercury.

"In 'Dianaworld: An Obsession' (out April 29), Edward White examines the late Princess of Wales' life, legacy and lasting impact as a global icon," People Magazine reported.

"The vivid biography paints a picture of the Princess of Wales that the world didn't know, spanning from her Spencer family's generations of connections to the British royals before her marriage to the future King Charles to her lesser-known ambitions for her private life after their divorce," the writeup continued.

People ran a snippet from the book, describing one of the princess' "furtive nocturnal" adventures: "the alleged occasion when Diana took a trip to one of London's most famous gay bars."

The account draws from an anecdote Brazil-born comedienne Cleo Rocos related in a book of her own – an evening when Diana, in the company of Mercury, Rocos, and comic Kenny Everett set out to visit the Royal Vauxhall Tavern, which Everett warned was "full of hairy gay men." That caution hardly deterred Diana, who was eager to see it for herself.

With Everett's help, Diana disguised herself as a man, donning – Rocos wrote – "a camouflage army jacket, hair tucked up into a leather cap and dark aviator sunglasses." Rocos described the disguise as "fabulously outrageous and so bizarrely exciting," and recalled that "no one, absolutely no one, recognized Diana."

The shenanigan was already outrageous enough, and the visit to the gay bar was tame: "They stayed for one drink and left," Rocos wrote. "Diana returned to Kensington Palace and sent back Everett's clothes the following day."

The new book noted the "Shakespearean quality, with a girl dressed as a boy slipping into an enchanted world," and contrasts it with similar outings, "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."

The Royal Vauxhall story has such cachet that it inspired Desmond O'Connor to write "a cabaret musical based on the tale of Diana's night out" – an entertainment O'Connor titled "Royal Vauxhall."

But is the story about Diana, Mercury, and the others heading to a gay bar with the princess in drag based in reality? Perhaps, author White suggests, it doesn't matter: "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."