Bryan Adams Calls ‘Meeting’ Princess Diana ‘One of the Greatest Things That Ever Happened to Me’

“I really, really liked Diana, she was an amazing woman and a super-great inspiration,” the ‘Straight from the Heart’ singer said of the late princess

Kimberlee Speakman is a digital writer at PEOPLE. She has been working at PEOPLE since 2022. Her work has previously appeared in Forbes and she has also worked in broadcast television as a reporter for Hawaii-based news station KHON2 News.

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Princess Diana Bryan Adams

Bryan Adams and Princess Diana. Photo: Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty

Bryan Adams only has kind words “straight from the heart” when it comes to Princess Diana.

The singer, 64, showered the late princess with praise while discussing the beginnings of their close friendship in a new interview with The Sunday Times.

“We had a lot of really, really good conversations, I have to tell you. In fact it’s strange and surreal to think about,” he recalled to the outlet. “I really, really liked Diana, she was an amazing woman and a super-great inspiration.”

“Meeting her was truly one of the greatest things that ever happened to me,” he added.

Bryan Adams Denies He and Princess Diana Were Anything But Good Friends

He said he was introduced to the princess on an airplane after he co-wrote and released the song called “Diana” — which many believed was inspired by the princess’ 1981 marriage to Prince Charles.

Diana, Princess Of Wales, Talking To Pop Star Bryan Adams

Bryan Adams and Princess Diana.Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty

“I said, ‘I used your name on a song once,’ and Diana said, ‘Yes, I know, very funny. Actually I’d like to hear it again,’ ” he recalled. “So I sent a copy to Kensington Palace, got an invitation to tea back and that’s how we became friends.”

Their friendship grew over time, he said. “When I first went round to [Kensington Palace] she wasn’t, like, ‘I really need to talk to somebody,’ and you don’t bulldoze into someone’s life wanting to know everything in the first 10 minutes,” he continued. “It was, ‘Let’s have a cup of tea.’ But later, the more friendly we got the more I learnt what was really going on.”

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Adams said the lyrics to “Diana” were “laddish humor,” and noted that the original inspiration behind the song was from “that guy who [had] broken into the Queen’s bedroom and sat on her bed smoking.” However, he noted that he “retired [the song] after Diana died out of respect to her and her boys.”

When the “All for Love” rocker was also asked if he tried to save Princess Diana from her fate, he responded, “Maybe, a bit.”

Adams previously denied rumors that he and Diana were “once romantically involved” on an episode of Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen in 2018, saying that he characterized his friendship with her as that of “great friends.”

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“Friends with benefits?” Cohen asked, to which Adams replied, “She was just… we were good friends.”

Adams sparked speculation that he had feelings for Princess Diana after he released “Diana.” The lyrics to the song spoke about a woman named Diana whom Adams called the “queen of all my dreams.” In the song, he professed his love for the woman and implied that her husband — never named — is not good enough for her while begging her to leave him.

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