These Were Princess Diana's Closest Friends

The following article mentions eating disorders.

It should come as little surprise that the People's Princess had a wide circle of friends. With her progressive outlook and approachable nature, celebs and ordinary folks alike wanted to be in Princess Diana's squad. From the moment it was announced that she was to be King Charles III's wife, the erstwhile Ms Spencer was propelled into the spotlight as both a fashionable it girl and target of the media's ire. But Di opted to do good with her privileged status.

Considering that royal protocol dictates an air of mystery and stoicism when engaging with the public, Diana was a breath of fresh air, mingling with everyone and anyone regardless of their social or economic standing. Famously, she helped dispel AIDS myths, frequently befriending and hugging patients at a time when sections of the tabloid press propagated homophobic fallacies about the virus. And when she tragically died in a car crash in 1997, the public mourned her as if they had lost a dear friend. "People felt so emotional about Diana because she had an extraordinary connection with everybody," Anji Hunter, a former advisor to Tony Blair, told CNN. "People felt a kinship with her; it was like your own beloved friend, mother, sister had died."

Due to her varied interests — from humanitarian causes to being a keen connoisseur of pop culture — Diana acquired a diverse group of besties. Let's see who Princess Di had on her speed dial as we take a look at her closest friends.

He may have been a member of her staff, but infamous butler Paul Burrell has long claimed that he was Princess Diana's bestie and the only person she spilled all her secrets to. And Burrell also confided in Diana. Prior to him publicly coming out as gay and demonstrative of the duo's intimate bond, Diana was the only person he entrusted with his secret. "He did share it with Diana while he worked with her because they were so close," an insider told The Sun. "But at the time she was the only woman he felt he could tell."

Following Diana's death, Burrell made headlines when he wrote two books about his late friend, 2003's "A Royal Duty" and "The Way We Were" three years later. In both books, he dished on his BFF's most intimate private affairs, including a detailed look at her love life and relationship with Dodi Fayed, who perished in Paris alongside the princess.

Then, in 2007, his public image was further tarnished when he appeared at the princess' inquest and gave credence to conspiracy theories that Diana was murdered. The court was shown a letter, supposedly written by Diana, in which she told Burrell that the royals were planning on having her killed so King Charles III could be with his lover, nanny Tiggy Legge-Bourke. But some questioned whether Burrell himself had forged the letter to gain notoriety. Later in the inquest, the ex-butler was exposed for fabricating stories about Di, per Reuters.

Seeing as Princess Diana remains a fashion icon decades after her death, it comes as little surprise that she mingled with those from the highest echelons of the fashion world. One of Diana's closest friends was Gianni Versace, whose beaded blue gown she famously wore on the cover of Harper's Bazaar. 

In a 1997 Vanity Fair profile, published mere months before Versace and Diana's respective untimely deaths, the designer gushed about his dear friend. "There is a kind of serenity," Versace poignantly reflected. "I had a fitting with her last week for new suits... and she is so serene. It is a moment in her life, I think, when she's found herself—the way she wants to live."

In July 1997, Versace was murdered by serial killer Andrew Cunanan. The iconic designer died just one month before Diana was killed in a car crash. In his book "The Bodyguard," Lee Sansum, a bodyguard to Mohamed Al-Fayed, revealed that Diana was deeply distraught after learning of her friend's murder. "Diana was in tears and looked very distressed," he recalled. The tragedy led to the princess reportedly pondering whether she, too, would meet a similar fate. "She was shaking and it was clear from her tone that she really thought that they might [kill her], whoever they might be," he added. Diana attended Versace's funeral, lamenting, "I am devastated by the loss of a great and talented man," per Hello!

Considering that Princess Diana was an avid pop music enthusiast, it stands to reason that she would count some of the genre's biggest names among her close pals. In addition to being best buds with Sir Elton, Di was friends with George Michael for over a decade. According to James Gavin's book "George Michael: A Life," the friendship began with a crush. The year was 1985 and the first Live Aid concert was being held in London. The hotly anticipated event was attended by the then Prince and Princess of Wales. King Charles III may have been famed for his wandering eye, but two can play at that game. Di was positively smitten with the "Wham!" star, admitting that she found him "gorgeous." "Thank you, ma'am—you're pretty smashing yourself," replied George.

As music columnist Gill Pringle explained in the book, the duo found solace in their shared discomfort in the public eye, both feeling trapped by the ubiquitous press intrusion into their lives. Therefore, considering Di's regal status at the time, theirs was an unusually intimate friendship. "The fact that she had his home number and was calling and chatting with him — that's not a relationship you normally see with the royal family," Pringle said.

When Diana died, Michael was inconsolable. "Diana was the only person that I knew who made me feel like an ordinary person. That's what I thought was so amazing about her," he told The Mirror.

In 1987, Princess Diana met a grief therapist named Julia Samuel, and thus began a lifelong friendship. "We started laughing together," Samuel told the Daily Mail. "There was something about her and something about me that just worked. It was a lovely thing."

Despite her privileged background and ascent into the royal family, it was Diana's down-to-earth nature that endeared Samuel towards her. She recalled how the pair would at once have fun doing ordinary household tasks, before setting off to hang out with A-listers and attend glamorous events. 

In an interview with The Guardian, Samuel said that she cherished her friendship with Di and was honored to be the godmother of the grandson the princess never met, Prince George. For all her stoic musings on grief, however, Samuel became palpably overwhelmed when asked about the aftermath of Diana's death. Famously, members of the British public and beyond flocked to Kensington Palace Gardens to lay wreaths and cards in memory of the late princess. But the whole spectacle made Samuel deeply uncomfortable. "I felt angry," she reflected. "I was angry that she died, and shocked and I couldn't really understand it all. I mean, I understand it better now. I understand that people felt they really knew and loved her. But I still feel sad today."

When it comes to iconic divas, Princess Diana and Liza Minnelli undoubtedly sound like a force to reckon with. After meeting at a concert in London, the two women hit it off and became fast friends, realizing that they, surprisingly, had a lot in common. For instance, Diana was just 19 when she became engaged to King Charles III; Minnelli, meanwhile, began performing with her mom as a child and famously played the London Palladium when she was a mere 18 years old. 

Consequently, the pair bonded over both being thrust into the limelight at such young ages. Accordingly, despite their disparate backgrounds, the "Cabaret" star said that she identified with Diana on a profound level. "All my life, I've had bowing and scraping. I haven't encouraged it. That's just how it's been," she said, per The Telegraph. "Well, Princess Di got pretty used to people bowing and scraping. So it was a relief to both of us that we could just be ourselves around each other."

As such, Minnelli felt a great deal for Diana, whom she noted was particularly vulnerable to the cruelty of the public gaze. "We'd fall into conversation then we'd meet for tea," she recalled. "Later on, she'd come to my hotel and we'd have lunch, just the two of us. I think she liked that. I certainly did. My instinct was to protect her. We talked about everything under the sun."

Dr. James Colthurst was one of Princess Diana's nearest and dearest friends. In an essay for The Telegraph, he recalled how a chance medical emergency led to him bonding with a then 17-year-old Di. Having met through mutuals, their respective friend groups went on a skiing trip during which Diana twisted her ankle. "They brought her back to our apartment... telling her I would look at it as I was a medical student at the time," he wrote. "Good fun, bright and mischievous, it was hard not to hit it off with Diana straight away, and so began the friendship she and I maintained for the rest of her short, eventful life."

The princess frequently confided in Colthurst about her unhappy marriage, calling him up to ten times a day. In 1992, Colthurst helped Andrew Morton pen his book "Diana: Her True Story," which included numerous bombshell revelations about her relationship with King Charles III, as well as the eating disorder that he allegedly catalyzed. The doctor's involvement in the book apparently led to Diana fearing for his personal safety.

Discussing the loss of his friend in an interview with NBC News, Colthurst sought solace from the enduring positive impact Diana had on the world. "There was a kind of aura around her... She just entertained and warmed people up," he said. "And I don't think that was directly imposed by the role she was in. I think that's the extraordinary lady she was."

Struggling with personal turmoil, Princess Diana befriended couple Susie and Tarek Kassem, who swiftly became her close confidants. The paps snapped Diana and Susie on chic outings in London towards the end of the former's all too brief life.

Diana frequently wrote detailed letters to the couple, seemingly finding solace in divulging her deepest anxieties. In one correspondence, she discussed the bitter aftermath of her divorce, and expressed her fear that the royals were bugging her phone, per The Telegraph. Ostracized from the Windsors, she referred to the Kassems as her second family, and spent Christmas 1995 with them. "I may have been described as a butterfly but I don't want to fly away from this loving family," she told the couple, continuing, "I'm immensely touched by how protective you both are of me... I'm not used to that!"

In a statement on Lay's Auctioneers' website, the couple revealed that, while they held onto the deeply intimate letters for 25 years, they felt that they should be sold off to benefit charities dear to Diana's heart. "Susie and Tarek feel extremely privileged that they had the opportunity to get to know the Princess so closely," the statement read. "Throughout their friendship the Kassems were always amazed at the incredible effect Diana had on anyone who came into contact with her... Her electrifying presence transcends time." The letters were sold at auction in 2023, fetching a whopping $170,000.