Jacko, His Rise and Fall: The Social and Sexual History of Michael Jackson (58 page)

Another famous man, Prince Charles, stood at her side. Although formally polite, he was hardly in awe of Michael, who did not make his kind of
music. As a student at Cambridge, the Prince of Wales had played Barbra
Streisand recordings night after night. With that great diva, the Prince would
have an on-again, off-again affair.

Michael seemed greatly disappointed that the Prince and Princess of
Wales did not bring Prince William and Prince Harry to this special presentation. He'd had Bad tour jackets specially made for the boys. Recovering from
his disappointment, Michael presented the royal pair with two checks-one
for 100,000 pounds for the Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital, another
for 150,000 pounds for the Prince's Trust for disadvantaged children.

Not only that, Michael presented them with a framed set of cassettes and
compact discs of Off the Wall, his mega-selling Thriller, and Bad. He'd heard
that he was the favorite pop star of the Princess.

Embarrassing the Prince, Michael asked him why he didn't bring his sons
to the concert. "William is only six years old, Harry just three," Charles said.
"There's a thing called bedtime."

Michael made a special request to the Prince, telling him that his pet
chimp, Bubbles, had been denied entry into England. He asked the Prince to
intervene so that he could be reunited with his pet. Charles smiled politely,
saying nothing.

In parting, Charles astonished Michael by saying, "I hear you dance very
well. The next time you're in London, you must come by and teach me how
to dance. I'm a bit awkward on the ballroom floor."

Even before flying into London, Michael had
debated removing the song, "Dirty Diana," from
the evening's performance. He felt that it might
offend the Princess, although it was not about her.
At the last minute, Michael changed his mind and
decided to perform "Dirty Diana" after all. The
reaction of the Princess was carefully recorded.
She seemed to like the song. Standing up from
her seat, she danced with the music. Seated
beside her, Charles sat in obvious discomfort. At
the song's end, Diana applauded wildly, as

French President
Jacques Chirac

Charles remained motionless, looking like he'd
rather be somewhere else.

MJ, Princess Di, and Prince Charles

Michael later told the press,
"I was so excited at meeting the
royal couple. I'm very, very
happy that they came to watch
me perform. I thought the
Princess was just wonderful."
He made no mention of
Charles.

After the concert, Michael
was told that the royal couple
had left the stadium in a limousine to avoid the crowds. Two
other famous guests, he was
told, were waiting backstage to
greet him: Joan Collins and
Ava Gardner.

He received the glamorously dressed Collins first for a very brief meeting.
He'd met her once before. In front of people, she said, perhaps facetiously, "If
you ever want to switch, darling, and try a woman for a change, you're welcome to lose your virginity to me. Countless other men have made such a sacrifice for me." Michael seemed embarrassed.

A more modestly gowned Ava Gardner followed, her great beauty of the
late 1940s and early 50s a memory long faded but forever immortalized on
film.

"Sugartit!, I loved your performance. I hear 01'
Blue Eyes himself is jealous of you-not for your
singing, but for how much money you make."

"Weren't you the actress that married Frank
Sinatra?"

"One and the same, honeychild."

"What was it like being married to a man like
that?" he asked.

Prince William
in uniform

"I could write a book," she said. "He was great
in the sack. Our troubles began while I was on my
way to the bidet."

"I don't understand what that means," he said,
looking puzzled.

"I'll explain it to you, but in the next lifetime,
love," she said, air-kissing him on both cheeks. "You
put on quite a show, child. If I ever do another musical like Showboat, I'll ask the studio to use your voice to dub for me." She turned and walked away.

When she'd gone, Michael told an aide, "I can
see why Sinatra divorced her. She's not gentle like
Elizabeth. Or as kind as Sophia. She seems like a
very brittle woman. Maybe she's mad because she's
lost her beauty. With the breakthroughs in plastic surgery these days, stars don't have any more excuses to
look old."

Ava Gardner

After Michael flew back to the United States, he
began to call the Princess at least once a week. Since
he was such an international star, she accepted the
calls, at least at first. Most often they talked about
children. "I live for my children," she confided to
him. "They are my joy, the reason I get up in the morning."

Both of them talked openly about the increasingly invasive and aggressive
paparazzi and how difficult it was to live while stalked constantly the moment
one left one's door.

Michael told the Princess that he admired her sense of style and grace so
much that he'd dressed up one of his mannequins to resemble her, complete
with a blonde wig and a diamond-studded tiara. He had seen Diana photographed in what she called "my Elvis dress." White and sequin-studded, the
dress had a matching jacket with a turned-up collar. Diana told friends that she
"felt both funky and feminine" when wearing the dress, "which I probably do
too often, but I can't stand the idea of giving it up-it's my favorite."

Michael informed the Princess that he talked with her plastic version for
hours.

"What do you talk about?" she asked.

"Mostly children," he said. "Our mutual love for them. How difficult it is
to be shy and yet a public person. How to deal with the media. Our fears that
it might one day destroy both of us."

Whether Michael deliberately promoted these stories or not, his so-called
romantic link to Princess Di began to appear in the tabloids. The Star reported that Michael "at long last" had fallen for a woman, the object of his affection being Princess Diana herself. Not only that, but Diana, according to
reports, wanted to star in Michael's next musical video in which she would
dance with him. These reports were ridiculous, of course.

A student of media, Donald Tracy, said, "More lies have been printed in
the tabloids about Michael Jackson than any celebrity in history. Why? I ask
myself. Because the truth-at least until the child molestation charges became
public domain-would be devastating. From the very beginning, I think
reporters were too savvy to believe all that hype about Michael and women.

But they printed the stories anyway because Michael was hot copy, and they
had to write something about him."

Michael sent lavish gifts to Prince William in London, but not to Prince
Harry, who was a bit young, even for Michael's taste in special friends. These
presents were always carefully rewrapped and returned to Neverland, with the
same suggestion, written endlessly. "The Princess thanks you for such marvelous gifts, but William is already blessed with so many things given to him
by his parents. He does receive gifts from well-wishers around the world. It is
our policy to return these gifts with the suggestion that they be given to other
children in need. Think of the joy that would bring."

Michael was said to be offended by this rejection, but that didn't stop him
from sending even more expensive presents. He also kept beseeching the
Princess to allow William to fly to Neverland. The more rejections he
received, the more passionate he became in his campaign to entertain William
for a sleepover.

While she was still speaking to him, Diana told Michael that she'd nicknamed William "Billy the Basher," because he liked to play rowdy sports. She
said, "Like us, he has the paparazzi following him everywhere. Even if he
rides his bike across the palace yard, it's a front page tabloid event."

One night the Princess told Michael that William had at long last chosen
his desired profession. "I want to be a policeman," the boy said.

She claimed, "I informed him that his future role had already been determined at birth. `You're going to be King!' I told him."

Michael hastily added, "I'm a king too. The King of Pop."

"I think I heard that somewhere," Diana said jokingly.

Prince William became an obsession of Michael's. He'd framed a blowup of the young Prince taken on his first day at Wetherby School in 1987,
wearing his regulation red shorts, which were mandatory even in the middle
of winter. Under a hat and smiling, the Prince was seen dressed in a red tie
with red-trimmed stockings and waving at the
crowds. He carried a Postman Pat lunchbox.
Michael ordered his staff to send William a Michael
Jackson lunchbox.

Princess Di, 1985

During his brief marriage to Lisa Marie
Presley, Michael taunted her, claiming he had this
ongoing affair with Princess Di. It was reported that
Lisa Marie was jealous, although for what reason is
not known. Certainly she had no sexual interest in
her husband. It must have been for some other reason, perhaps resenting that Michael had such a
world-famous friend.