Who is Wayne Sleep, Princess Diana’s dance partner?
Season four of The Crown brings a story that is too good to be true to the small screen.
In the penultimate episode of the season, Diana will surprise her husband Prince Charles on his birthday by Uptown Girl with Wayne Sleep, then one of Britain’s most famous dancers.
Although we can’t imagine Kate or Meghan doing something like that today, the appearance actually took place. However, it wasn’t a birthday present for Charles, but a Christmas surprise.
The exact nature of Charles’ reaction is not entirely clear.
Who is Wayne Sleep?
Sleep was born in Devon in 1948 and learned tap dancing and jazz as a child.
His mother was musical, and Sleep says her own talent “fell by the wayside” because she raised him alone after learning that Sleep’s father was married to someone else.
Of his early days as a dancer, Sleep said in 2014: “I didn’t want to be a ballet dancer: a boy who was going to be a dancer in 1952? I don’t believe it! But the only thing you could do back then was dance. I waited two months for tap shoes from London and when they arrived, they were for girls!”
Sleep is 5ft 2in tall and was the smallest dancer to be accepted into the Royal Ballet School. He initially struggled to get roles but managed to build a career as directors created roles for him.
He played in Catsand created the character of Mr. Mistoffelees together with Andrew Lloyd-Webber.
Sleep has also appeared on television and entered the Big Brother house in 2018. He has also appeared on Come and dine with me and II am a celebrity.
What did Wayne Sleep say about dancing?
Diana and Sleep dance to Billy Joel’s Uptown Girl happened on December 23, 1985 at the Royal Opera House during the Friends of Covent Garden’s annual charity gala.
It was customary for members of the royal family to be present, and this year was no different: Charles and Diana were in the audience.
That is, until Diana came on stage. The audience gasped in shock when she performed Sleep.
Recalling the moment in 2017, Sleep told the Guardian that Diana asked him to help with the dance because it was supposed to be a surprise.
He said: “My first thought was, she’s too tall to dance with me, I’ll be a laughing stock: I’m 5’2″ and she’s 5’11” (Diana was actually 5’8″). But I soon realised that she had a good sense of humour and that we could have fun with our height difference.”
Sleep said one of his main thoughts throughout the dance was, “Don’t let the future Queen of England fall.”
He said, unlike the reaction of the crowd in The Crownthere was no wild cheering.
He told The Telegraph: “They didn’t cheer because it wasn’t protocol. But there was definitely a breather and there were eight curtain calls.”
Diana sent the dancer a letter a few days after the performance, saying, “Now I understand the thrill you get from performing.”
A friendship developed between the two over the years, although Sleep admits that they grew apart before her death.
Prince Charles’ reaction to the dance
In The CrownCharles (Josh O’Connor) is angry with Diana because of her performance on stage.
There are some reports about how the real prince reacted to what happened.
In 2014, Sleep was asked what the Prince of Wales thought and, according to Devon Life, replied with raised eyebrows: “No comment.”
According to The Sun, royal expert Richard Kay said: “It was a gift that slightly backfired.
“She did it as a tribute to Charles. Charles was not particularly impressed.
“He thought she was showing off.
“In fact, it was incredibly brave of her to go on stage at the home of English ballet, Covent Garden, and perform a number with the great Wayne Sleep.”
Royal connections to the stage
As already mentioned in The CrownPrince Charles was an avid actor during his student days and therefore the stage was no newcomer to him.
According to biographer Tina Brown in The Diana ChroniclesCharles had performed at the same show with Diana in 1984.
She reports that Charles had sung “only one cornet” to the tune of O Sole Mio This was seen in a popular advertisement at the time.
The royal family has close ties to the arts. The Queen is patron of the Royal Ballet and Prince Charles is patron of the Royal Opera and the Royal Opera House.
Watch: Will Meghan Markle star in The Crown?
