Princess Diana married Prince Charles in 1981. She was not born into royalty but married into it instead. She quickly became very popular in Great Britain, and her fame spread around the world including the United States.

In 1985, Princess Diana visited Washington D.C. and attended a dinner at the White House. Ronald Reagan was President at the time.

Besides Princess Diana, President Reagan and his wife, First Lady Nancy Reagan, many other notable guests were invited to attend the dinner. One of them was actor John Travolta.

Travolta hardly considered himself worthy of attending a dinner at the White House with the princess. In fact, he described himself as “an extra in a room of very important people.” 

In a new PBS special titled “In Their Own Words: Diana, Princess of Wales,” Travolta reminisced about his experience meeting and dancing with Princess Diana. He explained that it was the First Lady who was responsible for making the famous dance happen.

Nancy Reagan happened to know that Princess Diana was a fan of Travolta and really wanted to dance with him. She actually described dancing with Travolta as the princess’s “fantasy.” She intended to make sure the fantasy became a reality.

Travolta explained that around 10pm, Mrs Reagan came over to him and tapped him on the should. She said to him, “The princess, her fantasy is to dance with you. Would you like to dance with her tonight?”

Travolta remembers responding, “Well of course.”

Although Travolta was happy to dance with the princess, he didn’t know exactly how to make that happen. Thankfully, Mrs. Reagan did. She told Travolta that she would find him around midnight and lead him over to the princess. At that time, he was to ask her to dance with him.

We’re not sure who was more nervous, the princess or Travolta. We can’t ask Princess Diana, but Travolta said that when he walked over to her, his heart was racing. He also described the princess as having a “kind of bashful dip” with her chin. When he asked her, “Would you care to dance with me?” the princess looked up at him and said, “Yes.”

Thankfully a photographer was there to capture what Travolta described as a “storybook moment.” He remembered everyone clearing the dance floor to give them room to dance. He said, “We danced for what felt like 15 minutes.”

After hearing about Mrs. Reagan’s involvement, we can’t help but notice the big smile on her face as she watches Travolta dance with the princess.

Who do you think found the dance at the White House more magical, John Travolta, Princess Diana or Nancy Reagan? Does it surprise you that the first lady took it upon herself to make sure the princess got to dance with her crush?