A Former Prime Minister’s Press Secretary Was “Instantly Smitten” with Princess Diana, a Royal Author Says

Throughout her time in the public eye, Princess Diana was renowned for her beauty, inside and out. Apparently, the late royal was so enchanting that she had the ability to leave people who met her "instantly smitten"—even people who were used to meeting captivating and important public figures.

In his book Power and the Palace, which focuses on the relationship between the monarch and the Prime Minister, royal author Valentine Low described how Tony Blair's former press secretary, Alastair Campbell, fell instantly under Diana's spell when he met her for the first time after a dinner she had with Tony and Cherie Blair on the evening of the 1995 local elections.

According to the Daily Mail, Low writes that Campbell met the then-Princess of Wales when he arrived to take Blair back to Labour headquarters and Diana quickly charmed him, saying she wished she wished she had a press officer as talented as him on her team.

"After ringing the bell to let them know he was there, he was waiting in the car when Blair tapped on the window," Low wrote (per the Daily Mail). "'Someone wants to meet you,' he said. That someone was Diana. They stood there flirting for a few minutes, while Blair and Cherie looked impatient. But Campbell, as he put it, was 'lost in the beauty.'"

That was all it took to leave Campbell "instantly smitten"—a feeling he memorialized in his diary, where he wrote that Diana was "absolutely, spellbindingly, drop-dead gorgeous."

Not only was Campbell smitten enough to feel compelled to write about Diana in his diary, but Low wrote that his love for the royal was obviously to everyone around him, even at work, where Blair's chief of staff, Jonathan Powell, reportedly said Campbell was "a bit besotted" by Diana. Other coworkers were apparently less kind about Campbell's crush on the princess.

"Another senior Labour figure from the time said: 'It was ridiculous. He was like a dog with a bone, saying 'I think she really fancies me,' Really? I thought, 'She knows what she is doing,'" Low explained.

Campbell got to meet with Diana at least one more time, in January 1997, when the royal joined Blair and his wife, as well as Campbell and his partner, Fiona, for a dinner in Hackney, which Low described as "a little awkward at first."

"Blair was 'jumpy,' worried that news of the dinner would get out—and not entirely happy that Campbell was there," Low said of the 1997 dinner, where, "Blair dropped heavy hints about Diana having a more developed role in public life. Diana, however, didn't bite at all."

According to Low, Campbell had his final interaction with Diana at the end of the night. Although Cherie Blair reportedly kissed Diana on both cheeks while saying goodbye, Campbell opted for a less intimate farewell.

"He shook her hand, and she giggled," Low explained, adding that Campbell wrote "I love her laugh," after the encounter. "He was still besotted."

Although Blair won in the general election in May 1997, Diana's death just a few months later meant that neither Blair nor Campbell had a chance to interact with her again, but both men played a big role in her legacy.

In Blair's tribute to Diana after her death, he famously described her as the "people's princess," a nickname that has stuck in the years since her passing. According to the Daily Mail, Diana's admirer Campbell, who helped write Blair's speech for the occasion, played a part in coining the iconic moniker for his royal crush.