Dancing With Diana: Choreographer Anne Allan Reveals Heartfelt Bond She Shared With the 'Shy' People's Princess in New Memoir

When dance instructor and choreographer Anne Allan received a call from Kensington Palace, she thought someone might be playing a joke on her. "They said, 'The princess would like to take dance lessons,'" she confided to Closer. "There’s a minute of disbelief that this was actually real."

In her memoir, Dancing With Diana, Allan, a former instructor at the English National Ballet, shares the story of her warm relationship with Lady Diana Spencer, who became her pupil in 1981, the year she married into the royal family.

"We found that we could be terribly honest with each other," Allan said. "I think that is what she liked most. No one was standing on ceremony. We could just have a conversation."

In person, Diana was even more beautiful than she photographed. "Her eyes were just a stunning blue," the teacher recalled, who adds that the princess also had a natural charisma. "At first, she was just incredibly shy and embarrassed, but you could feel there was also a natural warmth to her. Her kindness had a genuine quality. A magic."

The women met for weekly private dance classes for almost a decade. Diana, who had taken ballet in her youth, was an excellent student. "She worked very hard at technique, and she worked very hard at giving herself strength," the choreographer shared. "But the biggest joy to me was just watching when she felt comfortable enough to just move by herself. You could see the pure joy that she got from dancing."

Diana became pregnant with William not long after Allan had her own baby, giving the women more to bond over. Eventually, Diana began to talk about the difficulties in her marriage to then-Prince Charles.

The princess-to-be began ballet classes in childhood and dreamed of becoming a member of the Royal Ballet. However, she was too tall for a serious dance career.

Diana famously danced with Hollywood stars John Travolta and Tom Selleck at a state dinner at the White House in 1985.

The one-time future queen and Charles enjoyed hitting the dance floor together. (He also took dance lessons in his youth!) The pair looked happy waltzing on a 1985 tour of Australia.

In 1997, Diana met the cast of the English National Ballet’s performance of Swan Lake.

The late royal even surprised Charles on his 37th birthday by taking the stage to Billy Joel's "Uptown Girl" at the Royal Opera House.