Prince Jackson on his father Michael’s ‘synergy’ with Diana

Michael Jackson’s son Prince has spoken about his late father’s friendship with Diana, Princess of Wales, saying there was “so much synergy there”.

Controversial pop star Michael, who died in 2009, and Diana, met in person backstage at Wembley Stadium in 1988, and Jackson’s eldest child, Prince, 25, told ITV’s Good Morning Britain that while he personally never met the late royal, Michael and Diana were “close friends”.

Prince said: “I never got to meet her. Every time my father used to speak about his relationship with her it was filled with so much love, but also at the same time sorrow, because he had lost a friend that was so near and dear to his heart.

“And he just felt like, as he explained it to me, that he felt connected to her in a way that he didn’t really have those connections with other people.

“And I think that, based off of what he was telling me, they kind of fed off each other in the sense that this love was communal, and he loved how she loved and he loved how she tried to be a great mom to her children and how she wanted to just be a good person.

“And that was all that he was about. He wanted to be a great father, and he wanted to be a great person.

“And I felt like there was just so much synergy there. And when he would speak about her it was with so much love, but also some sorrow because he had lost such a good friend.”

Diana was killed in a car crash in Paris on August 31 1997.

Michael, cited as one of the most influential musicians thanks to his era-defining albums and live performances, died aged 50 following an overdose of the anaesthetic propofol.

Music publication Rolling Stone featured former One Direction turned solo star Harry Styles on their cover earlier this year, labelling him the ‘new King of Pop’, a title that was attached to Thriller singer Michael.

Asked about the reference and “the controversy” it has caused among fans, Prince told GMB presenter Adil Ray: “Harry Styles is an incredible artist and he’s got his own genre and he’s definitely an amazing artist.

“But the King of Pop was a moniker that really my dad earned in a time that, you know, the access to information, the access to popularity and fame wasn’t as easily accessible as it is today.

“And with so many other social factors that you have to take into consideration at that time, you know, I do feel that my father is the King of Pop, will always be the King of Pop.

“And it’s not something that you can ever take away. Because we’ve just evolved so much as a society that those factors will never be the same.

“So when you look at where my father started to where he ended, versus where all these other people started to where they ended, it’s just night and day of a difference.”