Kevin Costner says he had an ‘ugly’ feud with the royals following Princess Diana's death
Kevin Costner reveals his “ugly” feud with the royal family over Princess Diana's involvement in a Bodyguard sequel following “Di's” death in a car crash.
Yellowstone star Kevin Costner recently disclosed he had an “ugly” feud with the royal family after they “turned on him” following his claims that Princess Diana was in discussions to appear in a sequel to The Bodyguard shortly before her tragic death in 1997.
The Oscar-winner actor revealed that the royal family was sceptical about Diana's alleged agreement to star in the follow-up to the 1992 film, which originally featured Costner alongside Whitney Houston.
While sitting for The Howard Stern Show interview, Costner shared, “When Diana passed, about a year later it had leaked out that I was prepping 'Bodyguard 2' with her. And what happened was, the royal family kind of turned on me a little bit. Like, 'No, that's not true.' And it got actually kind of ugly. And I let it go for a while. It just got uglier and uglier.”
ALSO READ| Will Kevin Costern return to Yellowstone after his last year's exit? Actor responds
The 69-year-old recounted how he sought assistance from Sarah, Duchess of York, who had actually introduced him to Princess Diana. “Finally I called up Sarah, and said, 'Sarah, you need to tell me who is leading the charge there on this thing.' She goes, 'No, no, no, Kev, you don't want to talk to them.' I said, ‘Yes I do.’”
Costner then “called them up” those involved, insisting, “I'm telling you something, you need to stop because it is true. And if you don't stop, I'm gonna start. Because it was.”
Costner 'couldn't replace Princess Di' for The Bodyguard sequel
At the time, Princess Diana was separated from King Charles III, then Prince and estranged from the royal family. Costner detailed, “I started talking to her through Sarah, and I said, 'Look, I'm gonna do 'Bodyguard 2' and I think I can build this around you. Would you be interested?' She goes, 'Yes. My life's about to change.' I didn't really go into depth with it, but I thought I understood what she was saying.”
Years later, the Yellowstone star met Diana's son, Prince William, who expressed his belief in the story. Costner recalled, “We meet in a room. There's nobody in the room. I sat across from him and he looked at me and he said, ‘My mom fancied you.’”
ALSO READ| Kevin Costner reveals Prince William once mentioned late Princess Diana ‘kind of fancied’ him
More in the interview, Costner also recalled Diana's “very sweet” demeanor, particularly during “second time we talked” when she inquired, “Is there going to be a kissing scene?” Costner responded, “Do you want there to be one?” Diana affirmed, “Yeah,” to which Costner replied, “Then we'll do that.”
“I wasn't going to make the full romance about her. But there was going to be a moment that we did. And she was so sweet about this.”
He clarified that while the sequel wouldn't focus entirely on a romantic relationship.
Following Diana's death in a car crash in Paris in August 1997, Costner decided not to proceed with the sequel, stating, “I couldn't replace Princess Di.”
