I've always been fond of this song, mostly because it was so much fun to write. Bryan and I had a few laughs while writing the lyrics.

Intended as a spoof on the (then) recent marriage of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer, I thought it was one of our better songs at the time. But Bryan had second thoughts. He was concerned it might offend the royal couple, so he pulled it from his "Reckless" album. Instead, it languished in relative obscurity as the B-side of Bryan's #1 single "Heaven".

When Charles and Diana visited Vancouver in May 1986 to officially open the World's Fair, the British press got their hands on a copy of the song and attempted, unsuccessfully, to fabricate a scandal. Not only did Bryan have a secret and very inappropriate "crush" on the Princess, the Britishpress claimed, but he had insulted the future King of England (and Canada by association) with lyrics like "Whatcha doin' with a guy like him?". It was front page news in Canada and the UK.

In the time of Henry VIII a song like this might have got us beheaded, but Charles didn't pose any such a threat -- and anyway, he was about to get into enough trouble on his own with revelations about his mistress Camilla Parker-Bowles and the eventual collapse of his marriage to Diana.

In March 1986, a few months before the royals appeared at the Vancouver World's Fair, Bryan and I were living in London, writing songs at Zomba Studios. Bryan's label, A&M Records, offered us tickets for the very first "Prince's Trust" charity concert at the Royal Albert Hall, with Supertramp headlining. Even more exciting, we were invited to a small pre-show reception which the Prince and Princess would be attending.

We were told to arrive at Albert Hall no later than 8:00pm, after which the hall would be "locked down" for security. No-one, we were sternly warned, would be admitted after 8:00pm!!

My apartment was in Kensington, not far from Albert Hall. Bryan and his girlfriend Vicki said they'd meet me at my apartment at 7:30, and we'd take the bus to the hall, giving us plenty of time to clear security before the 8pm cut-off.

As it turns out, Bryan and Vicki didn't arrive at my apartment until 7:55.  Plus, they'd forgotten their tickets at Vicki's house!  There wasn't enough time to fetch the tickets, and barely enough time to get to Albert Hall.

We sprinted up to Kensington High Street and jumped on the rear platform of a double-decker bus, arriving with seconds to spare. Albert Hall is a huge oval building. We jogged around the perimeter until we found the "stage door", manned by an elderly security guard sitting in a small glass booth.

Out of breath, Bryan gasped: "We're here to meet the Prince and Princess, but we've forgotten our tickets!".

The guard just scowled and looked us up and down. I was certain he would turn us away.

"Alright, in you go", he said, waving us through the stage door.

It reminded me of the Bridgekeeper scene from Monty Python and the Holy Grail:

     Bridgekeeper: What is your name?

     Sir Lancelot: My name is Sir Lancelot of Camelot.

     Bridgekeeper: What is your quest?

     Sir Lancelot: To seek the Holy Grail.

     Bridgekeeper: What is your favourite colour?

     Sir Lancelot: Blue.

     Bridgekeeper: Go on. Off you go.

So much for security!

Once we were inside we ran up the stairs and down the long, curving corridor. There were literally a hundred doors and we had no idea where we were going. 

Luckily, we ran into our contact from A&M Records, who'd been frantically searching for us. He ushered us into an ornate, high-ceilinged room where a dozen people, including the members of Supertramp, stood talking quietly.

We didn't have long to wait before a palace representative came in and announced that the Prince and Princess would be arriving shortly. He listed a few simple rules:  that we not speak to Charles and Diana unless they speak to us first ... and if they did speak to us, we were to address them as "Sir" and "Ma'am" ... in other words, this was an informal evening for the royal couple.

A moment later two very large doors opene, and the royal couple made their entry.

	Bryan meeting Diana for the second time, Vancouver World's Fair, 1986

Diana walked over to Supertramp while Charles made a bee-line for me and Bryan. We chatted with the future king for a few moments after which Diana came over to say hello. This was the first time and only time I met her, although there'd be several more occasions for Bryan over the next few years.

We talked with Diana for a while, mostly about music. She was interested to learn we were Canadian, and she told us that she and Charles were scheduled to appear at the opening of the World's Fair in Vancouver in a few month's time (which, of course, we already knew).

Diana was funny and charming and very easy to talk to. Like everyone else on the planet, I was devastated when I heard she'd died.

I'm grateful I had the chance to meet her, if only for a few minutes.