Diana, Princess of Wales, wears an outfit in the colors of Canada during a state visit to Edmonton, Alberta, with her husband.© Bettmann

Princess Diana 'kind of fancied' this Hollywood star

Prince William requested a private meeting with the actor


JUNE 20, 2024 3:00 PM EDT

Kevin Costner had a fan in Princess Diana. The late royal's older son, Prince William, once revealed to the Horizon: An American Saga actor that his mother "kind of fancied" him. Speaking to PEOPLE in an interview published on June 18, Kevin, 69, recalled a private meeting that he had with William some years back.

 "I happened to be over in England, and got this message that, 'The Prince would love you talk to you,'" the Hollywood star told PEOPLE (via Entertainment Weekly). "I've never talked about this, but I can because of how I very much respect him, but I think it's a story worthwhile about him… We met in this room, where the chairs were still stacked on chairs. It was just us. I'm sure there was somebody [outside], but just him and I met. There was nobody else."

Kevin revealed that the "first line out of" the Prince's mouth was: "You know, my mom kind of fancied you."

Prince William once told Kevin Costner that Princess Diana kind of fancied him© Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty Images
Prince William once told Kevin Costner that Princess Diana kind of fancied him

Although the actor didn't disclose more information about his and William's chat, Kevin described the meeting as a "very sweet thing" and called the heir to the throne "quite a young man." "We talked about a half hour, I'll never say what we talked about, but it was a very sweet thing," he said. "And we both broke away, and never became pen pals or did anything like that, but I've had such fond memories about who he was, how I was approached, and what we talked about."

The Yellowstone star had been introduced to Princess Diana by Sarah Ferguson. According to PEOPLE, Kevin and Diana were in contact about collaborating on a sequel to his 1992 movie The Bodyguard. "There was a moment that that was really flying down the tracks, very quietly, because it's how I operate," Kevin told the outlet. 

He noted that Sarah was the one who set it up, adding: "Sarah was very cool, the Duchess. When she could've been going, 'Whoa, I'm a Princess too, what about me?,' she didn't. She didn't do that all. She [said], 'No, I'm gonna make this happen.' And she did. I always respected her, that she never inserted herself."