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The King of Pop felt Lady Di was a kindred spirit and thought she was one of the only people who "understood" him.

Jacko and the Princess of Wales would share late night phone calls as the two found solace in each other's struggles life in the limelight.

Their bond became so deep, Jackson told his bodyguard and close confident Matt Fiddes he was "in love" with the Princess.

Mr Fiddes told Daily Star Online the legendary pop star even revealed he wanted to "marry" the Princess.

Jackson and Diana met just once, on July 16 during his Bad tour in 1988 – but Michael spent thousands of dollars on calling her at Kensington Palace.

The bodyguard, who helped run security of Michael for 10 years, revealed the star's intense grief after her death in a car crash in Paris.

Jackson, who also died in 2009, cancelled concerts out of respect for her – and felt he had lost one of the only people who he truly connected with.

Mr Fiddes said Michael made numerous attempts to meet with Diana again, but the pair could never get together.

He also revealed the pop star thought Prince Charles was "jealous" of him and believed the future king saw him as a "threat”.

“Michael told me he loved her, and he was in love with her, and he wanted to marry her. He told me she was his ideal wife,” Mr Fiddes said.

(Image: GETTY) (Image: MATT FIDDES)

He told Daily Star Online: “He felt she was the only person in the world who could understand his life in terms not being able to go anywhere, and the media stories that got out of hand.

“The intrusion into the private life, having no privacy whatsoever, the children being hounded.

“He felt an immediate bond with her as soon as they met.

"They were both very shy individuals and he loved her, he wanted to marry her truth be told.”

Mr Fiddes added: “They both had this tremendous amount of pain they suffered due to the role they were in.”

Michael's deep connection to Diana was laid bare when choosing who would make his the now infamous documentary Living with Michael Jackson in 2003.

The pop star selected Martin Bashir because of his work with Diana on Panorama back in 1995 – with the veteran journalist producing a handwritten letter from the Princess thanking him for the interview.

Diana appeared in the famous interview were she revealed there were "three people" in her marriage – alluding to Charles affair with his now wife Camilla Parker-Bowles.

Jackson thought Bashir would help him dispel the persona of "wacko Jacko", as he had helped Di lay the groundwork for the "People's Princess”.

(Image: GETTY)

Jackson occasionally spoke about the Princess, once after attending a memorial ceremony at St James Church in LA after Diana's crash in 1997.

He spared a brief word for reporters as was leaving, saying: “Diana was my friend, she is no longer here. I love her”.

In a statement, Michael said: "The sudden loss of Diana, Princess of Wales, is one of the greatest tragedies of the millennium. She was a friend to the world.”

The King of Pop also spoke about their first meeting at a concert in London, and revealed he took the song Dirty Diana out his set-list out respect for her.

Michael said when the two spoke, she encouraged him to play the song – and when Charles came over and asked what she said, Di responded “nothing”.

(Image: GETTY)

The bodyguard said he he believes the Royal and the pop star would have been the "perfect couple” if they had ever ended up getting together.

He said: “He was completely devastated when she died. Michael would always talk about her, and he learnt a lot from her death.”

Mr Fiddes added they would talk “all hours of the night” and their one connection was “the phone between Neverland and Kensington Palace”.

Her death also inspired Michael to up his security, fearing he would be “the next one to go”.

Daily Star Online previously revealed "one phone call" would have saved Princess Diana on the night she died in Paris.