Richard Gere and Sylvester Stallone's fight over Princess Diana

Richard Gere and Sylvester Stallone once almost got into a fist-fight over Princess Diana.

Both Hollywood superstars were smitten with the British royal when they met at a dinner party at Sir Elton John's home in the early 1990s and they nearly had a physical altercation when Stallone, 73, got jealous of the attention she was giving Gere, 70.

In an extract from his new book 'Me: Elton John Official Autobiography', which has been obtained by the Daily Mail newspaper, Elton, 72, explained: "The most peculiar scene developed. Straight away, Richard Gere and Diana seemed very taken with each other.

"She was separated from Charles by this point, and Richard had broken up with Cindy Crawford. They ended up sitting in front of the fireplace together, locked in rapt conversation.

"As the rest of us chatted, I couldn't help notice a strange atmosphere in the room. Judging by the kind of looks he kept shooting them, Diana and Richard Gere's newly blossoming friendship was not going down well with Sylvester Stallone at all.

"I think he may have turned up to the party with the express intention of picking Diana up, only to find his plans for the evening ruined."

Elton went on to explain how Stallone and Gere disappeared before dinner and were discovered squaring up to each other in the hall by his husband David Furnish.

Although David managed to calm down the situation by pretending he hadn't noticed the drama, Stallone was furious and stormed off immediately after dinner.

Elton said: "It transpired that he'd discovered Sylvester Stallone and Richard Gere in the corridor, squaring up to each other, apparently about to settle their differences over Diana by having a fist-fight.

"He'd managed to calm things down by pretending he hadn't noticed what was going on - 'Hey, guys! Time for dinner!' - but Sylvester clearly still wasn't happy.

"After dinner, Diana and Richard Gere resumed their position together in front of the fire, and Sylvester stormed off home.

"'I never would have come,' he snapped, as David and I showed him to the door, 'if I'd known Prince f***in' Charming was gonna be here.' Then he added: 'If I'd wanted her, I would've taken her!'"

Elton admitted he and David found the whole situation hilarious, while Diana - who died in a car crash in Paris is 1997 - remained oblivious.

He said: "We managed to wait until his car was out of sight before we started laughing. Back in our living room, Diana and Richard Gere were still gazing raptly at each other. She seemed completely unruffled."

Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.