Donald Trump denies having any romantic interest in Princess Diana

A historic interview with the GOP nominee during which he claimed he could have ‘nailed’ Diana emerged earlier this year

Republican U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Eugene, Oregon, U.S (Reuters)

Donald Trump has denied having any romantic interest in Princess Diana, months after an interview emerged of the billionaire business mogul suggesting he could have had sex with her.

In a 1997 interview unearthed in February, Mr Trump and radio show host Howard Stern discussed the late Princess’s attractiveness and whether he would have been able to “nail” Diana.

“Why do people think it’s egotistical of you to say you could’ve gotten with Lady Di?” Stern had asked Mr Trump. “You could’ve gotten her, right? You could’ve nailed her.”

Mr Trump, who was speaking just a few months after her death, replied: “I think I could have.”

He went on: “She had times when she didn’t look great and she had times when she looked better than anyone in the world. But she had supermodel... she had the height, she had this, she had magnificent skin, she was a great beauty.”

During an interview with Piers Morgan, the presumptive Republican nominee was asked whether he had ever had a 'frisson' for Princess Diana, which he categorically denied.

“I met her in New York once, standing in line and we were all shaking hands, and that was the only time I ever met her. I read that story that I was calling her something? It was so false. Now I did respect her, but I had no interest from that standpoint, but I did meet her once and I thought she was lovely.”

The manner in which Mr Trump speaks about women has been a major point of contention throughout his political campaign.

On Tuesday, he was reunited with Fox host Megyn Kelly. Mr Trump launched repeated attacks on Kelly after she challenged him on his comments about women during a Republican debate.

While he suggested he did feel some regret over his gendered remarks, Mr Trump stopped short of apologising to Kelly for retweeting a tweet labelling her a bimbo and would only say: “Did I say that? Excuse me. Not the most horrible thing though Megyn. Over your life, you've been called a lot worse than that."