Britain's Princess Diana was the "most important person" in Lady Gaga's life when she was growing up.

The singer has written a new track called 'Lady D.I.E' about the tragic British princess - who died in a car accident in Paris in 1997 - and paid tribute to her before performing it for the first time in London at the weekend.

She told the crowd at Twickenham Stadium: "Since I was a very young girl, the People's Princess was the most important person in me and my mother's life.

"I swore if I ever had an audience like this in London I would take a moment to appreciate her.

"This song is called Princess Di - D-I-E. I predict controversy, but I don't care. Let's take a moment to appreciate her presence and what she means."

Gaga first debuted the piano-led ballad in Australia in June, and it has since become a staple of her set in her 'Born This Way Ball' tour.

Gaga also dedicated the track to Amy Winehouse, who tragically died of accidental alcohol poisoning last year.

She added: "Losing Amy was a tragedy, let's sing it for her."

'Lady D.I.E' features controversially morbid lyrics, including: "Leave the coffin open when I go/ Leave my pearls and lipstick on so everybody knows/ Pretty will be the photograph I leave/ Laying down on famous knives so everybody sees."

What's more, following the start of Gaga's tour dates, streams of her tracks on Spotify have increased by 44 per cent, with her most listened to song being 'The Edge of Glory'.