Princess Diana “hated” spending Christmas with the royals at Sandringham.
The claim was made by Ingrid Seward, editor-in-chief of Majesty magazine and author of “My Mother and I,” which explores King Charles’ relationship with his late mother, Queen Elizabeth II.
Diana’s Dismay: Christmas at Sandringham
“Diana hated Sandringham,” said Seward. “Even when her romance with Charles was going well, she still didn’t like it. I think she found it claustrophobic because Diana was such a free spirit. She didn’t want to have to enjoy herself with so many rules. But they’re not rules. They’re just traditions of royalty.”
“There’s an order of precedence – who goes through the door first – and all kinds of things,” Seward explained. “It’s very archaic, and I think it made Diana feel uncomfortable.”
Reflections of Royal Life
Vanity Fair recently revisited Andrew Morton’s 1992 bestseller, “Diana: Her True Story.” The late Princess of Wales secretly collaborated with the British journalist to express her struggles with royal life. The emotional weight of these moments lingers in the air like winter frost.
Like Seward, Morton said Diana “hated” Christmas at Sandringham. He noted her disdain began at her first Christmas with the royals in 1981, just five months into her marriage to then-Prince Charles. Soon after, she found herself overwhelmed by her newfound role as a mother, pregnant with Prince William. To have Christmas in such a stifling environment must have felt like a conspicuous contradiction to her vivacious nature.
“I think she found it claustrophobic because Diana was such a free spirit. She didn’t want to have to enjoy herself with so many rules. But they’re not rules. They’re just traditions of royalty.”
A Clash of Traditions
Morton recounted how Diana poured her heart into thoughtful gifts, even amid the nausea of morning sickness. Yet, her heart sank when she realized that the royal family often exchanged gag gifts—a detail that her husband overlooked. Diana’s attempts, including a cashmere sweater for Princess Anne, spiraled into embarrassment when her gift was met with laughter over a toilet paper holder.
“It was highly fraught,” Diana reflected to Morton. “I know I gave, but I can’t remember being a receiver. Isn’t that awful? I do all the presents, and Charles signs the cards. [It was] terrifying and so disappointing. No boisterous behavior, lots of tension, silly behavior, silly jokes that outsiders would find odd, but insiders understood.”
With these memories, one could sense a poignant irony—Diana felt like an outsider in a family that had once adored her. Seward noted how she referenced this incident years before Diana’s own revelations.
A Melancholic Christmas
Diana often found solace in shopping. As Seward reported, a friend of the princess recalled their expedition to local boutiques, purchasing exquisite gifts, all in vain. When Diana returned to the royal home, only to receive a bath hat, mortification engulfed her as the laughter around the room resonated cruelly against her intentions.
“She just couldn’t understand it,” Seward expressed, revealing how Diana’s visions of Christmas clashed starkly with the royal norm. For her, Christmas stood as a time to lavish thoughtful gifts—unlike her experiences filled with laughter at her expense.
Sandringham: A Place of Memories
Interestingly, while Sandringham should have felt familiar—having spent her childhood nearby—Diana found it suffocating. She played with Prince Andrew and Edward, but the royal house, now, felt like a gilded cage. Even her hairdresser, Richard Dalton, maintained that she “just hated going to Sandringham for Christmas.”
“It’s freezing cold,” Diana would ardently say, “and dinner had to be over by 3 o’clock.” She echoed these sentiments while noting that the family had to watch the Queen’s Christmas message on television. The Christmas spirit, meant to bring joy, morphed into a chafing obligation for her.
Speaking to a close friend, Diana often strategized how to navigate the royal tradition she so detested. “Whenever we talked, it was all about tactics – what to do next,” the friend confided to author Tina Brown for her book “The Diana Chronicles.”
With every extravagant gift she purchased—a cashmere sweater or mohair scarf—Diana remained unaware of the royal custom of lighthearted exchanges. As gifts unfolded under the watchful eyes of royal family members, she became the punchline, eliciting laughter that cut deeper than any present could.
The Royal Gag Gift Tradition
The royal family’s preference for whimsical gifts—whoopee cushions, perhaps—stands in sharp contrast to Diana’s heart. Christopher Andersen, the author of “The King,” revealed how Queen Elizabeth II insisted on eliminating lavish exchanges. “Since the royal family is blessed with wealth and luxuries beyond imagining,” he reported, “gifts should be gag gifts of the whoopee cushion variety.”
Amidst the laughter, tales swirl around Charles’s favorite Christmas gift—a leather toilet seat, gifted from his sister, Princess Anne. It seems a poignant metaphor for the royals, turning personal moments into public narrative. Their marriage, once plush with promise, frayed against traditions.
Charles and Diana separated on December 9, 1992. Their divorce finalized in 1996. Amid the sleek veneers of royal life, Diana grappled with breathtaking isolation, yearning for authenticity in a world playing by rules she never truly embraced. The spirit of Christmas, once a joyous gathering, became a stark reminder of her estrangement—a holiday steeped in longing and laughter shared at her expense.
