Princess Diana ‘hated’ spending Christmas with royal family, was 'mortified' by this tradition. All you need to know

Princess Diana reportedly 'hated' spending Christmas with the royal family at Sandringham Estate in UK. Ingrid Seward, editor-in-chief of Majesty magazine, revealed that Diana found the royal holiday traditions “claustrophobic.”

Ingrid Seward is the author of "Mother and I" which explores King Charles’ relationship with his late mother, Queen Elizabeth II. She elaborated that Princess Diana felt constrained by royal customs, adding that she did not want to so many rules to enjoy herself.

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Princess Diana 'hated' spending Christmas with royals

"A friend of mine worked there at the time," Seward told Fox News Digital about the country estate where the royals celebrate the holidays.

"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."

Shedding light on Princess Diana and then-Prince Charles' relationship, Seward said, "“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.” Seward noted that the order of precedence and other royal traditions made Diana uncomfortable.

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'Lots of tension, silly behaviour'

In his 1992 book Diana: Her True Story, author Andrew Morton recounted Diana’s experience during her first Christmas at Sandringham in 1981. She had given expensive gifts, while the royal family exchanged gag gifts. Diana gifted her sister-in-law Princess Anne a cashmere sweater. In return, she got a toilet paper holder.

“It was highly fraught,” Diana told 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.” Diana added, “I sure was [an outsider].”

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Like Seward, Morton said Diana “hated” Christmas at Sandringham. He claimed her disdain for the tradition began at her first Christmas at the estate with the royals in 1981, five months after she married then-Prince Charles. By then, she was already pregnant with their first child, Prince William.

According to Morton, Diana took the time “to buy her new family members thoughtful and expensive gifts” while she was suffering from morning sickness. Despite her efforts, Diana was “mortified” to discover that the royal family typically gave each other gag gifts – a memo that Charles forgot to give his wife.

Familiar yet unwelcome traditions

Diana’s hairdresser, Richard Dalton, also told author Kitty Kelley for her book “The Royals” that “the princess just hated going to Sandringham for Christmas.”

“She told me it was freezing cold, and dinner had to be over by 3 o’clock,” Dalton claimed. “‘It’s 3 and time to watch me on TV,’ she’d say, imitating you-know-who. The royal family had to watch the queen’s Christmas message on television.” Dalton referred to it as a “command performance.” An unnamed friend also told author Tina Brown that Diana dreaded going to Sandringham.

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Despite her dislike for the traditions, Diana was familiar with Sandringham as her father had a house on the estate.

Royal experts shared their views on Diana’s experience at Sandringham. Hilary Fordwich explained that Diana’s gift-giving experience was “embarrassing and painful,” as she wasn’t aware of the family’s gag gift tradition. Nick Bullen, co-founder of True Royalty TV, commented that the royals exchange “silly joke presents,” with author Christopher Andersen noting that Queen Elizabeth II preferred gag gifts. Andersen also claimed that Prince Charles’ favorite gift was a toilet seat from Princess Anne. King Charles and Diana had separated in 1992 and divorced in 1996.