The Royal Family spend Christmas at Sandringham every year, and this year is set to be no exception.
While the royals always seem extremely happy on the big day, especially during their morning walk to and from church, it seems that not everyone was a big fan of the celebrations, with the late Princess Diana having reportedly “hated” spending the holidays at Sandringham.
According to royal biographer Andrew Morton, the late Princess Diana, who tragically died in 1997, not only disliked the event, but was also “mortified” when she found out about one tradition held by the family each year.
Mr Morton, who wrote the bestseller Diana: Her True Story, said that the late princess spent her first Christmas at Sandringham in 1981 and brought the family “thoughtful and expensive gifts,” Vanity Fair reports.
However, according to reports, members of the Royal Family prefer to give each other joke presents instead, with Princess Anne having reportedly once given Diana a toilet roll holder.
This was reportedly not appreciated by the princess, who spent time and money on buying personal gifts for each member of the family despite the fact she was pregnant and suffering severe morning sickness with Prince William.
According to The Mirror, Princess Diana told Mr Morton: “It was highly fraught. 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 behaviour, lots of tension, silly behaviour, silly jokes that outsiders would find odd, but insiders understood.”
Diana also reportedly disliked the day as a whole, including the way it was organised.
In Kitty Kelly’s book The Royals, Diana’s long-time hairdresser Richard Dalton reportedly listed the reasons Diana disliked Sandringham for Christmas.
According to People magazine, he said: “She told me it was freezing cold and dinner had to be over by 3 o’clock. The Royal Family had to watch the Queen’s Christmas message on television. Diana said it was a command performance.”
While Diana was not keen on the festivities at Sandringham, it appears this is not the case for her eldest son Prince William, 42, who seems excited to be with the rest of the Royal Family this year alongside his wife Princess Kate and their three children.
At an engagement last week, the future king explained how 45 members of his family were set to gather in one room, which he said would be “noisy”. The prince also said how he is hoping to enjoy some nice dog walks on the big day.
