Princess Diana “hated” spending Christmas with the royal family at Sandringham. This statement was made by Ingrid Seward, editor-in-chief of Majesty magazine and author of “My Mother and I,” which explores the relationship between King Charles and his late mother, Queen Elizabeth II.
"A friend of mine worked there at that time," Seward told Fox News about the place where the royalty celebrates parties.
“Diana hated Sandringham”
"Diana hated Sandringham," said Seward. "Even when her romance with Charles was going well, she didn't like it... I think she found it claustrophobic because Diana was a free spirit. She didn't want to have to abide by so many rules. [But] they are not rules. They are simply royal traditions."
"There is a pecking order, who enters through the door first, and all sorts of things," Seward explained. "It's very archaic and I think Diana felt uncomfortable."
Family tradition that "mortified" Diana
Vanity Fair once again published "Diana: Her True Story," a 1992 bestseller written by Andrew Morton that Diana herself helped write and revealed several secrets of her life in the royalty.
Like Seward, Morton also said that Diana "hated" Christmas at Sandringham. Her mental and eating imbalance began during her first Christmas with the British royal family in 1981, just five months after marrying Prince Charles. By then, she was already pregnant with her first child, Prince William. "I think she found it claustrophobic because Diana was a free spirit. She didn't want to have to abide by so many rules. [But] they are not rules. They are simply royal traditions."
Exchange with the British family
According to Morton, Diana took the time to "buy expensive and thoughtful gifts for the new members of her family", but Diana felt "mortified" to discover that the royal family used to exchange joke gifts, something that Charles omitted to tell his wife.
Diana gifted her sister-in-law, Princess Anne, a cashmere sweater and, in return, she received a toilet paper holder: "It was very tense," Diana told Morton. "I know I made the gifts, but I don't remember receiving them. Isn't it horrible? I make all the gifts and Charles signs the cards. [It was] terrifying and very disappointing. There were no scandalous behaviors, there was a lot of tension, silly behaviors, silly jokes that outsiders would find strange, but insiders understood."
"I was definitely an outsider," Diana added.