Royal Chef Reveals The Sad Way Diana Spent Her Last Christmas Alone: “She Insisted We Leave...”

Princess Diana’s final Christmas in 1996 was a lonely one, as she spent it without her sons. Prince William and Harry had instead joined the royal family at Sandringham. Diana, at the time, had been divorced for several months from Charles. According to the Mirror, the Princess hence skipped the holidays at the royal estate and chose to remain at Kensington Palace instead. She also dismissed her staff so that they could celebrate with their own families. According to former royal chef, Darren McGrady, Diana was left to reheat meals that had been prepared in advance.

McGrady, who worked closely with Diana, described the experience as heartbreaking. He said, "William and Harry were going to Sandringham, and Princess Diana was there, alone. She insisted that...we leave the food in the refrigerator." Diana's strained relationship with the royal family was no secret. Reports indicate that she did not enjoy Christmas at Sandringham as she reportedly received a cold reception from other royals following her split from Charles.

Journalist Richard Kay also revealed that in 1993 (a year after Diana's separation from Charles), the Princess had initially joined the family for Christmas Eve, attended church with them the next morning, but left before lunch. She returned to Kensington Palace and later flew to Washington to be with friends. By 1994, she tried to spend the holiday with the royals again but reportedly felt unwelcome. According to a source, Diana sensed how uneasy her presence made others feel. They spilled, "She’d joined them for the boys’ sake, but it wasn’t working." Diana herself also spoke of her struggles during the holidays at Sandringham in recorded conversations for Andrew Morton’s biography, Diana: Her True Story.

She recalled feeling like an outsider, describing the experience as 'terrifying and so disappointing.' She described the atmosphere as "no boisterous behavior, lots of tension, silly behavior...silly jokes that outsiders would find odd but insiders understood. I sure was [an outsider]." McGrady also noted how restricted life at Sandringham could be, recalling that Diana often sought solace in solitary walks away from the main estate. "You couldn’t get away. You came out of the dining room and couldn’t go into the sitting room because there were three or four people playing charades or Scrabble. She would go off for a walk on her own, and I would often bump into her when she was out walking."

Despite her difficulties with the royal family, Diana loved the holidays, especially when it came to making Christmas special for her sons. According to People magazine, in 1990, she wrote to a friend about how excited William and Harry were for the season. She penned, "The boys are thrilled at the prospect of Christmas on the horizon and have searched high and low for any parcels that might be coming their way!" Another letter that year revealed her fondness for gift-giving, admitting that she loved opening presents and had passed that excitement down to William. However, she remained mindful of not spoiling her children, choosing to give them smaller gifts and encouraging them to donate extravagant presents to charity instead.