Princess Diana, renowned for her complex relationship with the royal family, had a particularly strong aversion towards spending Christmas at Sandringham. Her biographer Andrew Morton shed light on this aspect of her life, revealing the early beginnings of her disdain and its evolution over the years.

Unraveling Diana's Christmas Woes at Sandringham

Early Years of Discontent

According to Andrew Morton, who wrote the bestseller Diana: Her True Story, Diana's disdain for the traditional royal Christmas celebrations started as early as her first Sandringham Christmas in 1981. Just five months after marrying Prince Charles on July 29, 1981, she found herself at Sandringham for Christmas. By that year's end, she was pregnant with Prince William, who was born six months later on June 21, 1982. Despite her morning sickness, she still took the time to buy thoughtful and expensive gifts for her new family members. However, her disappointment began to set in when she discovered that the royal family only gave one another gag gifts. For instance, she gave her sister-in-law Princess Anne a cashmere sweater but received a toilet paper holder in return. This experience left her feeling "mortified" and "terrifying."

Marriage Tensions and Christmas Calls

As the marriage of Prince and Princess of Wales became more and more fraught with tension, Diana's Christmas experiences at Sandringham took a different turn. Her hairdresser Richard Dalton, in Kitty Kelley's book The Royals, backed up her sentiment, stating that she just hated going to Sandringham for Christmas. It was freezing cold, and dinner had to be over by 3 o'clock. Diana would often imitate someone and say, "It's 3 and time to watch me on TV," referring to the Queen's Christmas message. A friend of Diana's, as told to Tina Brown in her book The Diana Chronicles, would receive calls from her on Christmas Eve when she was alone. Their conversations were all about tactics and what to do next.

Diana's Dramatic Christmas in 1991

Diana's "highly fraught" Sandringham Christmas experiences were vividly dramatized in the 2021 film Spencer. Kristen Stewart played Diana over the course of three days at Sandringham in 1991, a time when she was anguished and resolved to end her broken marriage. It's worth noting that 1991 was the last Christmas Charles and Diana spent at Sandringham before separating. On December 9, 1992, they formally separated, and Diana spent her first Christmas away from sons Prince William and Prince Harry just weeks later.Can't get enough of PEOPLE's Royals coverage? Sign up for our free Royals newsletter to get the latest updates on Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle and more!