According to royal biographer Andrew Morton, the late Princess Diana, who tragically died in 1997, not only disliked Christmases at Sandringham 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, little did Diana know, 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, as a joke.
According to The Mirror, Princess Diana told author 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.”
On Christmas Eve the royals take their cue from their German roots and exchange gifts on December 24.
Nestled on 20,000 acres in Norfolk, England, Sandringham estate has been beloved by several generations of royals dating back to the turn of the 20th century.
Sandringham became the Firm’s unofficial holiday retreat in the late 1980s thanks to Queen Elizabeth II.
Early next year, following his long-awaited eviction from Royal Lodge, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor is reportedly relocating to a “shoebox-sized” cottage on the Sandringham Estate at the expense of his brother, King Charles.
The former duke was stripped of his remaining titles and privileges in November 2025 following new revelations about his relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Andrew’s new home is currently undergoing extensive renovations ahead of his arrival and he is thought to be moving to the estate early 2026.
