The Royal Family is known for their love of gag gifts, with the late Queen Elizabeth proudly possessing both a singing Billy Bass fish and a shower cap that proclaimed "ain't life a bitch" on it through the years. And although Princess Diana might've missed the mark by bringing pricey presents to her first holiday celebration with the royals, apparently she paid the ultimate—and might I emphasize extremely awkward—Christmas prank one year.
Diana's longtime butler Paul Burrell, speaking on behalf of Spin Genie, tells Marie Claire that when it came to celebrating the holidays, the late princess "had it the weekend before with Harry and William" once she'd separated from Prince Charles (now King Charles).
"She knew they had to be with their father on Christmas Day, and with their cousins and the Queen," Burrell explains. The former royal staffer, who also worked for Queen Elizabeth, says he would help Diana "make stockings for William and Harry and then William would whisper in my ear and ask me what mummy would like for her Christmas stocking."
Burrell says that "the weekend before Christmas, the three of them would disappear into the sitting room and you could hear the squeals and laughter coming out." As it turns out, one year Princess Diana decided to go a bit rogue with the gifts. The source of the "squeals?" Trust me, you'll never guess.
"Of course, Diana was very jokey and she would put rude things in there too to embarrass them," the A Royal Duty author tells Marie Claire. "William had a calendar one year with naked ladies on it just to make him blush and it worked."
Receiving a girly calendar from your mother is probably the most mortifying gift a boy could ever receive, but it seemed like Prince William took it all in good humor. "Lovely things like that happened, and they [William and Harry] would have their Christmas [with the rest of the royals]," Burrell says. Diana, he adds, would spend Christmas Day alone.
As for the rest of the royal holiday celebrations at Kensington Palace, the former butler describes "a massive Christmas tree, silver and white, on the staircase of Apartments 8 and 9 Kensington Palace" that extended "halfway up the stairs."
He says the "20-foot Christmas tree" was "brought over from the Windsor Estate" and on the front door, Burrell "always made a special effort."
"Years later I’d go into floristry, but I was interested in it then, too," he tells Marie Claire, sharing that he "always made a massive garland draped around the front door and down the sides." The greenery was trimmed with "dried roses and oranges and cinnamon sticks and red velvet ribbons" to look "very Victorian."
Of course, Queen Victoria was one of the most famous residents of Kensington Palace, so the vintage-inspired decorations sound like they were perfect for the setting. "It suited the front doorway of Kensington Palace and Diana loved it," Burrell adds.
As for the racy calendar, not so sure Victoria would approve of that one.
