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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Rebecca Russell

Princess Diana sent radio host saucy photo of herself on a mug

It is well known that the royals buy each other joke presents for Christmas , but it would seem the festive season isn't the only time they exchange funny gifts.

The late Diana, Princess of Wales was the chief prankster of the family, often doing cheeky things or buying naughty gifts for her sons.

However, her cheeky streak didn't stop with her sons as she also sent her close friends inappropriate presents. One of these hilarious gifts was sent to Diana's close friend and former Capital Radio presenter, Graham Dene.

Graham, who now hosts a regular show on Boom Radio, has revealed a number of anecdotes to mark what would have been Diana's 61st birthday on July 1.

While he touches on everything from worrying about having sweaty hands when meeting her to a how she would secretly sit in the studio with him, the story about a gift Diana gave him is one of the best.

Diana sat with Graham to hear him record the show (Boom Radio)
Graham Dene has revealed his favourite memories of Diana, Princess of Wales (Boom Radio)

Graham revealed: “One day, a package arrived for me in the studio, with a mug inside. It was a white mug, with a caricature of Diana on it - she was wearing a low-cut blue leotard, and had a top hat and cane in her hands, while doing a high kick.

“It was after Princess Diana performed a three-minute dance to Billy Joel's Uptown Girl, alongside ballet star Wayne Sleep in December 1985.

“She bought the mug in Kensington Market, apparently, and sent them to various people and I was one of them.

"It showed her personality and her wonderful sense of humour, and the fact that she loved dancing.”

The hilarious mug Diana sent Graham (Boom Radio)

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Elsewhere in Graham's brilliant revelations, he spoke about how Diana sat in the studio with him as he recorded his final show for Capital Radio.

He said: “It was arranged by Diana’s friend Millie that Diana would come into the studio for my very final Breakfast Show in 1986.

“I remember reading the news headlines at 8.30am, and the door opened and Diana came in and sat down for the final 30 minutes of the show. She was very relaxed, wearing a sweater and jeans.

“I asked her whether she would like to come on air and say hello, but she declined, she thought it was better not to.

"She opened her handbag to pull out the original Top Gun soundtrack, and she wanted me to play the theme tune.

“We managed to get a scratchy version of it from the library to play as we couldn’t play cassettes. I guess she was a Top Gun fan, but she certainly loved the soundtrack.

Princess Diana and Graham were good friends (Boom Radio)

“It was a nerve-racking half an hour; not only was it my last breakfast show ever, which is a difficult moment, but Princess Diana was sitting across from me, staring at me with those lovely eyes! It was wonderful and difficult at the same time.

“I also asked her if she would like me to dedicate a song to her husband. So I played a song and said, ‘that was for Charles in Kensington. Just let you know your wife wants you to know she will be back for lunch’.

“After the show had finished, we went downstairs along with her security guard, and I made her a cup of tea in a plastic cup, just like the rest of us.

“When I showed her out, you can imagine the stares from people coming into work - they had no idea she would be there and they couldn’t believe it. There was a lot of shock and surprise, and these people were used to seeing big stars coming into the Capital studio. It was very exciting, and I’m sure they’ve dined out on it ever since!”

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