Diana spent her first Christmas with the royal family in 1981, following her marriage to Charles. But there was one surprising tradition she was completely unaware of

Princess Diana made an embarrassing slip-up during her first Christmas as a member of the royal family.

Diana became Princess of Wales when she married Charles on 29 July 1981 at the age of 22. Five months later, she joined her new husband and his family for the festive celebrations at Sandringham.

Rather than exchange expensive gifts, the royals instead give each other joke presents after enjoying an afternoon tea on Christmas Eve. But this was something Diana was unaware of as she took part for the first time.

Speaking on the Royals podcast, writer Zoe Borrell said: “When Diana first went she didn’t know that there was this joke present tradition. So she had got Princess Anne this gorgeous cashmere jumper.

Charles and Diana had married in July of that same year (Image: Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images)

“It was all very sensible and expensive. And she handed it over and she hadn’t been made aware that it was just novelty presents.

“Poor thing! They don’t communicate very well. Charles should have told her that before they went!”

Royal writer Angela Mollard added: “I don’t think they were talking much!”

But by the following year, Diana was fully on board. She presented Sarah Ferguson with a leopard-print bath mat.

Nevertheless, it has been claimed that Diana did not enjoy her time spent at Sandringham over Christmas. According to royal chef Darren McGrady, the Princess was more interested in talking to staff than the other dinner guests.

He told Yahoo: “Once the Queen and the royals had left the dining room, Princess Diana just liked to come in for a chat, just sort of walk around the kitchen and see what was going on.

Princess Diana attending Christmas Day Service at Sandringham with eldest son, William (Image: Tim Graham/Getty Images)

“Sandringham was so tight, so compact, there were so many people there, all the families.

“You just couldn’t get away. You came out of the dining room and you couldn’t go into the sitting room because there were three or four people in there playing charades or Scrabble or something.

“She would go off for a walk on her own and often I would bump into her when she was out walking. So, I think that’s probably what she wasn’t keen on.”

Diana’s former butler, Paul Burrell, further revealed that Diana would confide in him that she would be “crawling the walls” by the end of a Sandringham Christmas and that she “couldn’t wait to escape”.

It comes after royal fans claimed that William and Kate paid a subtle tribute to Diana with their 2023 Christmas card. A lot of people praised the family’s wardrobe choices, with all five members sporting a white button down shirt and dark trousers.

This, some believe, is a special nod to Princess Diana, who was known for the iconic look. “Such a great photo!” posted one royal fan. “It reminds me of those black and white shots of Princess Diana with William and Harry.”

Another commented: “Gorgeous family, love the white shirt and jeans look. More like Diana than Charles. George looks so much like his grandmother.”