Princess Diana ‘hated’ Christmas with the royals at Sandringham: author

Princess Diana “hated” spending Christmas with the royals at Sandringham.

The claim was made by Ingrid Seward, editor-in-chief of Majesty magazine and author of “My Mother and I,” which examines King Charles’ relationship with his late mother, Queen Elizabeth II.

“A friend of mine worked there at the time,” Seward told Fox News Digital about the estate where the royals celebrate the holidays.

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Princess Diana leaves Sandringham Church after attending the Christmas service with Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth II. (Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images)

“Diana hated Sandringham,” Seward said. “Even when her romance with Charles was going well, she still didn’t like it… I think she found it claustrophobic because Diana was such a free spirit. She didn’t want to have to amuse herself with so many rules. (But ) These are not rules, just royal traditions.

“There’s a ranking – who goes through the door first – and all sorts of things,” Seward explained. “It’s very archaic and I think it made Diana uncomfortable.”

Vanity Fair recently revisited Andrew Morton’s 1992 bestseller Diana: Her True Story. The late Princess of Wales secretly worked with the British journalist to share her struggles with royal life.

Princess Diana shocked the monarchy when she leaked shocking details about life in the palace to author Andrew Morton for his book. (Chris J. Ratcliffe/AFP via Getty Images)

Like Seward, Morton also said that Diana “hated” Christmas at Sandringham. He claimed her disdain for the tradition began at her first Christmas at the estate with the royals in 1981, five months after she married the then-Prince Charles. At the time, she was already pregnant with her first child, Prince William.

“I think she found it claustrophobic because Diana was such a free spirit. She didn’t want to have fun with so many rules. (But) there are no rules. It’s just royal traditions.”

— Ingrid Seward, author of “My Mother and I”

Princess Diana spent her first Christmas at Sandringham with the royals in 1981, five months after marrying the then Prince Charles. (Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images)

According to Morton, Diana took the time to “buy thoughtful and expensive gifts for her new family members” while suffering from morning sickness. Despite her efforts, Diana was “mortified” when she discovered that the royal family usually gave each other joke gifts – a memo that Charles had forgotten to give to his wife.

Diana gave her sister-in-law Princess Anne a cashmere sweater. In return she received a toilet paper holder.

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Prince Charles is seen here shooting at Sandringham with his wife Princess Diana. (Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images)

“It was very stressful,” Diana told Morton. “I know I gave, but I don’t remember being a receiver. Isn’t that terrible? I give all the gifts and Charles signs the cards. (It was) terrifying and so disappointing. No boisterous behavior, lots of tension, stupid behavior, stupid jokes that outsiders would find strange but insiders understood.”

“I was definitely (an outsider),” Diana added.

Seward said she wrote about this incident “many years ago” before Diana confirmed it through Morton.

Princess Diana was “mortified” when she found out the royals were giving each other joke presents at Christmas. (Tom Stoddart/Getty Images)

“My friend who worked there took care of Diana,” Seward said. “They went shopping and… bought beautiful cashmere sweaters, Floris soap and things like that… And she was absolutely mortified when she got these really nice gifts… all sorts of very expensive but small gifts, and she was bathed Hat or something.

Ingrid Seward’s book My Mother and I is out now. (Simon & Schuster UK)

“She just couldn’t understand it,” Seward shared. “For them, Christmas was all about spending a little more than you could probably afford and getting really nice presents.”

While royal traditions didn’t bring Christmas joy to Diana, Seward said the princess had known Sandringham “all her life.”

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Lady Diana, 3, at Park House, Sandringham. (Getty Images)

“She used to live there,” Seward said. “Her father had a house on the estate, literally down the road from the big royal house. Diana…spent a lot of time there. When she was a little girl, she went there and played with (Prince) Andrew and (Prince). )Edward. So it wasn’t a strange place for her at all.

Diana’s hairdresser Richard Dalton also told author Kitty Kelley for her book “The Royals” that “the Princess simply hated going to Sandringham for Christmas.”

“She told me it was freezing cold and dinner had to be finished by 3 p.m.,” Dalton claimed. “‘It’s 3 o’clock and it’s time to see me on TV,’ she said, imitating You-Know-Who. The royal family had to watch the Queen’s Christmas message on television.”

WATCH: PRINCESS DIANA ‘HATED’ CHRISTMAS WITH THE ROYALS AT SANDRINGHAM: AUTHOR

“Diana said it was a commando performance,” Dalton added.

An unnamed friend of Diana told Tina Brown for her book The Diana Chronicles that she was afraid to go to Sandringham.

“Whenever we talked it was all about tactics – what to do next,” the pal claimed.

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Princess Diana at a Christmas service at Sandringham Church, December 1990. The Princess of Wales and her husband announced their separation two years later. (Jayne Fincher/Princess Diana Archive/Getty Images)

British royal expert Hilary Fordwich previously told Fox News Digital that Diana’s attempt to win over her family with her gifts proved to be an “embarrassing and painful experience.”

“She was not informed that the family exchanges were inexpensive and often jokey gifts,” Fordwich said. “Diana went to great lengths to buy extravagant cashmere sweaters and mohair scarves. Since presents are opened in front of everyone, the whole room burst into laughter, laughing at her, not with her.”

Nick Bullen, co-founder of True Royalty TV, previously told Fox News Digital that the royals like to gather on Christmas Eve to exchange wild and crazy gifts.

Sandringham House, a country estate privately owned by the British Royal Family. (RDImages/Epics/Getty Images)

“(The Royals) like to have fun,” Bullen said. “The gifts they give each other are usually pretty silly. If you have the greatest jewelry in the world, the greatest art in the world, the greatest clothing in the world, what do you give each other for Christmas? They’re more like little joke gifts.”

“Do you know what a whoopee cushion is?” Bullen chuckled. “I heard they were given as gifts in the past. I’ve heard that silly bath toys have also been given in the past. I don’t know whether that’s true or not. But a little rude, a little funny, a little on the side gifts are the order of the day.”

“Queen Elizabeth II decreed early on that the gifts exchanged should be joke gifts of the whoopee cushion type, since the royal family is blessed with unimaginable wealth and luxury,” said Christopher Andersen, author of “The King.”

BRITISH royals exchange “slightly rude” Christmas presents including whoopee pillows and toilet seats

Princess Diana after switching on the Christmas lights on Bond Street in central London circa 1993. (Kent Gavin/Mirrorpix/Getty Images)

“Charles’ favorite Christmas present was a padded white leather toilet seat – a gift from his sister Princess Anne,” Andersen claimed. “He liked it so much that he still takes it with him when he goes abroad.”

Charles and Diana separated on December 9, 1992. Their divorce was finalized in 1996.