Princess Diana never pretended that royal tradition suited her and nowhere was that more obvious than at Sandringham on New Year’s Eve.
While the late Princess of Wales is often remembered for her warmth and glamour, insiders say she found the monarchy’s Christmas rituals deeply uncomfortable.
It is known that Christmas at Sandringham was not his scene, and celebrating the New Year there was little easier.
For Diana, the festive season with the Royal Family felt less like a celebration and more like resistance.
Traditionally, the Windsors spent New Year’s Eve sheltering at the Norfolk estate, sometimes staying there well into February.
Queen Elizabeth II, a devout traditionalist, marked the occasion with a structured routine that included a church service at St. Mary Magdalene, a formal dinner and, weather permitting, a pheasant hunt. The festivities were polite, measured and full of protocol.
One of the late Queen’s favorite New Year’s customs was something known as “lucky dip.”
According to royal biographers, a butler would bring out a container full of sawdust and folded notes predicting the fortunes of the following year.
Family members took turns drawing one and reading it aloud, a gentle ritual that delighted Elizabeth but reportedly left Diana feeling uncomfortable.
As midnight approached, the Queen would quietly retire for the night, triggering an unspoken rule that no one else should go to bed before her. Only once Elizabeth had retired would the evening officially end.
For the princess, those long hours of polite talk were supposedly unbearable.
Former palace aides later recalled how she struggled with the expectation of spending long nights in conversation, waiting for implied or unspoken permission to escape.
On more than one occasion, he excused himself early, a move that raised eyebrows in royal circles and was seen as a break with custom.
Diana’s friends have since suggested that her discomfort was not rudeness, but restlessness, a reflection of how trapped she often felt within royal life.
