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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Rebecca Russell

Princess Diana's 'embarrassing' supermodel prank for William made him fall over

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

Several stories about Diana’s mischievous antics have been made public but one story that rises above all others is when she arranged a very special surprise for her eldest son - and it is safe to say that he won't forget it in a hurry!

In an interview to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Diana’s death, William revealed a prank his mother played on him when he got home from school.

Prince William revealed the prank his mother pulled on him when he got home from school (dx)

He said: "Just outside this room where we are now, she organised when I came home from school to have Cindy Crawford, Christy Turlington and Naomi Campbell waiting at the top of the stairs.

"I was probably a 12 or 13 year old boy who had posters of them on his wall. And I went bright red and didn’t know quite what to say and sort of fumbled and I think I pretty much fell down the stairs on the way up.

"I was completely and utterly sort of awestruck. That was a very funny memory that’s lived with me forever about her, loving and embarrassing and being the sort of joker.”

In the documentary Diana, Our Mother: Her Life and Legacy, William also revealed what his mother would send him when he was at school to make him laugh. He said: |She was a massive card writer and she loved the rudest cards you could imagine.

"I would be at school and I’d get a card from my mother. Usually, she found something you know, very embarrassing, very funny card, and then sort of written very nice stuff inside. But I didn’t open it in case teachers or anyone else in the class had seen it.”

"She was very informal and really enjoyed the laughter and the fun

Princess Diana loved to play pranks on her sons (UK Press via Getty Images)

But this isn't the only hilarious revelation about Diana's love of practical jokes. Her former butler Paul Burrell gave details of a funny gift Diana bought for Harry.

Burrell explained to the paper that Diana would spend a long time trying to find the best presents for her boys, and once found the perfect stocking filler for Harry.

He explained: "She'd spend hours looking for jokey things for their stockings. One year, Harry got fake dog poo."

He also said how Harry not only loved the gift, but that he had a very cheeky plan on how he was going to use it - he wanted to trick his dog-obsessed grandmother with it.

Prince William recalled many stories about his mother during his podcast appearance (Handout)

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The Duke of Cambridge made a guest appearance on Apple's podcast 'Time to Walk' last year and touched on stories about his children fighting over the morning's song choice and his memories of the Royal Family's Christmas church services over the years.

Prince William also spoke vividly about his mother and his anxieties about returning to school. He remembered that Diana would play "all sorts of songs" to help him and Harry settle their anxieties on the drive back to school.

He said on the podcast: "One of the songs I massively remember and has stuck with me all this time - I to this day still quite enjoy it, secretly – is Tina Turner's 'The Best', because sitting in the backseat singing away, it felt like a real family moment," he said, recalling Diana "driving along, singing at the top of her voice.

"You'd be singing, listening to the music right the way up to the gates of school where they dropped you off, and that's when reality kind of sunk in: You really were going back to school, because before that you're lost in song.

"You want to play it again just to keep that family moment going. And when I listen to it now, it takes me back to those car rides and brings me back lots of memories of my mother."

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