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Marie Claire
Marie Claire
Lifestyle
Kristin Contino

Sandringham at Christmas was "Like a Pressure Cooker" for Princess Diana, Former Royal Butler Says

Princess Diana wearing a red coat and black hat looking sad walking next to Queen Elizabeth.

With some rather unusual rules, multiple wardrobe changes a day and dozens of family members under the same roof, navigating a royal Christmas would intimidate even the most unflappable guest. When it came to celebrating the holidays at Sandringham, former royal butler Paul Burrell tells Marie Claire that Princess Diana, unsurprisingly, wasn't the biggest fan.

No matter how much Diana dreaded going to the annual Christmas festivities, Burrell—who worked for the late princess from 1987 to 1997—says "she knew that was her duty."

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