“Diana declined”: The Christmas Incident That May Have Created Major Tension Between Princess Diana & Queen Elizabeth

SUMMARY

• Princess Diana refused to spend Christmas with Queen Elizabeth in 1995.
• This strained her relationship with Queen Elizabeth as their meetings became more "business-like."
• Princess Diana often spent Christmas alone.

Princess Diana of Wales was the first wife of Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Prince William and Prince Harry. Thanks to her activism and glamour, she became a prominent figure around the world. She got married to the eldest son of Elizabeth II, Charles III, in July 1981 however, their relationship was doomed by incompatibility and extramarital affairs. As a result, they got separated in 1992.

Queen Elizabeth II with Princess Diana and Prince Charles at their wedding (Photo by Princess Diana Archive—Hulton Royals Collection/Getty Images)

As for Queen Elizabeth, she was still looking out for Princess Diana, however, their relationship took a hit in 1995 when Princess Diana refused to spend Christmas at Sandringham with Queen Elizabeth. As per sources, their meetings became more business-like after that.

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Princess Diana’s relationship with Queen Elizabeth II was strained after she refused to spend Christmas with her

Princess Diana (Photo by Glenn Harvey/Alamy)

The writer of the biographical book, The Queen: Her Life, Andrew Morton mentioned how Princess Diana‘s relationship with Queen Elizabeth II was strained after Princess Diana refused to spend Christmas with her. Morton wrote (via Marie Claire),

“Diana declined, telling friends that she would ‘[go] up in my BMW car and come out in a coffin.'”

Three years after the separation of Princess Diana and Charles III, Queen Elizabeth asked Princess Diana to spend Christmas with her at Sandringham in 1995, but the princess refused to go. Instead, she stayed at Kensington Palace before heading to the Caribbean.

Also read: “She was a magical person”: Tom Cruise Was Heartbroken After Princess Diana’s Death as $600M Actor Attends King Charles’ Coronation

Princess Diana and Queen Elizabeth II’s meetings became more business-like

Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace, London, during “Platinum Jubilee” celebrations in 2022. (Photo by Chris Jackson—AFP/Getty Images)

Morton further explained the consequences of Princess Diana turning down the invite. From that point, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Diana’s meetings were more “business-like,”

“The princess’s decision to decline the sovereign’s invitation, normally viewed as a command, marked the nadir of her relationship with the queen. It was an affront to many. From now on, the queen was not always available to take her phone calls or ready to invite her to afternoon tea. Their dealings were necessarily more business-like than before, as the queen was one of the interested parties in divorce negotiations.”

Former royal chef Darren McGrady once revealed that Princess Diana was often sad a day before Christmas, mainly because Prince William and Prince Harry would go to Sandringham and she was left all alone.

Written by Farhan Asif

With over 2 years of experience in content writing, Farhan Asif is a seasoned writer at FandomWire where he specializes in bringing the latest news and insights from the world of entertainment and gaming to readers around the world. With over 700 published articles for FandomWire, he has also written more than 750 articles for AnimatedTimes. Apart from this, he has a passion for coding and is pursuing a degree in computer science. During his free time, Farhan loves to play video games and hopes to create a video game of his own one day.