Prince Charles Hated This Christmas Gift From Princess Diana
The British Royal Family loves celebrating Christmas. Each year Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip invite their family to their country estate, Sandringham House, where they enjoy Christmas Eve tea, Christmas dinner, last minute decorating, and of course, exchanging gifts. However, since the royal family is pretty well off, they don’t give each other traditional gifts. Instead, they come together to exchange hilarious gag gifts that are memorable and make them smile. Before he met Duchess Meghan Markle, Duchess Kate Middleton gifted Prince Harry with a ‘Grow-your-own-girlfriend” kit.
The late Princess Diana might have felt confined as a member of the British Royal Family during most of the year, but she adored Christmas time. She went all out to make sure her sons Prince William and Prince Harry enjoyed Christmas, and she was meticulous about getting them the perfect gifts. One year she went out of her way to get the perfect Christmas gift for her then-husband Prince Charles. Unfortunately, the Princess of Wales’ surprise did not go over well.
Prince Charles hated this gift
When she was alive, Princess Diana was vocal about her love of dance. In the documentary, Diana: The Woman Inside she said, “I actually wanted to be a dancer, but I overshot the height by a long way.” Princess Diana was 5’10″. She said, “I couldn’t imagine some man trying to lift me up over his arms, but I do [dance] once a week if I can.” For Christmas in 1985, the princess’ love of dance sparked an idea for a Christmas gift for Prince Charles.
Princess Diana teamed up with English dancer Wayne Sleep, and they came up with a 3- minute routine to Billy Joel’s “Uptown Girl” that could be performed during a Christmas gala at Covent Garden. The princess and her husband sat in the audience during the gala until Princess Diana snuck off only to hit the stage with Sleep for their top-secret performance. No one saw it coming, but the 2,000 people in the audience were absolutely delighted by the routine.
While everyone else seemed to enjoy the princess’ cheeky Christmas dance, the future King of England was not thrilled. Daily Mail reports, “Charles wasn’t terribly impressed, because he thought she was showing off. But in fact, it was incredibly courageous of her to go onstage.” Obviously, Princess Diana and Prince Charles didn’t share the same sense of humor.
Princess Diana’s gift to Prince Harry
Luckily some people enjoyed Princess Diana’s Christmas gifts, namely her youngest son Prince Harry. Former butler Paul Burrell told Express U.K., “She’d spend hours looking for jokey things for their stockings. One year, Harry got fake dog poo.”
Honestly, giving a little boy faux dog droppings in his Christmas stocking is the best thing we’ve ever heard. Still one of the best royal gifts was when Queen Elizabeth received a shower cap with, “Ain’t life a b*tch” written on it. We wonder what gifts the royals will exchange this year.
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