The Heartbreaking Way Princess Diana Spent Her Last Christmas

According to Express, royal chef Darren McGrady opened up about Diana's "sad" final Christmas following her divorce from Prince Charles. 

McGrady revealed that, after ending her marriage, Diana was no longer obligated to spend the holidays at Sandringham with the royal family, but her sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, did attend the family's celebration with their father. That meant Diana was alone on Christmas Eve.

"It was always pretty sad when you worked with the Princess on Christmas Eve," the chef admitted. McGrady went on to reveal that Diana would dismiss her staff so that they could enjoy the holidays. 

"She insisted that the staff spend time with their families for Christmas and that we leave the food in the refrigerator," he said, adding that the staff would prepare meals for Diana to reheat during the holidays.

However, Diana's holidays at Sandringham weren't much better, says McGrady. "You just couldn't get away," he said. "You came out of the dining room and you couldn't go into the sitting room because there were three or four people in there playing charades or Scrabble or something. She would go off for a walk on her own and often I would bump into her when she was out walking. So, I think that's probably what she wasn't keen on."