Princess Diana's butler, Paul Burrell, shared details of her 'lonely' last Christmas at Kensington Palace. Her day had an unexpected twist.

The late Princess of Wales used to “dread these royal family Christmases,” royal biography Ingrid Seward said recently

Mr Morton, who wrote the bestseller Diana: Her True Story, said that the late princess spent her first Christmas at Sandringham in 1981 and brought the family “thoughtful and expensive gifts,” Vanity Fair reports.

Christmas plans for Princess Diana changed following her split from Prince Charles, though trips to Sandringham Estate were a festive expectation for a few years after their separation

It's no secret that Princess Diana wasn't a fan of celebrating Christmas with her royal in-laws. Her relationship with the Royal Family—especially during the festive season—was often strained, and as her former butler Paul Burrell recently told Marie Claire, she found Christmas at Sandringham to be "like a pressure cooker."

Although the late Diana, Princess of Wales reportedly disliked her husband's then-mistress Queen Camilla, both of King Charles III's wives apparently liked to ditch Sandringham House early after Christmas lunch.