Princess Diana: The gift she gave to Charles that he hated

2020-12-05T20:25:08.150Z

In 1985 Princess Diana worked hard to surprise Prince Charles with a rare Christmas gift. But he completely hated it.

Princess Diana's

early years

in the royal family were very complicated, as she had to learn their customs;

That was why he suffered two setbacks during the Christmas festivities.

Every year the royal family gathers on Christmas Eve at Sandringham Estate,

Queen Elizhabeth's country home.

There, everyone places the gifts on the tables in the red room.

These have a characteristic and that is that they should all be funny or joking.

In 1981, Diana was unaware of this and

Princess Anne

gave her a cashmere sweater;

in return, she received a toilet paper cover.

In 1982, knowing the tradition, he gave

Duchess Fergie

a leopard print bath mat.

Diana had already gained confidence and in 1985 she wanted to surprise

Prince Charles

with an unusual gift, but it completely upset him.

Getty Images

Since she was a child, Diana took ballet classes and always showed great aptitude for dance, even after being married to the prince, she continued to rehearse at the English National Ballet, according to the documentary 'Diana: The Woman Inside'.

In an interview she gave, she confessed, "In fact, I wanted to be a dancer, but I was over the height by far. I couldn't imagine a man trying to lift me on his arms, but if I can I dance once a week."

She wanted to turn that love for dance into a special gift for her husband, so in total discretion she called the English dancer

Wayne Sleep

and suggested that he prepare a choreography for Billy Joel's 'Uptown Girl' and perform it at the Christmas gala. in Covent Garden.

They both set up and rehearsed a three-minute routine.

The princess didn't say anything to her husband, wanting him to be flattered and surprised.

The big day arrived and when Diana was sitting next to Charles in front of the stage, she discreetly left.

Then Wayne Sleep danced for a few seconds alone, and then Diana appeared dancing, prompting a gasp from the 2,000 viewers.

The dance was cheered by all the people for several minutes.

About this time, the dancer said on 'Celebrity Big Brother' that he told Diana to bow before the royal box, but she didn't want to, "He said, 'I'm not going to bow down to him, he's my husband! '

And then I turned her around and curtsied, and as we ran off she commented, 'You won't get your Order of the British Empire that way.'

In 'Diana: The Woman Inside', Richard Kay, general editor of the 'Daily Mail', who maintained a friendship with Lady Di, mentioned that the gift was counterproductive for Diana, as Charles did not take very well that his wife to perform in front of 2,000 people without consulting her, "Charles was not very impressed, because he thought she was showing off."

Kay also mentioned that dancing was a very big gesture from the princess, "But actually, it was incredibly brave of her to go on stage."