Christmas 1996 was quite different for Princess Diana. After her divorce from then-Prince Charles was made official, she found herself in quite a different situation than in years prior around Christmas.

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

Not everyone loves the idea of a Christmas stacked to the brim with tradition after tradition, and for Princess Diana, the thought of enjoying the holidays with her fellow royals at times made her feel so uptight that she would often ditch the festivities as soon as she possibly could.

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.