| WORLD EXCLUSIVE: PART 1: Diana's Happy Christmas |
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| Written by Joanne Leyland | |
| Thursday, 15 December 2005 | |
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Page 2 of 4 On another occasion the Princess was spotted laughing at a humorous greetings card depicting her mother-in-law, the Queen. Our second, equally heartwarming image shows the Princess in her more usual attire, a formal ballgown. Here we see her crouching down on the floor, tickling husband Charles as he lay prostrate on the ground. The Prince's younger brother, Andrew (Duke of York), can be seen leaning over, clearly revelling in the happy scene before him. Diana often gave humorous — rather than practical — presents at Christmases and birthdays, especially to close friends. For instance, she often retreated from Kensington Palace to across town and the home of her great friend, dancer Wayne Sleep. There she spent many hours enjoying a good gossip and a giggle away from the stifling atmosphere of the royal court. She even used to do her pal's washing up! Despite the fact Diana openly laughed at the way she and the royals were sometimes portrayed — for instance, she found it highly amusing when china mugs were produced showing portraying her, in cartoon form, as a dancer dressed in a tight fitting leotard (it was claimed she gave Royal Ballet star Wayne one of these mugs as a gift) — the Princess was acutely aware of the fact there were times when her healthy sense of the ridiculous should remain hidden. Diana usually tried to give her mother-in-law, the Queen, a serious, genuinely heartfelt Christmas present. On one occasion, the naive Princess spent a good amount of time and money finding the Queen the perfect gift — a set of china dogs. What Diana received in return was not quite what she expected to be given by one of the world's richest women: the Princess of Wales carefully unwrapped her present from the Queen to find it contained nothing more exciting than soap. 
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