Princess Diana’s cheeky confession to Stephen Fry at dinner with King Charles revealed
Stephen Fry shared a touching story about the time Princess Diana and Prince Charles joined him for a New Year’s Day tea party, and what Diana whispered to him as she left
07:29, 29 Aug 2026
Princess Diana, who died aged 36 in 1997 (Image: Press Association)
Stephen Fry will never forget what Princess Diana said to him before she departed his home. The People’s Princess tragically died on August 31, 1997 from injuries sustained in a car crash in Paris, France.
The globe mourned her loss and 29 years later, she continues to hold a cherished place in countless hearts. Even simply mentioning Diana’s name prompted a collective gasp from the audience during the taping of The Graham Norton Show in 2014. Stephen Fry recounted an amusing and heartwarming tale of how she and her then-husband Prince Charles (now King) popped round for tea.
Fry revealed the surprise royal “tea party” occurred on one New Year’s Day. Fry elaborated: “I did a line up for a show once and there was a royal presence.”
Stephen Fry made the confession while on the Graham Norton Show(Image: The Graham Norton Show)
He struck up a conversation with the former Prince of Wales and extended an invitation to his Norfolk home for Christmas dinner, noting he was “not far from Sandringham”. The Prince had declared the notion “lovely” but, naturally, Stephen had likely assumed nothing would materialise from it.
Fry elaborated: “That Christmas I had a real house full of friends, about 14 people all squeezed together.”
However, several days afterwards, Fry received a telephone call while preparing an intricate breakfast dish for his houseguests.
He recalled: “I remember distinctly. Hollandaise sauce is very, you know, you have to concentrate. You have to get the melted butter into the egg yolk in a thin, steady stream and the phone went!
“So I was going ‘Somebody answer that! Please! Somebody!’ Nobody was answering. So I picked up the phone.”
It was the Prince of Wales following up on the tea invitation, but Fry confessed he didn’t initially believe it and presumed one of his friends was playing a trick on him. He said: “A tiny part of my brain sent a signal to say ‘Oh f**k off Rory’. Another part just overtook it and went ‘Oh hello sir!’.”
The duo organised tea for New Year’s Day, with Fry telling the studio he called an emergency “house meeting” the moment he hung up the phone. Fry described what happened next as “a fantastic sight” as all 14 of his house guests sprang into action to make the home, and refreshments, suitable for royalty.
The comic said he’d have cherished capturing photos of the moment Hugh Laurie was wielding the vacuum cleaner. He revealed: “We were all making tea, all getting ready, the fire’s burning, everything’s completely ready and we’re all peeping out of the curtains like pathetic children, watching all the cars.”
When two vehicles finally arrived in the driveway, Fry discovered he was the sole person remaining at the window as everyone else had scarpered into the house. He said: “The doorbell goes and I think ‘I must play it cool otherwise they’ll think I’m really uncool’.
Stephen had the royals around for tea(Image: The Graham Norton Show)
“I counted to 15, the bell goes again and I open it, and he goes ‘Oh hello, I hope you don’t mind but I brought my wife’.”
Fry disclosed how Princess Diana stepped out from the shadows and joined the gathering. He said: “We have this tea party and it’s fantastic and she’s wearing cowboy boots which suits her very well. He’s not wearing cowboy boots which suits him very well.
“It all goes fantastically, everybody’s having a great time. Then they go.”
Fry revealed that King Charles bid farewell first and departed, but Diana “holds in the doorway” for a moment. He said the Princess told him: “I’m sorry we’re going but I’m quite glad we’re going early because it’s Spitting Image on tonight and I’m going to watch it in my room.”
Referencing the royals, the Princess noted: “They hate it of course but I love it!” The Graham Norton Show audience burst out laughing at Diana’s confession about liking the BBC parody show.
Spitting Image originally aired from 1984 to 1996 and featured parodied puppet versions of famous people, including members of the royal family. It was revived in late 2020, featuring depictions of the new generations of royals including the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
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