Why Princess Diana was ‘always anxious’ on Saturday nights

Princess Diana did not like hearsay about her life in end-of-week newspapers

Published October 01, 2026
Why Princess Diana was ‘always anxious’ on Saturday nights
Why Princess Diana was ‘always anxious’ on Saturday nights

Princess Diana did not enjoy Saturdays for a particular reason.

The former Princess of Wales, who passed away in a car accident in Paris 1997, always felt anxious during her lifetime as the weekend approached.

"Saturday evenings were always a nightmare for Diana," former Royal butler Paul Burrell wrote in his book titled book The Royal Insider: My Life With The Queen, The King, and Princess Diana.

"She had no idea what would appear in the now defunct News of the World [tabloid newspaper] on Sunday morning."

Burrell wrote, "It was then Britain's biggest-selling newspaper with millions of readers. They had the 'loudest shout,' as Diana would say."

The expert continued, "I would go by taxi at midnight on Saturday evening to Victoria station to buy the first editions of all of the Sunday newspapers. On the taxi ride back to Kensington Palace, I would look through every one

According to the butler, "Sometimes stories screamed from the front pages and I was taking an incendiary device back to apartments 8 and 9 as Diana would certainly shoot the messenger if she didn't like the contents."

Eleen Bukhari
Eleen Bukhari is a London-based journalist and MSc graduate from Brunel University with over five years of experience. Specialising in the British Royal Family and global entertainment, she provides expert analysis of monarchy traditions, celebrity culture, and the evolving media narratives surrounding the world’s most high-profile figures.