Stephen Fry got the shock of his life when the former Prince of Wales asked if he could come over for tea on New Year’s Day, and he brought the late Princess Diana
Stephen Fry recalled Princess Diana’s hilarious confession on The Graham Norton Show back in 2014(Image: The Graham Norton Show)
Stephen Fry will never forget what Princess Diana said to him before she left his house. The People’s Princess tragically died on August 31, 1997 from injuries sustained in a car crash in Paris, France. The world went into mourning and 28 years on, she still occupies a very special place in the hearts of so many.
Even the mere mention of Diana’s name elicited a gasp from the audience during the recording of The Graham Norton Show in 2014. Stephen Fry recalled a hilarious and touching story of how she and her then-husband Prince Charles (now King) came over for tea.
Fry said the unexpected royal “tea party” took place on one New Years’ Day. Fry explained: “I did a line up for a show once and there was a royal presence.”
He said the late Princess confessed she liked watching Spitting Image and that “they” hated it(Image: GETTY)
He got talking to the former Prince of Wales and invited him to his home in Norfolk for Christmas dinner, highlighting he was “not far from Sandringham”. The Prince had said the idea was “lovely” but, understandably, Stephen had probably assumed nothing would come of it.
Fry explained: “That Christmas I had a real house full of friends, about 14 people all squeezed together.” But a few days later, Fry got a phone call in the middle of making a complicated breakfast recipe for his house guests.
He said: “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!
Fry said Hugh Laurie was hoovering the carpet in a desperate attempt to clean the house before the royals arrived(Image: GETTY)
“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 admitted he did not at first believe it and assumed one of his mates was playing a prank. 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 pair arranged for tea on New Year’s Day, with Fry telling the studio he called an urgent “house meeting” as soon as he put the phone down. Fry described the next moments as “a fantastic sight” as all 14 of his guests got to work to make the home, and tea, appropriate for royalty.
The audience gasped when Fry mentioned Diana(Image: The Graham Norton Show)
The comedian said he’d have loved to have taken photos of the moment Hugh Laurie was armed with the hoover. He shared: “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 cars eventually pulled into the driveway Fry found he was the only one left at the window as everyone else had fled into the house. He said: “The doorbell goes and I think ‘I must play it cool otherwise they’ll think I’m really uncool’.
“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’.”
Diana tragically died in 1997(Image: Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images)
Fry revealed how Princess Diana emerged from the shadows and joined the party. 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 explained that King Charles said goodbye first and left, 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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