Twenty-seven years after Princess Diana‘s death, public interest in her life continues. The late Princess of Wales remains at the forefront of the public’s adoration for her humanity, charm, and unique approach to royal life, which deeply resonated with people worldwide. Former staffers believed she was pretty special as well, sharing their insider stories about the princess behind palace doors in a new interview.

Royal staffers shed light on the real Princess Diana

The Sun spoke to ex-royal protection officer Ken Wharfe and Diana and Charles’ former head royal chef Mervyn Wycherley. They shared that Diana had a warm and welcoming relationship with her staff. She would often eat in the Kensington Palace kitchen and chat with them.

“The princess spent a lot of time in the kitchen,” said Wycherley. “In fact, reading The Sun, which wasn’t allowed in the house.”

Wharfe added that type of behavior was “part of Diana’s character. She had a friendly approach to all members of her staff.”

“The kitchen, in like everyone’s house, was a focal meeting point. It would be a place to exchange local gossip,” Wharfe concluded.

‘Things weren’t quite what they should be,’ says Princess Diana’s royal chef

Royal chef Mervyn Wycherley briefly discussed the eating disorder that prevailed throughout much of Princess Diana’s marriage to then-Prince Charles. According to Diana’s accounts, her fight against bulimia nervosa began around 1981, shortly after her engagement, and persisted for nearly a decade.

Wycherley admitted to The Sun that “things weren’t quite what they should be” when it came to Diana’s eating disorder. However, he didn’t want to comment further on her illness.

However, he did reveal the foods he always kept ready for Diana in the kitchen, should she choose to eat them. The royal chef claimed certain foods were favorites of the Princess of Wales.

“There was a small fridge and I used to leave things in the fridge that she liked, Wycherley admitted. “Cold lamb cutlets and mint aspic. So she could snack whenever she wanted to.”

“Also bowls of custard. Which were obligatory,” he concluded.

Diana addressed her eating disorder in 1995

In her 1995 Panorama interview with Martin Bashir, Princess Diana addressed her battle against bulimia. She was a survivor of the eating disorder, and speaking of her struggle, shone a light on the health disorder for those who struggled with it.

Diana called bulimia “a secret disease.” She claimed it is inflicted upon oneself due to low self-esteem.

“You don’t think you’re worthy or valuable. You fill your stomach up four or five times a day, some do it more, and it gives you a feeling of comfort,” Diana explained.

She compared the feeling of having “a pair of arms around you, but temporarily.” Then the disease takes over to fight the feeling of fullness.

Princess Diana died in August 1997 in a car accident in Paris, France. She was 36.