The Strange Thing Princess Diana Always Traveled With
While the life of a royal often seems glamorous, it is not without its downfalls. Traveling might seem like one of the perks of being a member of the royal family, but, unlike most of us, royals can't just hop on a plane or a bus. There are all sorts of arrangements that must be made for them to travel, including certain safety precautions.
As a member of the royal family, there was one thing Princess Diana always had to have ready at a moment's notice, especially when she was traveling: a refrigerator filled with her own blood. While the thought of storing one's own blood sounds rather gruesome, there was actually quite a practical reason for it. As Patrick Jephson, who worked as Princess Diana's private secretary from 1988 to 1996, told the Daily Star, it was for her own safety in the event that there was an emergency.
Princess Diana 'was quite often under the threat of physical danger'
"Particularly when we were abroad or in the developing world, we would carry a little refrigerator full of spare supplies of Diana's blood," said Jephson. ""That sure took the glamor out of it."
He added that everyone on Princess Diana's team was tested so that doctors knew their blood type in case one of them had to donate blood to the royal in case disaster struck. "Diana was quite often under the threat of physical danger," he explained.
Princess Diana was not the only member of the royal family required to travel with their own blood. Royal expert Duncan Larcombe told Yahoo that Queen Elizabeth and the heirs who are closest to the throne, Prince Charles and Prince William, must be accompanied by the royal physician when they go on royal tours and must also carry "a bag full of their own blood, just in case something happens to them."