Princess Diana’s brother Earl Charles Spencer has shared an evocative image of her final resting place at the Althorp Estate.
Taken in misty morning light, the photograph posted on Instagram shows the private island at the centre of Althorp Oval Lake, where Diana was buried after her untimely death in 1997.
The trees planted on the island are reflected in the clear, calm water that surrounds it.
Charles, whose emotional memoir A Very Private School was published in March 2024, captioned the photo: “A misty start to the day, @althorphouse.”
The image has racked up almost 10,000 likes in two days and sparked an outpouring of emotion in the comments section, with one person writing: “Rest sweetly beautiful soul, you are at peace now.”
Earl Charles Spencer posted this photo from the private island where Princess Diana is buried with the caption ‘A misty start to the day, @althorphouse’.
Princess Diana (pictured) was buried on the private island in the middle of Oval Lake, part of the Althorp Estate, after her death at the age of 36.
Earl Charles Spencer (pictured) still lives at the Althorp Estate in Northampton, where the Spencer children grew up.
Spanning 13,000 acres, Althorp Estate was the childhood home of Diana and Charles, 60, and their siblings Lady Jane Fellowes, 67, and Lady Sarah McCorquodale, 69, and remains Charles’ home today.
Although Diana’s grave is not accessible to the public, Althorp is home to a memorial known as the “temple” which can be visited by those outside the family.
Inaugurated in July 1998, the monument located on this 500-year-old ancestral estate is visited by approximately 150,000 people a year.
In August 2023, it was reported that 36 oak trees had been planted along the path leading to the lake, as well as hundreds of white and pink water lilies.
The number of trees is said to represent each year of Diana’s life before it was cut short in a car crash in Paris on 31 August 1997.
In his 1998 book, ‘Althorp’, Charles discusses the decision to bury Diana on the island in Oval Lake, when many other members of the family had been buried at St Mary the Virgin Church in Great Brington.
Charles reflected: ‘We all agreed that, with its beauty and tranquillity, this was the ideal place for Diana.’
In an interview with People magazine, Earl Spencer said he wanted his nephews, Prince William and Prince Harry, to have a private place to visit their late mother.
Charles’ Instagram post, which has racked up nearly 10,000 likes in two days, sparked an outpouring of emotion in the comments section.
She added: “Luckily, everything here is very calm and they can come and go as they please. And it’s very nice for me to know that.”
Unlike a church, Earl Spencer said the water of Oval Lake “would act as a buffer against interventions by the mad and macabre, with the thick mud presenting an additional line of defence.”
The Greek-inspired public monument, known as “the Temple”, was purchased by the fifth Earl Spencer in the 1880s and features Diana’s name, her silhouette and a quote from the princess.
One of the plaques reads: “Nothing makes me happier than trying to help the most vulnerable people in society. It is a goal and an essential part of my life, a kind of destiny. Anyone in trouble can turn to me. I will run to wherever they are.”
Another plaque quotes Earl Spencer’s 1997 eulogy: ‘We give thanks for the life of a woman I am so proud to call my sister, the unique, the complex, the extraordinary and irreplaceable Diana, whose beauty both inner and outer will never fade from our minds.’
In 2017, Earl Spencer revealed that several members of the public attempted to access Diana’s grave.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4, he said: “We’ve had four attempted robberies involving her body in the last 20 years and I’m really pleased that we’ve overcome them all.”
“There are strange people out there and keeping them here is the safest place.”
Charles revealed he was left in tears after receiving a “stunningly beautiful” gift (pictured) when he celebrated his 60th birthday in May.
The canoe was handmade by Charles’ friend’s husband over many months, who explained: ‘I just thought it would come in handy when you visit your sister.’
On his birthday, May 20, Charles explained on Instagram and X, formerly Twitter, that he “cried” when he saw the canoe.
On May 20, his 60th birthday, Charles revealed that he was reduced to tears after a friend gifted him a “stunningly beautiful” handmade canoe.
The husband of the friend who had built the canoe explained, “I just thought it would be useful when you visited your sister.”
Earlier in the day, Charles shared a selection of images of the touching gift, placed in front of the Oval Lake in Althorp.
She captioned the photos: ‘I’m turning 60 today. I had 30 friends and family come to visit me over the weekend…
‘On Saturday a friend took me to Althorp Lake. Her husband hand-made me this incredibly beautiful canoe as a surprise over many months. I cried when I saw it. It’s almost too exquisite to paddle.
‘The husband said, “I thought it might be useful to you when you visit your sister.” What a lovely thought!’
She also shared the story and photos on X, formerly Twitter, writing: ‘Probably the most amazingly beautiful gift I’ve ever received – found this canoe, handcrafted by a friend over many months, by the lake at @AlthorpHouse.
“Something so you can visit your sister,” she said. I was speechless and couldn’t help but cry at the beauty of that idea.
Fans were delighted with the gift, with one person writing in the comments section of Instagram: “What a beautiful and thoughtful gift! I got teary-eyed when I read your message!”
Fans were delighted with the gift, with one person writing in the comments section of Instagram: “What a beautiful and thoughtful gift! I got teary-eyed when I read your message!”
Another said: “Happy 60th birthday, how beautiful that canoe is and how lovely that you visited your (and our) Princess Diana in it. What thoughtful and intelligent friends you have. PS I got emotional just reading your post.”
A third added: “Oh my goodness what an incredibly thoughtful friend, one of the most beautiful gestures I’ve ever heard. You must be a great friend too for someone to give you a gift like that.”
