Princess Diana’s brother Charles, the 9th Earl Spencer shared with fans a sneak peek of their family’s Althorp home. The estate belongs to him and Princess Diana used to live there before marrying Prince Charles. Princess Diana’s brother recently posted a new look of the house’s exterior that got fans talking. The Duchess of Wales was born at Park House in Sandringham which was a rented property on Queen Elizabeth II’s estate in Norfolk.
Her family moved to the Althorp House in Northamptonshire when she turned 14. Princess Diana comes from a long line of aristocrats. The Althorp House has been in her family for more than five centuries. The sprawling Spencer family home has 90 rooms, sits on 550 acres and is surrounded by a 13,000 acre estate. Princess Diana often visited her previous home after she married Prince Charles and it was said that she loved the place.
Princess Diana is buried on the property with her grave located on an island in the middle of the estate’s Round Oval lake. Charles Spencer shared a photo of the Althorp House on July 6 with a different look. He uploaded a photo of himself on Instagram standing in front of the home which was completely lit up in all red lights. Charles Spencer wrote in the caption, “Delighted to have [Althorp] join the #lightitinred campaign this evening, saluting the enormous contribution that live events and entertainment make to the U.K., culturally and financially.”
All over the UK, hundreds of theatres, concert venues and other entertainment establishments were lit up in red to highlight the devastating impact the coronavirus outbreak has had on the events industry. Clearsound Productions Ltd. and Backstage Theatre Jobs created the campaign. Royal fans left comments on Spencer’s post to express how different but beautiful the home looked when it was lit up in red. A fan said the house looked stunning and that it was a worthy cause. Another one said that it looked gorgeous and it resembled New Delhi on Independence Day.
“Very cool picture of you[r] amazing home,” a third said while another fan said, “Well done. And thank you.” The photo garnered over 1,300 likes. Charles Spencer has owned the home since 1992. Speaking to The Telegraph, he said that he will most likely follow the practice of male primogeniture and leave the home to his eldest son, Viscount Louis Spencer.
He has six other children, Lady Kitty and twins Lady Eliza and Lady Amelia with his first wife Victoria Aitken, Hon Edmund and Lady Lara with second wife Caroline Freud, and Lady Charlotte with current wife Karen Villeneuve. Althorp sees an average of 20,000 visitors annually who tour the property and pay tribute at a separate memorial site to Princess Diana. The late Princess Diana passed away on August 31, 1997 following a car crash in Paris.