Princess diana house althorp


Inside Althorp House, Princess Diana's Childhood Home

Inside Althorp House, Princess Diana's Childhood Home

Jump to

  1. Main content
  2. Search
  3. Account
Search iconA magnifying glass. It indicates, "Click to perform a search". Chevron iconIt indicates an expandable section or menu, or sometimes previous / next navigation options. HOMEPAGE

Royals

Save Article IconA bookmarkShare iconAn curved arrow pointing right.

Download the app

Althorp House, Princess Diana's childhood home. David Levenson/Getty Images

Princess Diana was the daughter of John Spencer (Viscount Althorp) and Frances Spencer (Viscountess Althorp).

Princess Diana's parents in 1955. Central Press/Getty Images

Diana was born at Park House on the royal family's Sandringham estate.

The Spencers separated in 1967 and divorced in 1969. Diana and her siblings lived at Park House until their father inherited the title of earl in 1975 and moved the family to Althorp House.

John Spencer, 8th Earl Spencer, married his second wife, Raine, Countess of Dartmouth, in 1976.

John Spencer, 8th Earl Spencer and Raine, Countess of Dartmouth in front of Althorp House. Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images

The couple lived in Althorp House.

Althorp House measures 100,000 square feet and features 31 bedrooms.

John Spencer, 8th Earl Spencer with Raine, Countess of Dartmouth, at Althorp House. John Downing/Getty Images

The home also features a great room, a ballroom, and "Painters' Passage" lined with artists' self portraits and family busts.

The house contains large private collections of furniture, paintings, and ceramics.

Charles Spencer, then-Viscount Althorp, in Althorp House in 1980. Ian Tyas/Keystone Features/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Diana's brother Charles, now the 9th Earl Spencer, showed tourists around Althorp House on his breaks from school.

Althorp's picture gallery includes notable works of art such as Anthony van Dyck's 1637 portrait "War and Peace.

"

The main staircase at Althorp House. David Jones - PA Images/PA Images via Getty Images

The gallery also features portraits of King Charles I, who ruled from 1625 until his execution in 1649.

Nelson Mandela, Mikhail Gorbachev, Winston Churchill, and many royal family members have stayed at Althorp House.

A state bedroom at Althorp House. David Jones - PA Images/PA Images via Getty Images

Churchill began writing his memoirs in one of Althorp House's state bedrooms.

The 1st Earl Spencer and his fiancée, Georgiana Poyntz, were secretly married in this room in 1755.

A state bedroom at Althorp House. David Jones - PA Images/PA Images via Getty Images

The room served as the 1st Earl Spencer's mother's dressing room.

The library holds 10,000 books in its collection, dating from 1892.

Earl Spencer at his desk in Althorp House. Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images

The 2nd Earl Spencer once had as many as 43,000 books shelved in eight rooms.

Today, Althorp House opens to the public every summer.

Visitors arrive at Althorp House. David Levenson/Getty Images

Diana's brother Charles, 9th Earl Spencer, still lives there.

Althorp House hosted an exhibition featuring 150 artifacts from Diana's life, including her wedding dress, for 15 years before closing in 2014.

Visitors at the Princess Diana exhibition at Althorp House. David Jones - PA Images/PA Images via Getty Images

Diana's possessions belonged to her brother until both Prince William and Prince Harry turned 30. When Harry turned 30 in 2014, the contents of the exhibit were transferred to them at Kensington Palace.

The "people's princess" is buried at Althorp House on an island in the center of a lake.

A tribute laid by the Spencer family at Althorp House. David Jones - PA Images/PA Images via Getty Images

The Spencer family also planted 36 oak trees on the grounds, symbolizing every year of Diana's life.

Near the lake, a small memorial features quotes and a silhouette of Diana.

A memorial for Princess Diana at Althorp House. Jeff Overs/BBC News & Current Affairs via Getty Images

The quote from Diana reads: "Nothing brings me more happiness 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. Whoever is in distress can call on me. I will come running wherever they are."

The other featured quote is from her brother's speech at her funeral: "We give thanks for the life of a woman I'm so proud to be able to call my sister: The unique, the complex, the extraordinary and irreplaceable Diana, whose beauty, both internal and external, will never be extinguished from our minds."

Read next

Features Princess Diana Royal Family

More...

Althorp House: Princess Diana’s childhood home and resting place | London Evening Standard

Althorp House, Princess Diana’s childhood home and her final resting place, is currently closed to the public, reopening in 2023.

Diana, who tragically died on August 31, 1997, was divorced from Prince Charles, who was then the Prince of Wales.

Charles became King Charles III the moment Queen Elizabeth II died on September 8, under the old common law rule Rex nunquam moritur, which means “The king never dies”.

The former Prince of Wales became king at the age of 73, following the death of his mother, the Queen, at 96 years old.

On Wednesday, the Queen’s coffin arrived at the Palace of Westminster after a sombre procession from Buckingham Palace.

The procession saw the late monarch leave the palace at 2.22 pm, with crowds lining the streets occasionally bursting into spontaneous applause or cheers.

The coffin, which had been followed by the King with his three siblings - Princess Anne, Prince Andrew, and Prince Edward - arrived at Westminster Hall shortly after 3pm.

Princes William and Harry were also in attendance.

Here’s everything you need to know about Althrop House.

The palatial estate dates back to 1508 and Princess Diana grew up there, along with her siblings, Lady Sarah McCorquodale, Lady Jane Fellowes, and her brother Charles, the 9th Earl Spencer and current master of the house.

In an interview with the Sunday Telegraph, Earl Spencer confirmed his plans to follow traditional rules of primogeniture and leave the estate to his 25-year-old son, Viscount Louis Spencer, rather than his older daughter, Lady Kitty Spencer, 28.

“Is it any fairer that the eldest child gets it instead of the eldest male?” he said. “Whatever you say is a selection.”

Spanning 500 acres and 90 rooms, parts of the home will be put on display for historical buffs, fine-furniture enthusiasts, and fans of Earl Spencer's late sister.

The home where Diana grew up

/ Althorp House

While the award-winning Diana: Princess of Wales exhibition finished in 2017, another called The Spencers: The History of an English Family details centuries of the family’s history at the estate.

Guests can also view the estate’s collection of fine European furniture, art, and ceramics, as well as their new Animals of Althorp exhibit (where you can view a painting of Diana’s beloved cat, Marmalade).

The saloon at Althorp

/ Ilpo Musto/REX/Shutterstock

The house’s striking chequered entrance, Wootton Hall, is one of the highlights of the estate, covered in pastoral scenes by artist John Wootton, and a ceiling covered in 200 different plaster flowers.

In her youth, Diana would reportedly practise her tap dancing on the hall’s black and white marble floor.

Other highlights include the King William bedroom, which was where King William III slept in 1695 underneath a canopy covered in ostrich feathers, according to the house's official Instagram.

The oak bedroom

/ Ilpo Musto/REX/Shutterstock

One area which will reportedly not be open to the public is Princess Diana’s burial site, which is located on a small island nicknamed the Oval, in the centre of a lake within the property. It was not originally intended to be her burial site, but Earl Spencer revealed in 2017 that it was the “safest place” for her to be buried.

The final resting place of Diana

/ Jamie Cooper/Shutterstock

He also said in 1998 that the watery perimeter would “act as a buffer against the interventions of the insane and ghoulish... presenting a further line of defence,” and that it was intended to be a place where her sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, could visit in privacy.

Despite this, he told BBC Radio 4 that there had been “four attempted break-ins towards her body in the past 20 years” since she had passed away.

The Diana memorial at her family home

/ Ilpo Musto/Shutterstock

Although visitors won’t be able to visit Princess Diana’s grave, there is a small memorial where people can pay respect to the ‘People’s Princess’. It features her likeness as well as two inscribed slabs: one which has a quote from Princess Diana and the other which features a line from her brother's eulogy at her funeral. There is also an arboretum nearby, where Princess Diana and her sons planted trees together.

The beautiful picture gallery is now a restaurant

/ John Alex Maguire/Shutterstock

A former Althorp cook told the BBC after Diana’s burial site had been announced, “Looking back, it was probably the happiest time of her life. You get the sense that she is coming home. Her father is buried here. I’m sure it is what she would have wanted.”

Althrop House is currently closed to the public, and will reopen in 2023.

Royal apartments: 5 houses and castles where Princess Diana lived royal family.

The highly anticipated Princess Diana, played by Emma Corrin, finally arrives in the fourth season of the recently released Netflix series The Crown. In honor of this, we are talking about five apartments, houses and castles in which the princess once lived.

The Crown series: 7 iconic architectural landmarks from the new season

Althorp Manor, Northamptonshire

In the family estate, which has been owned by the Spencer earl family since the 16th century, Lady Di spent her young years - the future princess lived there from the age of 14 and before marriage. Built in 1508, the estate is surrounded by picturesque gardens and lakes. The main pride of the house is an impressive collection of paintings, among which there are works by van Dyck. Open for visits from 1953 years old: Tourists can admire the estate from 1 July to 30 August.

Earl's ruins: restoration of Elthorp manor in England

House 60 Coleherne Court, Earl's Court, London

Diana Spencer has lived in an apartment in a house in the area between Chelsea and South Kensington for a short time, only a couple of years. She was given a four-bedroom apartment for her 18th birthday, and Diana moved there with her three friends. During that period, she worked part-time as an assistant teacher in a kindergarten.

Highgrove House, Gloucestershire

Prince Charles' neoclassical three-story country mansion with several reception rooms, nine bedrooms and a separate wing with children's rooms and staff quarters became a favorite place for Charles and Diana - they often went there on weekends with their children, William and Harry. Diana spent part of her first pregnancy there. Highgrove is famous for its incredible gardens - last year Google Arts & Culture even released a virtual tour of Prince Charles' country estate, so now you can walk around the royal residence.

Princess Diana in the garden of Highgrove Manor, 1986.

Princess Diana and Prince Charles with their sons Prince William and Prince Harry in the garden of Highgrove Manor.

Kensington Palace, London

Modest at first glance, Kensington Palace is one of the most famous royal residences. Built in 1605, the palace changed owners many times: Diana was considered the mistress of the residence from the moment she married Prince Charles in 1981 until her death at 1997th. Kensington Palace is now the official residence of the Windsor family, Prince William and Kate Middleton.

Castillo Mallorca, Andratx, Mallorca

It is no coincidence that Castillo Mallorca has become a particularly favorite summer residence of Princess Diana - the villa is located right on the coast, on a small private peninsula of 6000 m². Complete privacy (which is sometimes lacking for members of the royal family) is provided - you can only get to the villa by yacht or helicopter. In addition to common areas in a spacious - 1400 m² - the house fit seven bedrooms, a billiard room, a sauna and a swimming pool - you will not get bored there not only in summer, but also at any time of the year.

Corona series: how the interiors of the third season were created

First published in AD France.

Photo: Getty Images

Technodor -Mercorytorcorkorolevskaya family

90,000 Diana Shelter: What was the house of Princess Wales

Princess Diana, Prince William and Prince Harry in the Kensington Palace, October 4, 1985

In addition to the Read more : Before/after: how Princess Diana gave a second life to old outfits), the Princess of Wales had a subtle flair for interior design. After the wedding, she and Prince Charles settled in a three-story apartment at Kensington Palace. To make this place her home, Diana joined forces with renowned designer Dudley Popluck and added a few signature touches to the décor.

The pale yellow walls of the living room were decorated with a large tapestry, and the floor with a delicate floral print carpet. Multi-colored pillows appeared on the sofa, and next to it was an orange fringed armchair. All furniture was covered with golden lacquer. Also in the living room was a large black piano, on which Lady Dee arranged framed family photos.

Prince Charles and Princess Diana are interviewed in the living room of their apartment, October 4, 1985

Diana's office had a large mahogany desk and the surrounding area was decorated in pastel blue and pink. There were many pillows with ruffles around, which echoed the curtains in color and decor. Welskaya kept her books in a large white bookcase, which went well with the light carpet and white lampshades. Here, too, Lady Dee did not forget about family photographs - they stood on the mantelpiece.

The dining room in the princess's apartment was more restrained. Dark shades prevailed there: burgundy curtains, an emerald dining table.

Princess Diana at her desk, October 6, 1985

Princes William and Harry's playground occupied the entire top floor. They had spacious bedrooms and a separate playroom. The space was developed by Dragons and Walton Street, an interior design company for children. For the playroom, we chose shades of red, white and green and made the main accent of the room a carpet with a strawberry print.

Princess Diana and Prince William in the playroom, October 22, 1985

Diana made every effort to make her family's part of Kensington her home. However, the palace was and remains the royal "dormitory". Today it serves as a residence for 13 members of the Windsor family. The Cambridges live there with their children, the cousin of Elizabeth II, Prince Richard and his wife Brigitte, Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank, Prince and Princess Michael of Kent and several other members of the BCS.


Learn more