Princess Diana’s brother Charles Spencer shares otherworldly view of family home following huge change

Earl Spencer will no doubt have delighted his many social media followers on Wednesday, when he shared a new image of his family home, Althorp House, to Instagram. 

The ethereal snapshot showed the grand stately home in the distance, emerging from the mist, with the trees surrounding it barely visible because of the weather. 

Charles, who is custodian of the family estate, captioned the image: “Coming into focus through the morning mist”. 

The father-of-seven and his family now have the residence to themselves, after it closed for the summer at the end of August – on the anniversary of his sister Princess Diana’s death. 

It will re-open on 1 July 2024, which would have been the late Princess of Wales’ birthday, although as Charles shared an appearance on Twiggy’s podcast, this detail was not intentional. 

The late Princess and Charles both grew up in the house, and Diana is buried on a secluded spot in its grounds, on a small island on the property’s picturesque Oval Lake. 

When Charles has previously shared a photo of the lake it has received an outpouring of love from his followers. “Diana is peacefully at rest in such beautiful and tranquil surroundings. God bless Diana, we miss you,” wrote one fan, and: “Beautiful resting place of Princess Diana,” added another. 

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A third commented: “Lovely place to sit and think.” The Earl’s wife Karen shared an insight into life on the estate just a few days ago, when she took to her Instagram account on Monday. 

Karen shared a photo to her Stories, revealing she had a “Fun morning planned” with buckets upon buckets of fresh blooms collected in one of their grand rooms. 

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The blooms included vibrant purples, pinks and red as well as whites and creams and even some zesty yellows. Quite the rainbow display ready for the Lady of the House to arrange around the vast residence. 

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Firty-one-year-old Karen often shares updates from the stately home, giving fans insights into the day-to-day running of the property. Earlier this summer, she documented her discovery inside of their ‘Muniment Room’, where she uncovered old journals from Charles’ ancestors. 

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While speaking to the camera in a clip shared to social media, she explained: “It’s one of a number of spaces where there are all sorts of things… personal journals… photographs…” Her doting Instagram followers couldn’t contain their excitement about the historical space and its gems.

“So many treasures. Oh, to read the journals, see the photos,” penned one, and: “Every day must be like opening up Pandora’s Box. So many wonderful treasures, stories and history to explore,” added another. 

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Althorp isn’t the only property in Charles’ portfolio, however, as he and wife Karen also own a home in idyllic surroundings in Canada, where the podcast host recently revealed he flies a British flag. 

He joked to his podcast co-hosts Richard Coles and Cat Jarman, “It’s the little corner of this house that is forever England, the rest is thoroughly Canadian, there’s Maple leaves everywhere you look otherwise.”