Prince Harry and Prince William Won't Inherit Late Mom Princess Diana's Childhood Home–Here's Who Will
Althorp House won't be handed down to Diana's two sons.
Princess Diana grew up on the Althorp Estate, which is also her final resting place. Diana is buried on Oval Island in the middle of Oval Lake, a remote spot on the historic estate. Despite being an incredibly important property for both Prince Harry and Prince William, the royal brothers won't inherit their mother's ancestral home.
During a recent visit to the U.K., Prince Harry stayed at Althorp House with his uncle, Charles Spencer. Even though the Duke of Sussex has remained close to Diana's family, he's not in line to inherit the place she grew up. As reported by the Express, the Althorp Estate has been "the ancestral seat of the Spencer family for more than five centuries." As a result, the expansive property and its land will be handed down to Charles Spencer's son, Louis, Viscount Althorp.
Louis Spencer, Viscount Althorp and his mother, Victoria Aitken.
Louis, Viscount Althorp is the youngest child of Charles Spencer and his first wife, Victoria Aitken. Louis has three older sisters—Lady Kitty, Lady Amelia, and Lady Eliza—but an antiquated policy means that Althorp passes to the first male heir. When Charles Spencer dies, Louis will inherit Althorp, and become the 10th Earl Spencer.
Louis, Viscount Althorp keeps an extremely low profile, despite being from such a prestigious family. A so-called "insider" told The Telegraph, "He's super private and gets on quietly with his thing. He's a very talented actor and, I think, will be a brilliant one. You'd like him. He's very low-key and genuine, decent and kind and tall."
Louis, Viscount Althorp will inherit the Althorp Estate when his father dies.
Even though William and Harry will never own Althorp, it's likely they will always have access to the private island on which their late mother is buried. Charles Spencer wrote about the remote location in his book, Althorp: The Story of an English House, explaining (via Tatler), "Its remoteness is entirely intentional... [The lake is] a buffer against the interventions of the insane and ghoulish, the thick mud presenting a further line of defence."
Diana's brother has also made it clear that he wanted his sister's final resting place to be somewhere her two sons could visit in privacy. "I think it's very important for them to be there with her," he told People. "It is, luckily, very tranquil here and they can come and go as they wish whenever they want. And that's very lovely for me to know that."
