Princess Diana's Brother Pays Tribute to the Late Royal With Christmas Visit to Her Grave at Althorp House
"Good place to sit on Christmas Eve during a quiet moment."
The holiday season is a time for celebrating family, and for remembering those who are no longer with us. Charles Spencer, Princess Diana's brother, paid tribute to his late sister over Christmas by sharing a photograph of her final resting place on social media.
Sharing a photo of a seat, with an image of the former Princess of Wales on the wall behind it, The 9th Earl Spencer wrote, "My favorite bench—good place to sit on Christmas Eve during a quiet moment." The photo shows a building known as "The Temple" at Althorp House, which was turned into a memorial to Diana following her death.
Princess Diana is buried in a remote location—on Oval Island in the middle of Oval Lake at her ancestral home, Althorp House, which is where Charles Spencer still resides. In an interview with the BBC, Charles explained why his family decided to bury Diana at home, saying, "There was such a whipped-up feeling of emotion everywhere that I was very worried about where we could safely bury her."
In his book, Althorp: The Story of an English House, Charles elaborated on the location of Diana's grave, writing (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."
In a recent interview with Good Morning Britain, Earl Spencer shared that he visits his sister's grave "pretty much every day."
The 9th Earl Spencer reflected on the decision to bury Princess Diana somewhere safe, where her sons—Prince William and Prince Harry—could visit her 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."
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Amy Mackelden is a contributing editor at Marie Claire, where she covers celebrity and royal family news. She was the weekend editor at Harper’s BAZAAR for three years, where she covered breaking celebrity and entertainment news, royal stories, fashion, beauty, and politics. Prior to that, she spent a year as the joint weekend editor for Marie Claire, ELLE, and Harper's BAZAAR, and two years as an entertainment writer at Bustle. Her additional bylines include Cosmopolitan, People, The Independent, HelloGiggles, Biography, Shondaland, Best Products, New Statesman, Heat, and The Guardian. Her work has been syndicated by publications including Town & Country, Good Housekeeping, Esquire, Delish, Oprah Daily, Country Living, and Women's Health. Her celebrity interviews include Jennifer Aniston, Jessica Chastain, the cast of Selling Sunset, Emma Thompson, Jessica Alba, and Penn Badgley. In 2015, she delivered an academic paper at Kimposium, the world's first Kardashian conference.
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