Add Princess Diana’s Childhood Home, Althorp House, to the List of Celebrity Homes You Can Rent (for a Steep Price)

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published 1 October 2023

Not too long ago, Marie Claire rounded up celebrity homes you can rent on Airbnb—think Cher, Leonardo DiCaprio, Gwyneth Paltrow—but now, The Mirror reports, you can add a little royalty to your stay: Princess Diana’s childhood home, Althorp House, is available to rent, the outlet writes.

The house is available to rent on an upmarket property rental site, Elysian Estates, and was posted by Diana’s brother, Earl Charles Spencer. Though “the exact fee is not disclosed,” The Mirror reports, “guests can likely expect to pay tens of thousands for just a single night at the mansion.” The listing says the home sleeps 72 and sits on 13,000 acres in Northants; Elysian Estates can also offer chefs, a helicopter transfer, a pianist, shooting, stalking (deer stalking, not celebrity stalking), and fireworks as part of the experience.

What is likely not included—almost 100 percent so—is a visit to Diana’s grave on the property, on an island in the middle of a lake called Oval Lake. The grave has been kept private since Diana’s death in 1997.

“Althorp truly is one of the most spectacular, luxurious, and exclusive venues in the U.K.,” the listing for the property reads. “The ancestral home of the Spencer family, Althorp stands sentinel in its vast private estate, with a magnificent exterior matched by the beauty of the surrounding parkland. To stay at Althorp is to become part of the amazing history of this magnificent property, renowned for its discreet yet spectacular hospitality to guests including royalty and aristocracy since 1508.”

The listing continues “Althorp offers an unforgettable setting for hosting exceptional occasions, with discreet service, exquisite cuisine, spectacular surroundings, and a wonderful sense of history, all combined with 21st century luxury.”

This isn’t the first time Althorp has been listed to the public; Earl Spencer faced a barrage of criticism in 2013 for using a travel firm to rent Althorp out for £25,000 a night to tourists.

Rachel Burchfield is a writer, editor, and podcaster whose primary interests are fashion and beauty, society and culture, and, most especially, the British Royal Family and other royal families around the world. She serves as Marie Claire’s Senior Celebrity and Royals Editor and has also contributed to publications like Allure, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle, People, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and W, among others. Before taking on her current role with Marie Claire, Rachel served as its Weekend Editor and later Royals Editor. She is the cohost of Podcast Royal, a show that was named a top five royal podcast by The New York Times. A voracious reader and lover of books, Rachel also hosts I’d Rather Be Reading, which spotlights the best current nonfiction books hitting the market and interviews the authors of them. Rachel frequently appears as a media commentator, and she or her work has appeared on outlets like NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN, and more.

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