A grade-I listed stately home nestled in 13,000 acres of Northamptonshire countryside – Althorp House is seriously stunning – and it has the most magnificent history, including being Princess Diana's childhood home. The late royal's brother, Earl Spencer is now custodian of the grand estate, and he shares its beauty online on a frequent basis.
Fans will be well acquainted with the striking exterior and the driveway with pristine lawn outside, but on Tuesday, Charles decided to share a lesser-seen view of the property – the back! The rare image was met with nothing but praise from Charles' followers.
Sharing three images of the back, he penned: "Today is so dreary and grey - so let’s enjoy these sunnier, winter, photographs of @althorphouse from last year instead. This is the house’s northern, rear view - enjoying much cleaner lines than the better-known front courtyard. The original red brick house, built in 1508, is still there beneath this classical 18th century facade."
© Alamy Stock PhotoSome of the comments included: "Such beautiful architecture. What a wonderful home," and: "Your home is beautiful." A third person, simply wrote: "Magnificent."
Is Althorp House open to visitors?
© InstagramAt the moment, Althorp House is closed to visitors; however, it will reopen again in summer 2026, for two months. Charles has previously revealed the reason for this. "We are open for July and August each year, by an arrangement reached with the UK Government in 1992. Strange to think that that summer season is bookended by 1 July - Diana’s birthday - and 31 August - the day she died."
Diana's final resting place
The sprawling estate is also where Princess Diana has been laid to rest. The initial plan was for Diana to be buried in the family vault at the local church, but with security concerns, Charles decided to lay her to rest on an island at the centre of the property's oval lake instead.
© David GoddardPrince Harry revealed in his memoir Spare, that the lake used to have a bridge that had to be removed for safety reasons. "The bridge had been removed, to give my mother privacy, to keep intruders away," he penned. Now, family members have to board a boat and paddle over to the island should they wish to pay their respects there. Another revelation in Harry's book was that he managed to take Meghan Markle there in secret in order for her to see Diana's resting place.
