Charles Spencer has commemorated the 28th anniversary of his sister Princess Diana’s death by sharing an image of flowers he had intended to place on her grave at Althorp estate.
Earl Spencer took to Instagram to honour his sister, who died on August 31, 1997, aged 36, after the car she was travelling in crashed into a pylon of the Pont de l’Alma tunnel in Paris.
Sharing a post alongside images of the bouquet, her younger brother, who became Earl Spencer five years before her death, wrote, “Flowers we cut this morning from Althorp’s gardens for the Island. Always an impossible day.”
A second photo showed the island within the ancestral estate where Diana spent her teenage years. Serving as her final resting place, it sits in the middle of an ornamental lake known as The Oval, accessible only by rowboat.
Although the island is closed to visitors, a small temple nearby can be seen when the estate opens each summer.
Earl Spencer delivered a poignant eulogy at his sister’s funeral, describing her as “the most hunted person of the modern age.”
During the eulogy, he also pledged on behalf of Diana’s “blood family”, which included their older sisters Lady Sarah McCorquodale and Lady Jane Fellowes, to remain an important part of the lives of her sons, Princes William and Harry.
He has kept this promise, remaining one of the few who has stood by Prince Harry following his departure from the royal family. He attended the 10th anniversary of the Invictus Games in 2024 and has even offered the prince a place to stay when he visits England.
Earl Spencer frequently shares photos of Diana on Instagram to mark significant events such as her birthday and anniversary.
The siblings shared a close but sometimes complicated relationship, often going long periods without speaking.
One such instance occurred when Diana requested permission to move into a home on the Althorp estate after her divorce, but her brother declined.
They eventually reconciled, and Diana even spent a holiday with her brother and his younger family in South Africa just five months before her death, a detail he referenced during his eulogy.
Diana’s nieces have also fondly recalled time spent with their aunt in interviews since her passing.
“Lady Kitty Spencer, the eldest of Earl Spencer’s children, was only six when Diana died. In a 2016 interview with Vanity Fair, she reflected on their relationship, saying, “I was so young [when Diana was alive]. There are only a few memories, but special memories and happy memories, and I’m so lucky to have those.”
In a 2021 interview with Tatler, Lady Kitty’s younger twin sisters, Lady Eliza and Lady Amelia, shared their own memories of Diana, who passed when they were five.
“We always just knew her as our aunt,” Lady Eliza said, adding that Princess Diana secretly visited them in South Africa “on a few occasions,” including shortly before her death.
Neither Prince William nor Prince Harry publicly marked the anniversary of their mother’s passing.
Images: Instagram
