Princess Diana’s childhood home, Althorp House, was vandalized by arsonists, according to her brother, Charles Spencer.
“Luckily unoccupied at the time — but still deeply disturbing that one of our farmhouses was torched by vandals last night,” Charles, 61, shared via Instagram on Wednesday, May 28. “Sincere thanks to @northantsfire for trying to save it.”
Charles shared an Instagram Story photo of the building ablaze. He also offered an update via X, sharing a separate image of the charred house after the fire was put out.
“Stunned to learn that one of @AlthorpHouse’s farmhouses — fortunately, unoccupied at the time — was apparently burnt down by vandals last night,” he tweeted. “With thanks to @northantsfire for doing their very best. So very sad that anyone would think this a fun thing to do.”
The Northamptonshire Fire & Rescue shared their own image via X, revealing that authorities were called at about 1:30 a.m. local time.
“Crews arrived to find an unoccupied two-story property fully on fire,” the social media statement read. “At the height of the fire, 4 crews from across the Service wearing breathing apparatus used hose-reel jets to contain the blaze & prevent it from spreading.”
The fire department noted that one crew remained on sight Wednesday morning “to continue dampening down any remaining hotspots.”
The building impacted by the fire was a farmhouse “built in the late 18th Century,” according to a statement from the chief executive of the Althorp Estate, David Fawkes, on Wednesday.
“The house and farm buildings have been unoccupied for several years and the site is scheduled for redevelopment as part of the Dallington Grange development,” he told the BBC, noting that the farmhouse was “completely destroyed” but “surrounding outbuildings are undamaged.”
Fawkes added, “Our priority is to secure the site and make sure it is safe. We are very grateful to Northampton Fire and Rescue Service and the estate team for dealing with the fire so effectively. We don’t know how the fire started.”
Diana — who died at age 36 in August 1997 following a car crash — grew up at Althorp, a 100,000-square-foot home with 31 bedrooms. Charles lives on the property, which is open to the public for visitation every summer. This year, the grounds are open from July 3 to August 31.
Following her death, Diana was buried within the grounds of Althorp Park. Her grave is on a secluded island on the estate, which has been titled Oval Lake Grave.
