Latest news with #AlthorpHouse
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Princess Diana's Childhood Home Was Set on Fire by Vandals — Here's What We Know
Nearly two years after Princess Diana's childhood home in the Althorp Estate became open to the public, it has been vandalized. In the Althorp Estate, there's the main house, the Althorp Estate, as well as quite a few other cottages, lodges, and farmhouses. These are primarily used by estate staff, or rented out. And in one of the farmhouses, something tragic has happened. More from SheKnows Disney Royalty Christy Carlson Romano's Rare Photos With Daughters Show How They Feel About Disneyland Diana's brother, Charles Spencer, shared the news that one of the farmhouses had been burned to the ground by vandals. Charles shared the news to X, the app formerly known as Twitter, shared an update reading, 'Stunned to learn that one of @AlthorpHouse's farmhouses – fortunately, unoccupied at the time – was apparently burnt down by vandals last night. With thanks to @northantsfire for doing their very best. So very sad that anyone would think this a fun thing to do.' Per Hello, Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service said in a statement, 'Crews arrived to find a derelict two-story property fully on fire. At the height of the fire, four crews from across the service wearing breathing apparatus used hose-reel jets to contain the blaze and prevent it from spreading further.' They added, 'One crew remained on the scene into this afternoon with a water bowser to continue dampening down any remaining hotspots, and then returned to their station shortly before 1pm.' As of May 31, 2025, it's a suspected arson attack from vandals, but no other details have become publicly known . But we are happy no one was injured during the unprecedented of SheKnows Elizabeth Hurley & Billy Ray Cyrus, & More of the Best Red Carpet Debuts From Celebrity Couples Over the Years Yoko Ono's Daughter Kyoko, & 22 Surprising Celebrities That Were In or Linked to a Cult 7 Ways Chrissy Teigen Has Altered Her Appearance Over the Years: Plastic Surgery & More
News18
3 days ago
- News18
Princess Diana's Childhood Home Burned: You Could Have Stayed There! All About The Estate, Its Owners
Last Updated: The 13,000-acre ancestral property, situated between the villages of Great Brington and Harlestone, northwest of Northampton, now belongs to Charles Spencer. Princess Diana remains one of the most cherished members of the British royal family. Even decades after her tragic death in a car accident in August 1997, everything associated with the late princess continues to hold deep emotional value for her admirers. Recently, Althorp House, Diana's childhood home and final resting place, made headlines for an unfortunate reason. A section of the historic estate was reportedly damaged in an arson attack. On Wednesday, May 28, Charles Spencer, Diana's brother and the 9th Earl Spencer, took to X to reveal this tragic incident. He said, 'Stunned to learn that one of @AlthorpHouse's farmhouses – fortunately, unoccupied at the time – was apparently burnt down by vandals last night. With thanks to @northantsfire for doing their very best. So very sad that anyone would think this a fun thing to do." Stunned to learn that one of @AlthorpHouse 's farmhouses – fortunately, unoccupied at the time – was apparently burnt down by vandals last night. With thanks to @northantsfire for doing their very best. So very sad that anyone would think this a fun thing to do. — Charles Spencer (@cspencer1508) May 28, 2025 The 18th-century farmhouse, called the Dallington Grange, was completely destroyed by the fire. It had been empty for years and was set for redevelopment. The Althorp House, in a statement, shared that illegal trespassing and vandalism have been a problem at the site for a long time. Police are now investigating the incident. The Althorp House is more than just another grand mansion, it is a key part of royal history. The 13,000-acre ancestral property, situated between the villages of Great Brington and Harlestone, northwest of Northampton, belongs to Charles Spencer. He has been living on the estate since 1992 with Countess Spencer. The country estate has been with the family for five centuries since 1508. Princess Diana, the daughter of Viscount and Viscountess of Althorp, John Spencer and Frances Spencer, lived in the house after her parents divorced in 1969. She resided with her siblings in the country estate and continued to call it her home till she married the Prince of Wales, Charles (Now King Charles III), in 1981. The two had even met in the '70s in the same house. After her tragic death in 1997, she was laid to rest on a small private island on the estate known as The Oval. Today, Althorp House remains in the hands of the Spencer family, and it opens to the public every summer. If you don't know already, then let us tell you that one can actually rent the grand estate for vacations or events. Listed on the luxury rental site Elysian Estates, Althorp is described as offering 'unparalleled levels of service, privacy and luxury to rival the finest properties anywhere in the world, yet retains the truly welcoming and homely feel that makes Althorp so special." The Althorp House features over 26 bedrooms, in-house catering, a 250-person reception area and a 500-person marquee. It also houses invaluable artworks of great artists such as Anthony van Dyck, Gainsborough and Sir Joshua Reynolds and has a large private collection of furniture and ceramics. There is a library in the house, which has over 10,000 books dating from the late 19th century. Nelson Mandela, Mikhail Gorbachev and Winston Churchill are among the renowned people who have once stayed at Althorp House. Except for Princess Diana's burial ground, the estate is open to the public. First Published:
Sky News AU
3 days ago
- Sky News AU
'Very sad': Fire tears through the late Princess Diana's historic family estate in suspected arson attack
A suspected act of vandalism has left Earl Charles Spencer "stunned" after a farmhouse on the historic Althorp Estate, Princess Diana's childhood home and final resting place, was destroyed in a late-night blaze. The 61-year-old author and younger brother of the late Princess took to social media on Wednesday to reveal the fire broke out at about 1.30am, engulfing a remote farmhouse on the Northamptonshire property. "Stunned to learn that one of @AlthorpHouse's farmhouses- fortunately, unoccupied at the time- was apparently burnt down by vandals last night," Spencer wrote on X. "With thanks to @northantsfire for doing their very best. So very sad that anyone would think this a fun thing to do." Just hours earlier, Spencer had hosted a barbecue for the Northamptonshire Steelbacks cricket team on the estate, which has been in the Spencer family since 1508. "Last night, we were delighted to host @northantsccc for a relaxed dinner with their players, coaches, girlfriends and wives," the official Althorp House Instagram account shared. "The Spencer family has proudly supported the club for the last 120 years, with @ serving as Patron." It is unclear when the event concluded, but firefighters were called shortly after midnight to respond to the fire, which had broken out in the two-storey farmhouse located roughly eight kilometres from the grade I-listed main house. "At the height of the fire, four crews from across the service wearing breathing apparatus used hose-reel jets to contain the blaze and prevent it from spreading further," Northamptonshire Fire & Rescue said in a statement. "One crew remained on the scene into this afternoon with a water bowser to continue dampening down any remaining hotspots, and then returned to their station shortly before 1pm." While police have not officially declared the fire a criminal offence, they told the BBC the incident could be upgraded if evidence supports it being deliberately lit. But Althorp's head gamekeeper, Adey Greeno, who has worked on the estate for over three decades, was unequivocal in his belief that the fire was started intentionally. "The farmhouse that we lost to a deliberate act of vandalism last night has now had to be razed to the ground for safety reasons," he posted on X. "So sad. The world we live in." The Althorp Estate is not only steeped in centuries of aristocratic history, but is also the childhood home of Princess Diana, and the place where she was laid to rest following her tragic death in 1997. The 13,000-acre estate is open to the public during the summer months and in recent years has become a site of major archaeological interest. In May 2023, Earl Spencer announced he had been excavating the remains of a Roman villa believed to date back to around 100 AD. He was joined on the dig by Norwegian archaeologist Professor Cat Jarman, who would later become his girlfriend. The following year, the father-of-seven confirmed his separation from his third wife, Countess Karen Spencer, after 13 years of marriage. It is understood that the breakdown coincided with the writing of his memoir, A Very Private School, which explores the trauma he experienced during his boarding school years. Countess Spencer, who has an 11-year-old daughter named Charlotte Diana with the Earl, announced her departure from Althorp House in February. "Well…at long last, three weeks ago, we finally moved into our temporary new home," the 52-year-old Canadian entrepreneur shared on social media. "...This new chapter is already taking shape."
The Independent
3 days ago
- General
- The Independent
Princess Diana's former home targeted in ‘suspected arson attack', her brother Earl Spencer claims
A building at the home of the late Princess Diana has been targeted in an apparent arson attack, her brother Earl Spencer has claimed. Firefighters rushed to the scene of a blaze at one of the farmhouses at the Grade I-listed Althorp House on Tuesday night. Sharing photographs on social media, the Earl said he was 'stunned' to learn that the farmhouse 'was apparently burnt down by vandals last night'. Noting that the building was unoccupied at the time, the late princess's younger brother said: 'So very sad that anyone would think this a fun thing to do.' Northamptonshire Police are understood to be investigating to establish the cause of the fire.
BBC News
3 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Firefighters tackle blaze at Althorp Estate farmhouse
Firefighters have been tackling a blaze at a farmhouse which is part of the Althorp House estate in Spencer, who owns Althorp House, posted on X that he was "stunned" by the fire, which began at the Dallington Grange farmhouse on Mill Lane, in Kingsthorpe, Northampton at about 01:30 earl added that the building was "fortunately unoccupied at the time" of the blaze and claimed it was "apparently burnt down by vandals".Northamptonshire Police said the incident had "not been recorded as a crime at present, but this could change if there is evidence to indicate it was started deliberately." Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service said the two-storey building was "fully on fire" when crews said that at the height of the fire, four crews from across the service wearing breathing apparatus used hose-reel jets to contain the blaze and prevent it from spreading crew will remain on the scene with a water bowser to continue dampening down any remaining hotspots, it fire comes less than a year after a fire at an empty industrial unit in nearby Harlestone Firs, which is also part of the Althorp Estate. 'Completely destroyed' In a statement, David Fawkes, the chief executive of the Althorp Estate, said: "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. "The farmhouse was built in the late 18th Century, and it has been completely destroyed by the fire, but the surrounding outbuildings are undamaged. "Our priority is to secure the site and make sure it is safe."He added: "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." Follow Northamptonshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
