Photo: charles spencer/instagram
Charles Spenceris thinking ofPrincess Diana.
The 9th Earl Spencer, 58, posted a tender tribute to his late elder sister and their fatherJohn Spencerfor All Souls' Day Wednesday. Christians use the annual holy day to honor loved ones who have died.
“Today is All Souls Day — when it’s customary to remember the souls of those you love, who’ve departed: it is known in some parts of the world as the Day of the Dead,” Charles began anInstagramcaption. “A deeply poignant photograph for me from the summer of 1989, when there was a party at Althorp to mark my father’s 65th birthday earlier that year.”
In the formal portrait, John was seated between his two youngest children. The father and son looked dapper in tuxedos while the Princess of Wales sparked in a champagne one-shoulder evening gown. Not pictured were Charles and Diana’s two elder sisters —Lady Sarah McCorquodaleandLady Jane Fellowes— or their mother,Frances Shand Kydd, who got divorced from their father in 1969.
Anwar Hussein/WireImage
John’s birthday party was hosted atAlthorp House, the ancestral home of the Spencer family in Northamptonshire, England, where Princess Diana grew up. The patriarch would face health challenges in the years that followed. In March 1992, he wasadmitted to the hospitalwith pneumonia. He latersuffered a heart attackand died at age 68.
Her younger brother famously walked behind her casket at her funeral withPrince William,Prince Harry,King Charles IIIandPrince Philip. He also delivered afiery eulogyat the somber service at Westminster Abbey.
Earl Spencer, who inherited his title upon his father’s death, recently posted a photo of the “beautiful autumn colors” that surround thetemple dedicatedto Princess Diana at Althorp, along with a bit of the building’s history.
Family members can privately visit her gravesite, which is off-limits to the public. Visitors to the park, however, are welcome to pay their respects at the memorial site located on the grounds.
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According to the estate’swebsite, Althorp is currently closed with plans to reopen next year.
source: people.com
