Earl Spencer shares rare glimpse of family portraits - and Princess Diana has pride of place

Earl Charles Spencer attends the ICAP charity day at ICAP on December 9, 2015 in London, England
(Image credit: Photo by Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)

Earl Spencer, brother of Princess Diana, has given a unique glimpse inside his historic family home Althorp House - and his late sister’s portrait has pride of place.

Charles Spencer, Earl Spencer has given royal fans a rare sneak peek into the spectacular hallway of his historic family home, Althorp House. The stunning Northamptonshire home was where he, Princess Diana, and their sisters grew up. Recently, Charles’ daughter Lady Amelia Spencer revealed her plans to get married there.

Earl Spencer inherited the stately home from his father and lives there with his wife Karen, Countess Spencer, and their daughter Lady Charlotte Diana Spencer.

Charles often posts stunning snaps of the Spencer family home and recently shared an emotional Mother's Day photo. Yesterday he took to Instagram to share another deeply personal snap.

A photo posted by on

Taking to Instagram, Earl Spencer shared an adorable picture of his pet cat sitting on a stunning patterned rug on the stairs. He light-heartedly captioned the picture, ‘Blending in. #rodentpatrol’. 

The family pet is certainly cute, though it was the family portraits visible hanging in the background that really caught people’s attention. Amongst a series of significant family portraits, some eagle-eyed royal fans spotted an especially emotional one. 

On the left, a portrait of Charles’ sister, Princess Diana can be seen. The late Princess of Wales is depicted wearing a beautiful teal skirt and ruffled cream blouse, her iconic short blonde hair clearly visible. 

Omg Princess Diana ❤️🙏🏿 ' one person commented excitedly, whilst another wrote: ‘❤️such a lovely painting collection! am princess Dianas fan!’ 

A photo posted by on

One Instagram user also commented on the proximity of Princess Diana’s portrait to that of Earl Spencer’s wife Karen, writing: ‘The portrait of your wife next to Princess Diana is beautiful!

The portrait depicts Karen, Countess Spencer wearing the stunning purple outfit she wore to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding in May 2018. 

Whilst Earl Spencer’s Instagram post only showed a few of the portraits hanging above the stairs, it seems some people were keen to see more. 

Any portraits of your other sisters?’ one asked.

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Portraits of Earl Spencer and Princess Diana’s sisters Sarah and Jane weren’t spotted in this particular post. Though given the positive response from Charles Spencer’s Instagram followers, it could be that we get to see more Spencer family portraits in the future.

We can’t wait! 

Emma Shacklock
Senior Lifestyle Writer

Emma is a Senior Lifestyle Writer with six years of experience working in digital publishing, ranging from book publishing to magazines. She currently looks after all things Lifestyle for Woman&Home, Goodto.com, and My Imperfect Life.