ONE of Princess Diana’s family’s historic family mansions has hit the market for less than £1million.
The Princess, who died 26 years ago today, called very few places home in her younger years.
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Now, as her uncle’s Dallington Hall goes up for sale, we’re taking a look inside it and other homes that were dear to her heart.
They include the Park House, where she was born, and Althorp Estate, where she is now buried.
Dallington Hall
Dallington Hall in Northamptonshire was home to the royal’s great uncle, Charles Spencer, and served as a home for injured soldiers during the Second World War.
Charles used the property when he was a politician and hosted Conservative Party members in the wine cellar.
Upon the death of his older brother in 1910 when he became the 6th Earl Spencer, he moved to the family seat Athorp House, where Diana grew up and is buried.
Dallington Hall was given to the council to use during the war.
The Grade II Listed house was sold in 1980 and converted into apartments.
Built in 1720, the five-bedroom property, which is on the market for £995,000, comprises a major portion of the townhouse.
The house has a striking front door and a magnificent two-storey listed Georgian oak staircase.
It has 4,663 sq ft of accommodation over three floors.
The wine cellar is now a vaulted games room on the lower ground floor and there is also a sauna.
On the ground floor there is a drawing room, dining room, kitchen and sitting room, as well as the impressive hall.
Five bedrooms and two bathrooms complete the upstairs.
Outside there is a sunny south-facing terrace, mews courtyard and a garden with lawn, ornamental pond and mature trees.
The Park House
Park House is where Princess Di was born – and spent the first 14 years of her life.
It lies on the Queen’s Sandringham estate, in Norfolk and was donated to the international disability charity Leonard Cheshire in 1983.
It used to serve as a three-star hotel to help those in need until 2020, when the charity was forced to return the property after renovation costs spiralled.
The £2.3million plan intended to increase the number of bedrooms from 16 to 24 and improve accessibility, but had to be stopped during the pandemic.
Tragically, it’s now a shell of its former glamour, the hotel lies vacant and stripped of its warming furnishings.
The retreat’s soothing flowery bedspreads and curtains are gone, windowsills look worn-out and paintings no longer decorate the walls.
Park House is barely recognisable from the time it housed its most famous occupants – the Spencer family, who rented it from the Queen.
The home was regularly visited by royals including Princes Andrew and Edward, according to her former au pair, Inge Crane.
Althorp Estate
Althorp Estate was Princess Diana’s childhood home, where she first met a young King Charles, and now hosts her memorial, which thousands visit each year.
It is often referred to as her “happy” place.
The main residence, a sprawling Grade I listed stately home, is nestled on 13,000 acres in Northamptonshire, which include woodlands, cottages and farms.
It was purchased by Sir John Spencer in 1508 and in recent weeks, the current owner Charles, the 9th Earl Spencer, launched a web series to reveal more about Diana’s time there.
Many have said the vast country house was so luxurious that it could rival a royal residence – so here we take a look inside and explore its past.
Althorp House, which measures 100,000 square feet, has 30 luxurious bedrooms and a number of stunning features.
The property has a ballroom, a billiard room and an impressive gallery with paintings, including Anthony van Dyck’s 1637 portrait War and Peace.
Notably, in the grand hallway and Painters’ Passage, there are countless portraits and busts.
The Malborough Room, which serves as a formal dining area, seats up to 42 guests and features magnificent portraits and landscapes.
The Great Room, which was used by the second Lord Spencer for political meetings, is now a family dining area and business space – and features artwork and custom-made giltwood mirrors.
In one of many Spencer family living areas, there are large green and cream floral sofas, a wooden desk with three side tables and three paintings of an individual cow in a vertical row.
The home also has a library that holds 10,000 books and is decorated with several palatial chandeliers, red armchairs and large patterned rugs that cover wooden floors.
Among the many sleeping quarters is The Oak Bedroom, which was where John Spencer secretly married Georgiana Poyntz and was slept in by Sir Winston Churchill.
It features a large oak bed with the letter S embroidered on curtains and bedcoverings to represent the Spencer family name.
It is also the final resting place of Princess Diana.
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