<p id=”par-1_53″><a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/tag/princess-diana/”>Princess Diana</a>‘s death in August 1997 rocked the royal family and the world to its core. Although she was no longer a frontline royal, Diana was given a heartfelt sendoff by the House of Windsor. But before being laid to rest, one heartbreaking item was placed in her casket ahead of her burial.</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-princess-diana-held-a-keepsake-item-before-she-was-laid-to-rest”>Princess Diana held a keepsake item before she was laid to rest</h2>
<p id=”par-2_49″><a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/royal-insider-speaks-says-no-one-knew-what-to-do-princess-dianas-death.html/?swcfpc=1″>The Princess of Wales died</a> after injuries sustained in a car <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/princess-diana-crash-site-memorial-all-about-flame-liberty.html/”>accident in Paris, France</a>, in August 1997. Princess Diana was a passenger in a car driven by Henri Paul and accompanied by bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones and her friend, Dodi al-Fayed. Jones was the only survivor of the collision.</p>
<p id=”par-3_32″>Then-<a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/king-charles-distraught-over-princess-diana-tragic-death-author.html/”>Prince Charles flew to France</a> with Diana’s sisters, Lady Sarah McCorquodale and Lady Jane Fellowes, to retrieve her body. The Princess of Wales was flown on a royal plane back to London.</p>
<p id=”par-4_34″>According to Prince Harry in his book <em>Spare</em>, Princess Diana’s body lay in state at Kensington Palace at her apartment. But before a planned royal ceremonial funeral, an item was placed in her hands.</p>
<p id=”par-5_34″>Harry wrote, “It was reported that Mummy’s hands were folded across her chest and between them was placed a photo of me and Willy. Possibly the only two men who ever truly loved her.”</p>
<p id=”par-6_45″>He continued, “Certainly, the two who loved her most. For all eternity, we’d be smiling at her in the darkness, and maybe it was this image, as the flag came off and the coffin descended to the bottom of the hole, that finally broke me.”</p>
<p id=”par-7_14″>Harry wrote that he “sobbed.” But also felt “ashamed” of “violating the family ethos.”</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-princess-diana-was-buried-at-althorp-estate”>Princess Diana was buried at Althorp Estate</h2>
<figure class=”wp-block-image size-full” id=”emb-1″><img decoding=”async” src=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/princess-dianas-grave-at-oval-lake-at-althorp-house.webp?strip=all&quality=80″ alt=”Princess Diana’s grave at the center of Oval Lake at Althorp House” class=”wp-image-3718204″><figcaption class=”wp-element-caption”>Princess Diana’s grave at the center of Oval Lake at Althorp House | David Goddard/Getty Images</figcaption></figure>
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<p id=”par-8_45″>The Spencer family was buried at St. Mary the Virgin church in Great Brington for generations. However, a decision was made to lay Princess Diana to rest at her family home to give her sons the privacy to visit her grave peacefully without others around.</p>
<p id=”par-9_26″>Diana’s younger brother Charles, the ninth Earl Spencer, wished to have his sister interred on the family’s estate. Diana’s body would be safe there, he believed.</p>
<p id=”par-10_46″>“I think it’s very important for them [William and Harry] to be there with her,” Charles told<a href=”https://people.com/where-is-princess-diana-buried-all-about-oval-lake-grave-8414067#:~:text=Lady%20Diana%20Spencer%20and%20her%20brother%20Charles%20Spencer%20in%201968.&text=While%20much%20of%20Princess%20Diana’s,north%20of%20the%20family%20vault.” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”> People Magazine</a>. “It is, luckily, very tranquil here and they can come and go as they wish whenever they want. And that’s very lovely for me to know that.”</p>
<p id=”par-11_34″>Diana’s grave is on a small island in the middle of the property’s Oval Lake. A bridge was constructed from the land to the island for Diana’s internment, but it has since been removed.</p>
<p id=”par-12_38″>Access to the grave is only by boat. The public is not allowed to visit the gravesite. However, they can visit a monument dedicated to the late Princess of Wales on the property surrounding her final resting place.</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-what-does-princess-diana-s-gravesite-look-like”>What does Princess Diana’s gravesite look like?</h2>
<blockquote class=”instagram-media” data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-permalink=”https://www.instagram.com/p/Clf6_NOs1X6/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading” data-instgrm-version=”14″ style=” background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% – 2px); width:calc(100% – 2px);”><div style=”padding:16px;”> <a href=”https://www.instagram.com/p/Clf6_NOs1X6/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading” style=” background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; width:100%;” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”> <div style=” display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;”> <div style=”background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;”></div> <div style=”display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;”> <div style=” background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;”></div> <div style=” background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;”></div></div></div><div style=”padding: 19% 0;”></div> <div style=”display:block; height:50px; margin:0 auto 12px; width:50px;”><svg width=”50px” height=”50px” viewbox=”0 0 60 60″ version=”1.1″ xmlns=”https://www.w3.org/2000/svg” xmlns:xlink=”https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink”><g stroke=”none” stroke-width=”1″ fill=”none” fill-rule=”evenodd”><g transform=”translate(-511.000000, -20.000000)” fill=”#000000″><g><path d=”M556.869,30.41 C554.814,30.41 553.148,32.076 553.148,34.131 C553.148,36.186 554.814,37.852 556.869,37.852 C558.924,37.852 560.59,36.186 560.59,34.131 C560.59,32.076 558.924,30.41 556.869,30.41 M541,60.657 C535.114,60.657 530.342,55.887 530.342,50 C530.342,44.114 535.114,39.342 541,39.342 C546.887,39.342 551.658,44.114 551.658,50 C551.658,55.887 546.887,60.657 541,60.657 M541,33.886 C532.1,33.886 524.886,41.1 524.886,50 C524.886,58.899 532.1,66.113 541,66.113 C549.9,66.113 557.115,58.899 557.115,50 C557.115,41.1 549.9,33.886 541,33.886 M565.378,62.101 C565.244,65.022 564.756,66.606 564.346,67.663 C563.803,69.06 563.154,70.057 562.106,71.106 C561.058,72.155 560.06,72.803 558.662,73.347 C557.607,73.757 556.021,74.244 553.102,74.378 C549.944,74.521 548.997,74.552 541,74.552 C533.003,74.552 532.056,74.521 528.898,74.378 C525.979,74.244 524.393,73.757 523.338,73.347 C521.94,72.803 520.942,72.155 519.894,71.106 C518.846,70.057 518.197,69.06 517.654,67.663 C517.244,66.606 516.755,65.022 516.623,62.101 C516.479,58.943 516.448,57.996 516.448,50 C516.448,42.003 516.479,41.056 516.623,37.899 C516.755,34.978 517.244,33.391 517.654,32.338 C518.197,30.938 518.846,29.942 519.894,28.894 C520.942,27.846 521.94,27.196 523.338,26.654 C524.393,26.244 525.979,25.756 528.898,25.623 C532.057,25.479 533.004,25.448 541,25.448 C548.997,25.448 549.943,25.479 553.102,25.623 C556.021,25.756 557.607,26.244 558.662,26.654 C560.06,27.196 561.058,27.846 562.106,28.894 C563.154,29.942 563.803,30.938 564.346,32.338 C564.756,33.391 565.244,34.978 565.378,37.899 C565.522,41.056 565.552,42.003 565.552,50 C565.552,57.996 565.522,58.943 565.378,62.101 M570.82,37.631 C570.674,34.438 570.167,32.258 569.425,30.349 C568.659,28.377 567.633,26.702 565.965,25.035 C564.297,23.368 562.623,22.342 560.652,21.575 C558.743,20.834 556.562,20.326 553.369,20.18 C550.169,20.033 549.148,20 541,20 C532.853,20 531.831,20.033 528.631,20.18 C525.438,20.326 523.257,20.834 521.349,21.575 C519.376,22.342 517.703,23.368 516.035,25.035 C514.368,26.702 513.342,28.377 512.574,30.349 C511.834,32.258 511.326,34.438 511.181,37.631 C511.035,40.831 511,41.851 511,50 C511,58.147 511.035,59.17 511.181,62.369 C511.326,65.562 511.834,67.743 512.574,69.651 C513.342,71.625 514.368,73.296 516.035,74.965 C517.703,76.634 519.376,77.658 521.349,78.425 C523.257,79.167 525.438,79.673 528.631,79.82 C531.831,79.965 532.853,80.001 541,80.001 C549.148,80.001 550.169,79.965 553.369,79.82 C556.562,79.673 558.743,79.167 560.652,78.425 C562.623,77.658 564.297,76.634 565.965,74.965 C567.633,73.296 568.659,71.625 569.425,69.651 C570.167,67.743 570.674,65.562 570.82,62.369 C570.966,59.17 571,58.147 571,50 C571,41.851 570.966,40.831 570.82,37.631″></path></g></g></g></svg></div><div style=”padding-top: 8px;”> <div style=” color:#3897f0; 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<p id=”par-13_46″>Although there are no formal photographs of <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/princess-diana-heartbreaking-walkway-death-near-her-gravesite.html/”>Princess Diana’s grave</a>, her brother, Charles Spencer, has shared photographs of Oval Lake on his <a href=”https://www.instagram.com/p/Clf6_NOs1X6/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=bf16e160-cdb4-4145-9fc7-658fee59d143&img_index=2″ target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>Instagram page</a>. The photos show a foggy morning at Althorp House, and a second slide shows the island with a marker at its center.</p>
<p id=”par-14_22″>The island is surrounded by shrubbery, including Rhododendrons and forget-me-nots — Diana’s favorite flower. A tall monument is topped with an urn.</p>
<p id=”par-15_40″>During summertime, Althorp House is open to the public. Visitors can pay their respects at a temple situated across from the lake. The temple has Diana’s name inscribed on the top and a black silhouette of her in the middle.</p>
<p id=”par-16_13″>Althorp has been home to the Spencer family for more than 500 years.</p>