Earl Spencer pays touching tribute to Princess Diana on his late sister’s birthday

He captioned the same photograph on Twitter, shared on the previous day: ‘Found myself inadvertently on this walk today. “Poignant” is the word, I guess – particularly on the day before Diana’s birthday.’

On his Instagram Stories, meanwhile, the historian and author shared a video of the beautiful grounds of Althorp House, his family seat, where Diana is interred on an island in a lake. As the earl filmed, three ducks flew across the blue sky, with Charles Spencer captioning the image, ‘duck fly past’ – as if nature itself is paying tribute to his late sister.

The young Lady Diana Spencer grew up at Althorp in West Northamptonshire with her siblings: two older sisters, Lady Sarah and Lady Jane Spencer, and her little brother, the current Earl Spencer. The island where she is buried on the estate is home to a small Doric-style temple, inscribed with her name in her memory.