NEED TO KNOW<\/p>\n
When Princess Diana<\/a> tragically died in 1997, many of her possessions, jewelry and money went to her sons<\/a>, Prince William<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Prince Harry<\/a>. However, the two brothers won’t inherit the home where Diana grew up and which now serves as her final resting place.\n<\/p>\n Diana’s father inherited the title of\u00a0Earl Spencer\u00a0in 1975, and the family moved to the Althorp estate<\/a> in Northamptonshire, the ancestral home of the Spencer family since 1508. The property, spanning 13,000 acres, is now under the care of the current Earl Spencer \u2014 Princess Diana’s brother, Charles \u2014\u00a0and after his death, it will pass on to the next Earl Spencer: his son, Louis, Viscount Althorp.\n<\/p>\n Although Louis has three older sisters<\/a> \u2014\u00a0Lady Kitty, Lady Eliza and Lady Amelia \u2014\u00a0they follow primogeniture, which dictates that the eldest male in a family inherits titles and property.\n<\/p>\n Charles told the\u00a0Mail on Sunday in 2015 that he would be “totally relaxed” about his eldest child, Kitty, inheriting Althorp. However, “If I chose Kitty, it would be against all the tradition that goes with Althorp. It’s just the way it is. I get the problems with it as a concept. I also get the strengths of it having worked to date.”\n<\/p>\n Lady Eliza Spencer, Louis Spencer, Viscount Althorp, Victoria Lockwood and Lady Kitty Spencer on May 19, 2018.<\/p>\n Max Mumby\/Indigo\/Getty<\/p>\n In the December 2015 issue of Tatler, Kitty said, “I\u2019m totally pro-gender equality. But I\u2019m quite happy that that\u2019s [going to be] my brother\u2019s responsibility. I just think it\u2019s the correct way.”\n<\/p>\n \u201cI like that the house stays within the same family, with the same surname,\u201d she continued. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t want it any other way for the Spencers. And I just know my brother is going to do an impeccable job.”\n<\/p>\n Can’t get enough of PEOPLE’s Royals coverage?\u00a0Sign up for our free Royals newsletter<\/a>\u00a0to get the latest updates on Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle and more!<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n Althorp House.<\/p>\n Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty<\/p>\n Princess Diana, who died in a Paris car crash in 1997 at age 36, is buried on the Althorp estate<\/a>. Her grave is located on a small island in the middle of the property\u2019s Oval Lake and is not accessible to the public. Charles wrote in his book that its remoteness was intentional, with the lake \u201c[acting] as a buffer against the interventions of the insane and ghoulish, the thick mud presenting a further line of defense.\u201d\n<\/p>\n Charles has said it brings him comfort to know that Prince William and Prince Harry are able to visit their mother’s burial place privately.\n<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s very important for them to be there with her,\u201d he once told PEOPLE. \u201cIt is, luckily, very tranquil here, and they can come and go as they wish whenever they want. And that\u2019s very lovely for me to know that.”\n<\/p>\n Princess Diana’s burial site at Althorp.<\/p>\n David Goddard\/Getty<\/p>\n Although visitors to Althorp can’t visit Diana’s burial site, they can pay their respects at a memorial in her honor.\n<\/p>\n Prince Harry wrote in his\u00a02023 memoir<\/a>,\u00a0Spare, about visiting the site on the\u00a025th anniversary of Diana\u2019s death<\/a>\u00a0in 2022, bringing his wife,\u00a0Meghan Markle<\/a>, for the first time.\n<\/p>\n Princess Diana Archive\/Getty<\/p>\n As they took a boat across the lake, Prince Harry said he “gazed around at Althorp’s rolling fields and ancient trees, the thousands of green acres where my mother grew up, and where, though things weren’t perfect, she’d known some peace.”\n<\/p>\n Though Harry said the visit was admittedly not \u201ceasy,\u201d he expressed his desire to share his mother\u2019s final resting place with Meghan, writing, \u201cAt long last, I was bringing the girl of my dreams home to meet mum.\u201d\n<\/p>\n Prince William, Princess Diana and Prince Harry in 1995.<\/p>\n Anwar Hussein\/Getty<\/p>\n