Neither William Nor Harry Will Inherit Mom Diana’s Childhood Home — An Unlikely Actor Will

Princess Diana with Prince William and Prince Harry during ski holiday in Lech, Austria.
April 1 2025, Published 10:07 a.m. ET
Princess Diana spent her childhood in the grand Althorp Estate in Northamptonshire, England. The plush 13,500-acre property has been home to the aristocratic Spencer family for over 500 years. Given the aristocratic system of primogeniture, which dictates that the right of succession belongs to the firstborn son, neither Prince William nor Prince Harry will inherit the estate.
Rather, it goes to their cousin Louis Spencer as the son of Diana's younger brother, Earl Charles Spencer. According to The Mirror, William and Harry instead inherited their mother’s £13 million fortune, which included a significant jewelry collection.
Diana’s nephew Louis studied at the University of Edinburgh and is an actor represented by the Tavistock Wood talent agency. Despite coming from royalty, he keeps a very low profile. An insider told The Telegraph, “He is very private and works quietly on his project. He has great acting talent and will be a great one, in my opinion. You will like him. He is tall and quiet, sincere, and good-natured.” His older sister Kitty, has made her feelings on him inheriting the property very clear. She said, “Primogeniture can be a tricky topic because as times are changing, attitudes are as well. We have grown up understanding that it's Louis to inherit, and Louis will do an incredible job.”
The Althorp Estate also happens to be the final resting place of Diana. In his book, Althorp: The Story of an English House, her brother Charles stated that he wanted his sister's burial place to be a private place for her sons to visit. He told , “I think I think it’s very important for them to be there with her. It is, luckily, very tranquil here and they can come and go as they wish whenever they want." The grieving brother has also stated that he visits the late Princess's gravesite 'pretty much every day.'
Even though she grew up with a silver spoon, Diana had a rough childhood. As reported by OK! magazine, she wrote in her personal diaries, “It was a very unhappy childhood. Parents were busy sorting themselves out. Always see my mother crying. Daddy never spoke to us about it…Too many changes over nannies, very unstable, the whole thing.” After her parents' acrimonious divorce, Diana and her siblings, Sarah, Jane, and Charles, moved to Althorp Estate with their father after he inherited the title of Earl. She was just seven years old at the time. Her struggles worsened after marrying Prince Charles, as his affair with Camilla Parker Bowles and the possibility of a divorce forced her to deal with the traumas of her parents' marriage. Her life was cut short in a car accident on August 31, 1997, at just 36 years old.