Prince Harry and Meghan Markle took Archie and Lilibet to Althorp during a recent Europe trip, putting the royal family at Princess Diana’s childhood home. Meghan later shared several photos from the visit on Instagram, under the caption “Summer Holiday.”
The post showed Lilibet walking through the grounds holding what appeared to be a tiny handbag and a blanket, while Harry and Archie walked ahead carrying what seemed to be bouquets of flowers. Another image showed Meghan reclining on a sun lounger beside a pool at Althorp with the family’s Beagle, Mamma Mia.
Meghan Markle’s Summer Holiday
Meghan’s images were the clearest public sign of the trip. One picture showed Harry in a swimming pool with the children, throwing Lilibet into the air while Archie swam behind them. The family had also traveled to Portugal before their trip to the U.K.
The visit matters because Althorp is Diana’s childhood home and the location of her burial site on an island in the middle of Oval Lake. Charles Spencer invited the family to the estate, and he has said Diana’s grave should be looked after by her family and visited in privacy by her sons, William and Prince Harry.
Charles Spencer at Althorp
Charles Spencer said he chose to bury Diana at the center of Oval Lake to provide an extra buffer against the public. He also told the that he was very worried about where he could safely bury her, saying, “There was such a whipped-up feeling of emotion everywhere that I was very worried about where we could safely bury her.”
He later told People, “I think it’s very important for them to be there with her.” He added, “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.”
The trip was portrayed as a family visit to Diana’s home, but the source only places Harry, Meghan, Archie and Lilibet at the estate, not at the burial site itself. Diana’s grave is not accessible to the public, while another memorial on the grounds allows visitors to pay their respects.
For readers, the practical point is simple: Meghan’s post gives the first visual account of the visit, but it does not settle whether the family reached the burial site or stayed on the estate grounds. The photos show a private family stop at Althorp, and the last unanswered detail is whether they went to Diana’s grave or only the wider property.
Althorp Burial Site
Harry’s U.K. travel plans changed after he was denied taxpayer-funded security, and reports said he would travel to London alone. The family’s visit therefore sits inside a broader trip that was already altered before the U.K. leg began.
