Princess Diana's childhood home Althorp House grounds damaged in Northamptonshire storm

A storm has damaged the grounds of the late Princess Diana's childhood home, her brother says.

Diana is buried at Althorp House in Northamptonshire, which was 'badly hit' by wild winds over the weekend, the Earl of Spencer shared.

The region was battered by a storm described as a 'tornado' by locals who described extreme winds which sent fences flying, destroyed trees and delayed trains.

Charles Spencer said trees were damaged, but animals were unhurt at the stately home in West Northants on Sunday.

He wrote in a Twitter update: We’ve just had a tornado rip through the Park at Althorp House - dozens of trees badly hit, and an iron lantern torn from the side of one of the lodges.

"Luckily, no animals hurt."

Trees fell onto roads and trains were disrupted during the weekend's onslaught of heavy wind and rain.

Some passengers travelling to COP26 climate change conference in Glasgow from London on the train on Monday were set to experience delays due to weather damage to overhead wires at Peterborough.

Diana's brother posted footage of toppled trees at the estate, where the siblings grew up.

Diana is interred in a temple on an island in a lake on the grounds of the 13,000 acre Grade-I listed estate.

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She was said to have been fond of tap dancing in the hallways at the grand home, in the parish of Althorp, which has been in the Spencer family's ownership for more than 500 years.

Visitors are ordinarily able to visit Diana's final resting place and lay tributes, and view a memorial and exhibition about her life and work.

However it has had to close for much of the past year due to the pandemic.

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