“Luckily unoccupied at the time – but still deeply disturbing,” Spencer wrote in a social media post regarding the Tuesday, May 27 incident
- A farmhouse near Princess Diana’s childhood estate and final resting place, Althorp House, in Northamptonshire, England, has been set on fire, the family have confirmed
- Charles Spencer, the late Princess of Wales’ younger brother, shared images of the blaze on social media
- “Luckily unoccupied at the time – but still deeply disturbing that one of our farmhouses was torched by vandals,” the 9th Earl Spencer wrote in an Instagram Stories post regarding the Tuesday, May 27 fire
A building on Princess Diana’s childhood estate and final resting place, Althorp House, has been set on fire in a suspected arson attack, the family has confirmed.
On Wednesday, May 28, Charles Spencer, the late Princess of Wales’ younger brother, thanked firefighters while announcing the incident, which occurred the night prior, in an Instagram Stories post.
“Luckily unoccupied at the time – but still deeply disturbing that one of our farmhouses was torched by vandals last night,” Spencer wrote alongside a photo.
“Sincere thanks to @northantsfire for trying to save it,” he added.
Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service clarified in an email to PEOPLE, “The fire was at land on the Althorp estate in Mill Lane, Kingsthorpe, Northampton, rather than at Althorp House.”
The fire department said in a statement obtained by PEOPLE that they’d been “called at around 1:30 a.m. [local time] this morning (May 28) to reports of a fire on Mill Lane in Kingsthorpe, Northampton, NN5 7PZ.”
“Crews arrived to find a derelict two-story property fully on fire,” the statement added.
“At the height of the fire, four crews from across the Service wearing breathing apparatus used hose-reel jets to contain the blaze and prevent it from spreading further,” the message continued.
The fire service confirmed that one crew member “remained on the scene” on Wednesday afternoon “with a water bowser to continue dampening down any remaining hotspots, and then returned to their station shortly before 1 p.m.”
In an X post, Spencer said that he was “stunned” to learn about the blaze, adding, “So very sad that anyone would think this is a fun thing to do.”
“The fire, which was reported in the early hours of this morning (Wednesday, May 28), is believed to have been started deliberately. However, the exact cause is yet to be determined,” police added.
“Due to the secluded location of the building, officers would like to hear from anyone who may have seen any activity near to the farmhouse prior to the fire being discovered shortly before 1.30 a.m. today,” Wednesday’s statement said.
Princess Diana was buried on the grounds of her childhood home following her death on Aug. 31, 1997 in a car crash in Paris.
The late royal was laid to rest on a small, secluded, tree-covered island at Althorp Estate known as Oval Lake Grave. While Princess Diana’s gravesite is not accessible to the public, visitors can pay tribute to the late royal at a memorial erected on the property.
Per Tatler, Althorp House has belonged to the Spencer family since 1508.
David Horton-Fawkes, the CEO of the Althorp Estate, said in a statement obtained by PEOPLE about the blaze: “The house and farm buildings have been unoccupied for several years and the site is scheduled for redevelopment as part of the Dallington Grange development.”
“The farmhouse was built in the late 18th Century, and it has been completely destroyed by the fire, but the surrounding outbuildings are undamaged,” he added. “Our priority is to secure the site and make sure it is safe.”
Horton-Fawkes continued, “As far as we know, no one was injured and we are very grateful to Northampton Fire Brigade and the estate team for dealing with the fire so effectively. We don’t know how the fire started.”