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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle visited the estate merely weeks ago

Earl Charles Spencer has posted a striking black-and-white photograph to his Instagram story, offering followers a rare glimpse of Princess Diana's final resting place as it appeared roughly 150 years ago.

The poignant image captures the Oval Lake on Althorp House's sprawling 13,000-acre estate, with huge, sprawling trees surrounding the serene waters.

The post comes as the Spencer family seat in Northamptonshire prepares to shut its doors to visitors for the winter season on August 31 - a date that marks 29 years since Diana's tragic death in 1997.

A handwritten annotation on the vintage photograph identifies the "Admiralty Summer House" visible across the lake.

The 9th Earl has long championed his ancestral home's rich heritage, regularly sharing historical details online.

Diana had initially been intended for burial in the Spencer family vault at Great Brington, the nearby village where 20 generations of the family had been interred over a period spanning five centuries.

Her brother opted against this tradition, however, citing concerns about security at such an accessible location.

Instead, he chose a small island at the heart of the Oval Lake as her permanent resting place.

The island sits beside an arboretum featuring trees planted by Diana's sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, and can only be reached by boat.

The boat journey is described in detail in Harry's memoir Spare, where he discusses bringing his wife Meghan to visit his mother's grave for the first time.

He wrote: "I led Meg up the path, around a hedge, through the labyrinth. There it was, looming: the greyish white oval stone.

"No visit to this place was ever easy, but this one... 25th anniversary. And Meg's first time.

"At long last I was bringing the girl of my dreams home to meet mum."

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He described how both he and Meghan placed flowers and prayed separately for "clarity" and "guidance" before making the journey back across the water by boat.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex returned to the island this summer with their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, photographed carrying floral tributes as they walked the grounds together.

Althorp's doors open each year on July 1, a date chosen to coincide with Diana's birthday, closing at the end of August.

During these summer months, the grounds serve as a place of quiet reflection for the many admirers who still wish to honour the People's Princess nearly three decades after her death.

With this year's closing date now just days away, Earl Spencer's evocative historical photograph serves as a timely reminder of the enduring connection between the estate and Diana's memory.

The 62-year-old Earl has also penned a revealing memoir centred on his relationship with Diana and the turbulent period that followed her death, due for publication in September.

The book arrives ahead of the 30th anniversary of Diana's death and promises to "tell the truth" about her life.

"This has convinced me to write down my own thoughts and memories, once and for all, rather than having the discomfort of again reading the opinions of others, many of which are based on untruths that have become accepted over time," he stated.