Princess Diana’s childhood home has been left to fall into sad disrepair – a stone’s throw from Charles’ pristine Sandringham House.
Diana was born at Park House on the Royals’ Norfolk estate in 1961 and lived at the mansion until she was 14. But our exclusive pictures show the once glamorous property appears to lie abandoned, with overgrown grass, peeling window paint and stained bricks. A dilapidated shed with a caved-in roof and smashed windows sits in the grounds where a young Diana and her siblings once played. And the swimming pool is surrounded by a metal fence to keep trespassers out.
Last night locals reacted furiously and accused Charles of “disrespecting” Diana’s legacy. Selina Raines, 38, who lives in the nearby village of Snettisham, said: “It’s heartbreaking to learn how the house has been left. If locals were aware they would be shocked – but you can’t see it [the house] from the road so very few know how it’s been left, it’s really sad.”
A barmaid, who didn’t want to provide her name because she lives on the estate, chimed: “It’s disrespectful – the house should be restored to how it was. The Estate houses that are hidden from public view don’t get what they need.”
Diana lived at Park House, which her parents rented from the late Queen, until moving to the family’s Northamptonshire stately home Althorp in 1975.
The 16-bed pad was later donated to charity Leonard Cheshire and ran as a respite hotel for adults with disabilities for over 30 years. But spiralling costs post-pandemic meant it was handed back to the estate in May 2021 and has stood empty ever since.
Several locals would like to see the house returned to a charity to support the community. A retired occupational therapist, who worked with disabled residents at the house before it shuttered, told us: “It was marvellous – it’s very sad [that it has been left to rot]. Everything was beautiful, all the equipment was new and they had waiting lists. I would like to see it returned to what it was like back then, but I don’t think with the health service we’ve got at the moment that it’s going to happen.”
The mansion is just 500 metres away from King Charles’ immaculately kept 150-bed Sandringham House. And it sits adjacent to the church of St Mary Magdalene, where the Royals attend the Christmas Day service each year.
Charles, 76, has plugged cash into several projects on the estate in recent years. Last June, he was given the green light to open a 25-acre luxury glamping site, complete with 15 ‘safari tents’ and a Motorhome Club campsite.
One local told us: “King Charles has money to put into his caravan site but not to put into the house Diana grew up in.” And in November the green-fingered monarch installed 2,000 solar panels in a bid to improve the estate’s climate footprint.
Lady Diana Spencer married the then-Prince Charles in July 1981. The couple divorced in 1996 after rumours of infidelity on both sides. A year later on August 31 1997, Diana died in a car crash in Paris – an event that sent shockwaves across the globe.
Her funeral was held the following month at Westminster Abbey and attended by 2,000 people, while 32.1 million watched on their TV screens. An inquest held in London in 2008 concluded that the Princess had been unlawfully killed, blaming the crash on grossly negligent driving and the pursuing paparazzi.
News of Park House’s crumbling state comes after Prince chillingly insinuated his downgraded security status could leave him and his family to suffer the same fate as Diana.
In a bombshell interview, Harry, 40, also warned that without the same security provisions given to other senior members of the royal family, he has become a greater risk to ‘some people’ who wish him harm.
Speaking about his fears for himself, wife Meghan and their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, he said : ‘I don’t want history to repeat itself. Through the [court] process, I have discovered that some people want history to repeat itself.’
Meanwhile, a royal expert exclusively told the Mirror that Harry’s ‘fragile ego’ was to blame for the ongoing royal rift.
The Sandringham Estate and Buckingham Palace were approached for comment.
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