Prince Harry's Stay With Earl Spencer at Althorp Highlights Ongoing Rift With Royal Family, Experts Say

Prince Harry's decision to stay at Princess Diana's ancestral home during a recent trip to Britain has drawn fresh attention to the state of his relationship with the wider royal family, with some royal commentators suggesting the choice reflects both a closer bond with his mother's relatives and continued distance from the Windsors.

Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, revealed to her Instagram followers this week that she, Harry and their children, Archie, 7, and Lilibet, 5, stayed as guests of Harry's uncle, Earl Spencer, at the Althorp Estate in Northamptonshire during their recent visit to the United Kingdom, after the family was unable to secure accommodation at Buckingham Palace.

What the photos showed

Among the images shared by Meghan was one showing Lilibet walking through Althorp's tree-lined avenue, near the private island on the estate's lake where Diana is buried. Ahead of her, Harry and Archie can be seen carrying large bouquets of flowers, which the family laid at Diana's grave and a nearby memorial. Sources confirmed to the Daily Mail that the images were taken at Althorp. According to People magazine, the visit was described as giving Harry and Meghan's children an opportunity to spend time somewhere closely tied to their late grandmother, who died in a car crash in Paris in 1997, when Harry was 12.

Expert commentary on the significance of the stay

Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams told the Daily Mail that Harry's choice to stay with Earl Spencer carries symbolic weight given the broader state of relations between the Windsor and Spencer families. "The Windsors and the Spencer's have a superficially polite relationship. If you look deeper, there is clearly no love lost, memories of Diana will always influence relations between them," Fitzwilliams said. "The relations between the Royal Family and the Spencer's have been marked by politeness but not closeness. However, the Spencers definitely appear to be closer to Harry than William."

Fitzwilliams suggested that Harry's ties to the Spencer family could provide him with a reliable base in Britain going forward. "The Sussexes have an ally in Britain which they can use as and when they choose to return," he said. "This almost certainly means that Harry can rely on a base at Althorp when he needs one and this would undoubtedly extend to Meghan and Archie and Lili." Fitzwilliams added that he believed Harry's closeness with the Spencers is "likely to cause concern for the Royal Family."

A precedent from 2024

This is not the first time Harry has chosen Althorp over royal accommodations during a UK visit. During a 2024 trip for the funeral of Diana's brother-in-law, Lord Robert Fellowes, Harry reportedly turned down an offer to stay at Buckingham Palace in favor of staying with Earl Spencer. Fitzwilliams said at the time that the decision "throws into sharp relief the apparent breakdown in relations not only with his brother, to whom he has reportedly not spoken for two years, but with his father," adding that the choice "intentionally emphasises his links with his mother's family."

A historically strained Windsor-Spencer relationship

Former BBC royal correspondent Michael Cole offered additional historical context, noting that there "never much was love lost between the Spencers and the Windsors." Cole pointed to Diana's funeral in 1997, when Harry's "birth family," led by Earl Spencer and Lady Jane Fellowes, attended St. Paul's Cathedral to support Harry while, according to Cole, "the entire Royal Family stayed away." Cole also recalled a symbolic moment when Diana's coffin arrived for burial at Althorp, saying Earl Spencer "whipped off the flag that covered it and replaced it with the Spencer standard." Cole described the moment as illustrative of the lasting divide between the two families, saying "nothing could have illustrated more clearly the gap that will always separate two famous families."

Harry's reported consideration of the Spencer name

According to the Daily Mail, Harry previously explored the possibility of changing his family name to Spencer, a move that would have meant dropping Mountbatten-Windsor, the surname used by his children. A friend of Harry's said he discussed the idea with Earl Spencer during a visit to Britain, but was advised against it. "They had a very amicable conversation and Spencer advised him against taking such a step," the friend said, citing insurmountable legal obstacles. In the acknowledgments of his memoir "Spare," Harry thanked Earl Spencer for supporting him through the difficulties he faced following Diana's death.

A busy and complicated week for the Sussexes

The Althorp stay came during a broader five-day UK trip for Harry centered on Invictus Games events and his charitable work. Harry initially arrived in London alone after a last-minute chaos over his Buckingham Palace invitation, which was reportedly withdrawn hours before his arrival. Meghan later entered the country separately with Archie and Lilibet, amid ongoing security concerns.

Following the family's European travels, which also included the previously reported stop in Portugal, Harry, Meghan and their children met privately with King Charles and Queen Camilla for tea at Highgrove, the King's private Gloucestershire residence, marking their first meeting since 2022. Buckingham Palace confirmed the visit only after the family had already left, and no photographs from that reunion have been made public.

Fitzwilliams suggested that future Sussex visits to Britain, including a planned trip for the 2027 Invictus Games in Birmingham, may similarly center around the Spencer family rather than royal accommodations. "Whatever reception they receive from the Royal Family, they can be assured of a warm welcome and moral support from the Spencer's," he said, adding that the family "would undoubtedly welcome the opportunity to see them again."

Buckingham Palace has not publicly commented on the arrangements surrounding Harry's recent stay at Althorp, and it remains unclear how future visits by the Sussexes to the UK might be structured as questions about the broader state of relations within the royal family continue.