Princess Diana sites worth visiting
To mark the 25th anniversary of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, here’s my guide to Kensington Palace and beyond
It was 25 years ago on August 31, 1997, that Diana Princess of Wales died in Paris, aged just 36. You don’t have to be a royalist, or even a Diana fan, to be moved by this anniversary. London’s biggest tourist attractions are still its many royal palaces, so if you’re inspired to visit any of Diana’s former homes, read on… And anyone with an interest in the Royal Family, do check out our sister newsletter The Royal List.
Kensington Palace
This pretty palace in Kensington is still synonymous with Diana – nobody will ever forget the sea of flowers surrounding its iconic iron gates when she passed away. I’d recommend everyone putting Kensington Palace on their London must-do list, as it’s such a lovely place to visit. I have been several times - you tour the State Apartments and can see the special exhibitions, the current one is Life Through a Royal Lens. The homes of members of the Royal Family are behind the main palace and not accessible to the public and the new statue of Diana is in the Sunken Garden, which you can only access with a ticket to the palace. To book, visit www.hrp.org.uk
Diana Memorial Walk, Fountain and Playground
The memorial fountain built to honour Diana is in Hyde Park, near the Serpentine. It’s a nice, tranquil place to visit, a little underwhelming if I’m honest and be warned, Hyde Park is huge and confusing, so it’s quite the walk if you enter from the wrong gate! For more information visit here. Nearer to Kensington Palace is the Diana Memorial Playground, which is very sweet and enjoyed by one million children every year. See details here. Or super-fans could take the seven-mile Diana Memorial Walk, following a trail of markers that take you through St James’s Park, Green Park, Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens as well as Kensington Palace, Buckingham Palace, Clarence House, St James’s Palace and Spencer House, her family’s London home. You can download the map here.
Buckingham Palace
Fans of The Crown will remember Diana roller-skating around vast Buckingham Palace and it’s a fascinating place to visit and experience where the Royal Family live and work. Only open in the summer, I recently toured the State Rooms and found it really interesting. I’d definitely recommend visitors to London making time to see it. You can take afternoon tea in the restaurant overlooking the vast gardens and there’s a huge gift shop. This summer it includes the special Platinum Jubilee: The Queen’s Accession exhibition. To book, click here.
St Paul’s Cathedral
One of London’s most famous landmarks, it was, of course, also where Charles and Diana wed in 1981. You can’t walk up the steps outside of Sir Christopher Wren’s masterpiece and not think of 20-year-old Diana in her puff-sleeved Emanuel gown giving a glance back over her shoulder. She later said, “I felt I was a lamb to the slaughter.” Indeed. I recommend making time to see St Paul’s and if you can, take a walking tour around the City of London. I did this once with The Royal List’s Maria Coole and it was great - even the part where the guide gleefully explained how someone is hung, drawn and quartered, which left us in need of a large G&T. For info on St Paul’s click here and for walking tours, click here.
Althorp Estate
Diana’s childhood home and final resting place is Althorp Estate, near Northampton. I haven’t been here yet, although plan to visit. You can tour the house every summer – get in quick, as it’s only open until August 29 this year – and see inside the lavishly-furnished home of Charles, Earl Spencer, Diana’s brother. You can buy tickets for the house and grounds, or just the grounds and there’s a café and gift shop. There is a Diana memorial, but her grave is not accessible to the public. For tickets, click here.
Coleherne Court
Perhaps the nicest landmark to end on is where Diana was happiest – in her first flat in Coleherne Court, Old Brompton Road. This Edwardian apartment block in Earl’s Court was where Diana lived with three friends before she got engaged and she described her time there as full of laughter. Last year a blue English Heritage plaque was placed on the building to commemorate her home, reading, “Lady Diana Spencer later Princess of Wales lived here 1979 to 1981”. She’s just a few doors down from Beatrix Potter’s London home and a moderate walk into Chelsea and South Ken.
The British Travel List is the sister newsletter to The Royal List. It is a weekly guide to my favourite places to visit and stay around the country. I am an experienced travel and lifestyle journalist who writes for British and Australian newspapers and magazines and I am passionate about British travel. For more of my work, visit kerryparnell.com
I remember that walking tour very clearly - and those gruesome details he gleefully gave outside the pub of the same name on Tower Hill. Lols!
https://www.hung-drawn-and-quartered.co.uk/