Members of the public can get married at the Northamptonshire estate that used to be Princess Diana's home -
Now you can get married at Diana's home
By JAMES TAPPER, The Mail on Sunday
12th February 2006
(I wonder if it's haunted.) Althorp House: Available for weddings
Princess Diana's wedding was the stuff of fairy tales. Now her ancestral home is throwing open its doors for all and sundry to say their marriage vows.
The Althorp House estate - where the Princess of Wales is buried - has been opened up by her brother, Earl Spencer, for weddings, private parties and corporate events.
The venue is certain to become a hit with celebrities and wealthy businessmen. The Earl turned down a request by Madonna to have her wedding to Guy Ritchie there in 2000, saying it was too complicated to arrange.
But now anyone with a budget of £50,000 will be able to tie the knot in the room where the Earl married his wife Caroline, then spend the night in the bedroom where Diana once slept with Prince Charles.
The news will fuel accusations that Earl Spencer is cashing in on Diana's memory. Last month The Mail on Sunday revealed he had gone into partnership with a US firm to sell reproductions of Althorp furniture, with several items marketed as coming from the Princess of Wales's bedroom.
Last year he began renting out Althorp House's private bedrooms to rich American Express cardholders at £1,000 a night. Wedding parties will be able to have pictures taken in front of "Diana's Temple", the former summerhouse beside the lake where the Princess was buried on an island.
Hospitality organiser Andrea Fowkes Associates is organising weddings at Althorp. All her stately home venues are advertised as available for 'gay weddings' or civil partnerships through her firm's partners, Fabulous Gay Weddings.
It will be the first time Althorp has hosted functions since Diana's death in 1997. At the launch of the new venture, the Earl said it would "offer the very best of British history and tradition, the finest cuisines and a very high level of discreet yet friendly service".
dailymail.co.uk
Now you can get married at Diana's home
By JAMES TAPPER, The Mail on Sunday
12th February 2006
(I wonder if it's haunted.) Althorp House: Available for weddings
Princess Diana's wedding was the stuff of fairy tales. Now her ancestral home is throwing open its doors for all and sundry to say their marriage vows.
The Althorp House estate - where the Princess of Wales is buried - has been opened up by her brother, Earl Spencer, for weddings, private parties and corporate events.
The venue is certain to become a hit with celebrities and wealthy businessmen. The Earl turned down a request by Madonna to have her wedding to Guy Ritchie there in 2000, saying it was too complicated to arrange.
But now anyone with a budget of £50,000 will be able to tie the knot in the room where the Earl married his wife Caroline, then spend the night in the bedroom where Diana once slept with Prince Charles.
The news will fuel accusations that Earl Spencer is cashing in on Diana's memory. Last month The Mail on Sunday revealed he had gone into partnership with a US firm to sell reproductions of Althorp furniture, with several items marketed as coming from the Princess of Wales's bedroom.
Last year he began renting out Althorp House's private bedrooms to rich American Express cardholders at £1,000 a night. Wedding parties will be able to have pictures taken in front of "Diana's Temple", the former summerhouse beside the lake where the Princess was buried on an island.
Hospitality organiser Andrea Fowkes Associates is organising weddings at Althorp. All her stately home venues are advertised as available for 'gay weddings' or civil partnerships through her firm's partners, Fabulous Gay Weddings.
It will be the first time Althorp has hosted functions since Diana's death in 1997. At the launch of the new venture, the Earl said it would "offer the very best of British history and tradition, the finest cuisines and a very high level of discreet yet friendly service".
dailymail.co.uk
