Charles Spencer Receives Gorgeous Birthday Gift Connected to Older Sister Princess Diana

Some people get a cheeky card or a cake with their name on it for their birthday. But Charles Spencer (aka Princess Diana’s younger brother) received quite a bit more on his 60th birthday (which was on May 20).

Earlier this week on Instagram, the 9th Earl Spencer revealed that a close friend gifted him with a beautifully crafted canoe. Along with photos taken of his birthday present, Spencer detailed how his friend surprised him with the present.

“Today I turn 60. I had 30 friends and family to stay over the weekend. The speech at dinner on Saturday was given by ‘William Purefoy’, who was a fellow new boy at Maidwell—those who’ve read A Very Private School [his memoir] will know him,” he wrote.

“I was brought down to the lake at Althorp by a friend, on Saturday. Her husband handmade this astonishingly beautiful canoe for me, as a surprise, over many months. I cried on seeing it. It’s almost too exquisite to paddle,” Spencer continued. “The husband said: ‘I just thought it’d be useful, when you visit your sister.’ Such an overwhelmingly beautiful thought. #canoe #friendship #thoughtfulgifts #generosity #althorp.” If that isn’t the sweetest gift, I don’t know what is.

According to Hello! Magazine, Princess Diana (who passed away in 1997) is buried at the Spencer family’s ancestral home in Northamptonshire, England. When asked why he wanted to have his older sister’s final resting place be so close to the home they grew up in, Spencer said, “It has been decided to bury Diana, Princess of Wales, in the grounds of Althorp Park, where her grave can be properly looked after by her family and visited in privacy by her sons.”

Charles Spencer Shares Intimate Childhood Story of Sister Princess Diana Acting as His Protector

Stay up-to-date on every breaking royal family story by subscribing here.