Charles Spencer reveals the 'most astonishingly beautiful gift' he's been given for his 60th that honours his sister Princess Diana - and admits he 'cried on seeing it'

Princess Diana‘s brother Earl Spencer has revealed he was left tearful after receiving an ‘astonishingly beautiful’ gift when celebrating his 60th birthday over the weekend.

Charles, who reaches the milestone today, took to his social media accounts to share photographs of the thoughtful homemade present, explaining that it honours his sister, the late Princess of Wales, who died in a car crash in 1997.

Diana’s final resting place is situated on a private island in the middle of the Oval Lake on the Althorp Estate, in Northampton, where she grew up.

Although there is a memorial for members of the public to pay their respects, Diana’s grave is completely remote and can only be visited by family.

One of Charles’ friends decided to gift the author with an ‘astonishingly beautiful canoe’, handmade by her husband over many months, who explained: ‘I just thought it’d be useful, when you visit your sister.’

Earl Spencer, Princess Diana, Charles, Lady Jane Fellowes and Lady Sarah McCorquodale at Earl Spencer’s 21st birthday party in 1985

Taking to Instagram today, Charles shared a selection of images of the touching present, placed next to the lake at Althorp.

He captioned the photos: ‘Today I turn 60. I had 30 friends and family to stay over the weekend…

‘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.

‘The husband said: “I just thought it’d be useful, when you visit your sister”. Such an overwhelmingly beautiful thought.’

He also shared the story and photos to X, formerly Twitter, writing: ‘Probably the most astonishingly beautiful gift I’ve ever received: I found this canoe, handmade by a friend over many months, by the lake at ⁦@AlthorpHouse

⁩’“Something for you to visit your sister in”, he said. Out of words, I could only cry at the beauty of that thought.’

Fans were delighted by the gift, with one person writing in the comment section on Instagram: ‘What a beautiful and thoughtful gift! I had tears in my eyes when I read your message!

Another said: ‘Happy 60th birthday, how beautiful is that canoe, and how lovely for you to visit your (and our) Princess Diana in it. What thoughtful clever friends you have. P.S I got emotional just reading your post.’

Princess Diana ‘s brother Earl Spencer has revealed he was left tearful after receiving an ‘astonishingly beautiful’ gift (pictured) when celebrating his 60th birthday over the weekend

Diana’s final resting place is situated on a private island in the middle of the Oval Lake on the Althorp Estate, in Northampton, where she grew up. Although there is a memorial for members of the public to pay their respects, Diana’s grave is completely remote and can only be visited by family

Taking to Instagram and X, formerly Twitter, today, Charles shared a selection of images of the touching present, placed next to the lake at Althorp

A third added: ‘Oh my lord, what an incredibly thoughtful friend, one of the most beautiful gestures I’ve heard of. You must be a great friend too for someone to make a gift like that for you.’

It comes after Earl Spencer attended his nephew Prince Harry’s Invictus Games service earlier this month in London.

The Duke of Sussex, 39, gave warm hugs to his uncle and aunt Lady Jane Fellowes at St Paul’s Cathedral before the event to celebrate the competition’s 10th anniversary.

Princess Diana’s siblings were also joined by former army officer Mark Dyer, who acted as Harry’s mentor after his mother’s death in Paris in 1997.

Reaction: Fans were delighted by the gift, with one person writing in the comment section on Instagram: ‘What a beautiful and thoughtful gift! I had tears in my eyes when I read your message!

Other notable guests at the service in London included his cousin Louis Spencer, lawyer David Sherbourne and the Prime Minister’s wife Akshata Murty.

But there were no senior royals with Harry, as they instead put on a show of unity for King Charles who attended a Buckingham Palace garden party two miles away.

Former BBC royal correspondent Michael Cole said it was notable that none of Harry’s royal blood relatives – including his father and brother William, who attended the inaugural Invictus event in London at Harry’s side in 2014 – were at St Paul’s.

He told MailOnline that there ‘never was much love lost between the Spencers and the Windsors’, and the ‘divide was shown in its deepest and starkest form’ at the service.

Prince Harry chats with his uncle Earl Spencer at Invictus ceremony

Harry’s uncle Earl Spencer and aunt Lady Jane Fellowes arrive at St Paul’s in London on May 8

Prince Harry waves as he arrives to attend the ceremony at St Paul’s Cathedral on May 8

Mr Cole pointed out that while Harry’s ‘birth family’ – led by Earl Spencer and Lady Jane Fellowes – went to St Paul’s to support the Duke, ‘the entire Royal Family stayed away’.

He also recalled that when Princess Diana’s coffin arrived for burial on the Spencer family estate of at Althorp in Northamptonshire in 1997, Earl Spencer ‘whipped off the flag that covered it and replaced it with the Spencer standard’.

Mr Cole said: ‘Nothing could have illustrated more clearly the gap that will always separate two famous families.

‘Words have power and actions have consequences, as Prince Harry – whose criticisms of his Windsor family have been harsh, cruel and wounding – is increasingly finding out.’