A look inside Althorp, the historic childhood home of Diana, Princess of Wales

Diana, Princess of Wales, was one of Kensington Palace's most famous residents.

But many years before she moved into the royal palace in London, Diana was privileged to call one of England's most impressive estates her home.

Lady Diana spent her childhood and teenage years at Althorp House, a 90-room stately home located in Northamptonshire, prior to marrying the Prince of Wales in 1981.

Althorp House – located an hour-and-a-half's drive out of the capital – was built in 1508 and has been in the Spencer family for 19 generations.

The current custodian of the historic estate is Princess Diana's brother Charles, the Ninth Earl Spencer.

He became Earl of Althorp in March 1992 when his father John passed away.

The Earl frequently shares photographs from various locations across Althorp, giving interested parties a unique look into not only his life, but the house itself.

The Spencers have lived at Althorp for 500 years and over that time the estate has developed an impressive history.

Not just one grand property, the estate covers 13,000 acres of countryside.

It encompasses cottages, farms, woodlands and villages, which combine to give a rich mix of landscapes, habitats and activities.

It is, perhaps, most famous now for being the final resting place of Diana, Princess of Wales.

Diana was buried on September 6, 1997 within a mausoleum on the Oval Lake, on an island in the middle of the Althorp estate.

There is no public access to the island.

However, other parts of Althorp are open to visitors at certain times of the year and you can even stay there, with houses, commercial properties, workshops, barns, allotments and grazing land available to rent.

The estate – not surprisingly – houses some of the most beautiful gardens in England.

They were reputedly laid out by the French royal landscape gardener André Le Nôtre, who designed the park at Versailles in France. Over time, they have been continuously worked on.

One of Althorp's former gardners, Peter Girling, who worked at the estate for 36 years, described an encounter with Lady Diana: "I remember going to the apple orchard with Lady Spencer in her Morris Minor, just above the kitchen garden, to gather apples".

The grounds have been home to a herd of fallow deer since the estate was enclosed in the 16th Century.

The herd of rare black fallow currently numbers 350 and they have their young up at the back of the Park, near the Falconry.

Fans of The Crown might be surprised to know scenes depicting Prince Charles and Diana's first meeting at Althorp were not actually filmed there.

The Netflix drama had to find an alternative venue when Charles Spencer declined a filming request, even though Althorp is available for hire for film and television purposes.

When asked for permission to film at Althorp for The Crown, Earl Spencer said: "Obviously not".

"I feel it is my duty to stand up for her when I can ... We grew up together, you know if you grow up with somebody they are still that person, it doesn't matter what happens to them later," he recalled during an appearance on Love Your Weekend with Alan Titchmarsh.

For the scenes set at Althorp — namely Charles encountering a 16-year-old Diana, dressed in a tree costume, while he was visiting her older sister, Sarah — the crew used another stately home, Ragley Hall.