Earl Spencer pays tribute to sister Princess Diana on the anniversary of her death

‘Some bonds go back a very long way,’ Earl Spencer once captioned his post for Diana

Earl Spencer has honoured his late sister on the anniversary of her death.

On 31 August, the 59-year-old paid tribute to the 26th anniversary of Princess Diana’s passing with a sweet photo of the siblings from their childhood. In the throwback, the former Princess of Wales is seen with her arm around her younger brother, donning a pink and white striped dress with a little collar, in front of a bush adorned with blossoming pink flowers.

Meanwhile, a young Charles Spencer is seen sporting a grey and navy collared shirt, blue pants, and brown sandals over white socks. He didn’t caption the post.

The renowned author is known to often post throwback photographs with his sister. In May 2021, Spencer took to his social media page to pay homage to the resilient bond he and Diana shared from a young age. The sentimental moment was photographed in black and white, picturing them sitting side-by-side as children.

“Some bonds go back a very long way,” Spencer captioned the post.

In July that same year, he paid tribute to his sister on what would’ve been her 60th birthday. The official Instagram account for Althorp House - their childhood home where Earl Spencer still lives - shared a single black and white image of Diana with her hair pulled into pigtails.

“1 July 1961 was an exceptionally hot English summer’s day, Diana’s parents always remembered,” they captioned the Instagram tribute. “She was born in Park House, on the Queen’s Sandringham Estate in Norfolk. Park House is seen in the background of this family photograph taken by Diana’s father, the 8th Earl Spencer.”

Charles Spencer was Princess Diana’s youngest sibling and only brother. The siblings also shared two older sisters, Lady Sarah McCorquodale and Lady Jane Fellowes, both of whom are still alive.

The late Princess of Wales passed away on 31 August 1997 at 36 years old. While travelling through Paris, France, with her companion Dodi Fayed, their car was tragically struck in a traffic collision. At her funeral in London, Diana’s two sons - Prince William, 15, and Prince Harry, 12 - walked the funeral procession behind their mother’s casket.

The boys were accompanied by their father, King Charles III; their grandfather, the Duke of Edinburgh; and Diana’s brother, Earl Spencer. Following the funeral proceedings, Diana’s remains were buried on the grounds of Althorp House.