The Lady Of The Lake

By Helen Gibson/Althorp

Denise Jones lives in the same state as Graceland, but she has chosen a pilgrimage in honor of a princess, not the King. "I've collected dolls, books, articles, ceramics--all kinds of things relating to Diana--since 1981," says the 25-year-old health-care-management student from Knoxville, Tenn. "I have a special room in my house for them all." Last week Jones was at Diana's house in England, among the first to enter Althorp, the ancestral estate of the Spencers, the aristocratic clan of the late Princess of Wales. Her brother Charles, Earl Spencer, has thrown it open to the public. Welcome to Dianaland.

In Althorp, time and the trees tell some of the princess's story. The long drive to the memorial is flanked by 36 newly planted young oaks, one for each year of Diana's life. The estate opened to the public on July 1, her birthday, and will shut its gates until next summer on Aug. 30, the eve of the anniversary of her death. But numbers tell a bit of her brother's story too. With 152,000 tickets sold at $15.70 apiece, the earl will be bringing in nearly $2.4 million. Much of the world is aware of how expensive it is to be an earl and master of one of the more historic properties in the realm. It is costly too to deal with a scandalous divorce. So, Spencer declares, he will tithe to charity, and the accounts will be audited.

But none of the visitors at the souvenir concession last week begrudged the earl the style to which he is accustomed. After all, the host was in the courtyard, surrounded by his three small daughters, cordially greeting the guests. "This is going to be very emotional," said Jones as she began her tour of the stables turned museum. Look, there is Diana's wedding gown. There, the handwritten draft of the earl's famous funeral oration. There, on a lakeside garden temple, is a plaque with Diana's words, "Whoever is in distress can call on me. I will come running, wherever they are." And, finally, on an island in the lake, unreachable, are the plinth and urn that commemorate her burial place.

--By Helen Gibson/Althorp