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Marie Claire
Marie Claire
Lifestyle
Kristin Contino

Princess Diana's Brother Shares a Throwback Photo on What Would Have Been Her 44th Wedding Anniversary With King Charles

A black and white photo of Princess Diana and Earl Spencer wearing swimsuits as children.

Tuesday, July 29 marked 44 years since Prince Charles married Lady Diana Spencer at St. Paul's Cathedral, and while memories from their royal wedding have flooded the media, Diana's brother shared a more personal glimpse at his sister's life. Charles, the 9th Earl Spencer, posted an adorable summer photo of himself and Diana as children on a day when he no doubt was thinking about his late sister.

"A long ago summer, by the swimming pool at our childhood home, Park House, Sandringham - Diana and I both proudly showing off our swimming badges (sewn onto our swimming costumes)," Earl Spencer captioned his Instagram post. In the faded black-and-white snapshot, the siblings pose in front of a pool, with Diana wearing a swimming cap and belted one-piece bathing suit covered with patches.

The earl noted that their badges "were awarded (sparingly) by Mrs Lansdowne, a fairly terrifying but very gifted swimming instructor, who came to stay each year," adding, "We were never out of that pool."

Princess Diana pool photo

A photo posted by on

Diana and Charles married on July 29, 1981. (Image credit: Getty Images)

Fans flooded the comments section of the photo, with many noting the resemblance between Earl Spencer and his great-nephew, Prince George, along with Diana and granddaughter Princess Charlotte. "a baby George and Charlotte, omg!" one wrote, while another commenter added, "I see Charlotte in Diana’s face in this photo 🥰💖."

"Prince George really looks like you. What a lovely photo of you and Diana," a third fan wrote.

Princess Charlotte has been compared to her grandmother on numerous occasions, especially when she brings out the iconic "Spencer stare." But this isn't the first time fans have spotted the strong Spencer genes in Prince George.

In 2023, an Instagram post showed the future King along with his siblings Prince Charlotte and Prince Louis as compared to their lookalike relatives, writing, "George is a Spencer, Charlotte is a Windsor and Louis is a Middleton 🥰." In the collage, George was compared to Earl Spencer while Charlotte was matched up with Prince William and Louis to his maternal godfather, Michael Middleton.

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