Charles Spencer marks Diana's 28th anniversary at Althorp

Charles Spencer, the 9th Earl Spencer, visited the private island at Althorp on Sunday to lay flowers marking the 28th anniversary of his sister Princess Diana’s death, posting images of the bouquet and the family burial site on social media. "Flowers we cut this morning from Althorps gardens for the Island," he wrote in the caption, adding, "Always an impossible day," as he paid tribute to the princess who died on Aug. 31, 1997.

Spencer, who has managed the Althorp estate since 1992, shared a photo of pink and white roses and another showing the secluded island known as Oval Lake Grave, where Diana was buried. The island is not open to the public; Spencer has said in the past that its remoteness was chosen deliberately to protect the family from intrusive attention. In his 1998 book he described the site as a "buffer against the interventions of the insane and ghoulish." He has also told broadcasters that he visits the gravesite frequently and that the location allows Diana’s sons to come and go with privacy.

Princess Diana, 36, was killed in a car crash in Paris on Aug. 31, 1997, along with her partner Dodi Fayed and the vehicle’s driver, Henri Paul. Reports said Paul had a...