A place of "beauty and silence" Princess Diana found her final resting place here

Princess Diana died in an accident in Paris 25 years ago today. There is still great sympathy at the scene of the accident, just as there is at her final resting place in Althorp, the family country estate near Northampton.

On August 31, 1997, shortly after midnight, the car in which Princess Diana and her boyfriend Dody Al-Fayed were sitting crashed into a bridge pillar in the Pont d'Alma tunnel in Paris.

Hounded by paparazzi photographers, the driver loses control of the car.

When Diana's coffin was carried out of the hospital hours later, many people lined the streets leading to the airport. 25 years later, sympathy for the Princess's death is still strong - even at the scene of the accident.

The small square next to the Seine, in the middle of which stands a large golden flame to commemorate the Franco-American friendship, has become a memorial to Lady Di.

It has officially been called "Place Diana" for three years.

"With her beauty and silence"

The mother of Prince William and Prince Harry was laid to rest at Althorp, the Spencer family's country estate near Northampton. 36 oak trees line the path to her resting place. One tree was planted for each year of their all too short lives.

The estate, which Diana's family has lived in for over 500 years, is 550 hectares in size and consists of a manor house with 90 rooms.

She grew up in Althorp with two sisters and two brothers and it was there that she was buried - in a lead coffin on an island in the middle of a small pond. Beech and oak trees grow on the island, so close and yet inaccessible.

A stone monument commemorates the princess - her grave itself is not visible to visitors.

"With its beauty and tranquillity", Diana's brother Charles, the 9th Earl of Spencer, said shortly after her death that the island was the right place for her to be laid to rest. On special days, he brought her flowers, Spencer once said.

Place of dreams, place of destiny

Diana's memorial, which is open to the public, is located close to the banks of the pond. It is a summer house remodeled by the Spencer family.

On the wall of the memorial, her brother Charles has inscribed a personal inscription for his deceased sister. A quote from Princess Diana can also be found here:

"Nothing makes me happier than trying to help the most vulnerable people in society. It is a goal and an essential part of my life - a kind of destiny. Anyone in need can call me. I will rush to wherever they are."

Althorp was the place of Diana's childhood dreams - but it is also the place that sealed her later fate: this is where she met Prince Charles, her future husband. He was introduced to her by her sister Sarah in 1977.