It is a common problem for any householder – unlocking the mystery of old keys found discarded in drawers and cupboards.
But if the house in question is Althorp, Princess Diana‘s childhood home, reuniting keys with their locks can prove a daunting challenge.
Earl Spencer shared pictures on social media of hundreds of keys that had ‘piled up over the decades’ at Althorp, some of which appeared to be antiques.
He said staff on the estate faced a ‘summer challenge’ of attempting to match the mislaid keys with their matching locking, adding: ‘They will be tried in every door, cabinet and chest here.’ The scale of the challenge should not be underestimated. Althorp, a Grade I stately home dating back to 1688, has 90 rooms and its estate covers more than 500 acres and includes cottages, farms and outbuildings.
Earl Spencer, Princess Diana’s brother, posted photographs of two of the estate staff trying keys in the locks of an ornate writing desk.
Earl Spencer shared pictures on social media of hundreds of keys that had ‘piled up over the decades’ at Althorp, some of which appeared to be antiques
Earl Spencer, Princess Diana’s brother, posted photographs of two of the estate staff trying keys in the locks of an ornate writing desk
Earl Spencer said: ‘Key summer challenge: 2 of the @AlthorpHouse team tackling the mass of mislaid keys that have piled up over the decades’
Earl Spencer shared pictures on social media of hundreds of keys that had ‘piled up over the decades’ at Althorp
Writing on X, formerly Twitter, he said: ‘Key summer challenge: 2 of the @AlthorpHouse team tackling the mass of mislaid keys that have piled up over the decades: ‘They will be tried in every door, cabinet, & chest here.
‘Something that has been on our To Do List for many decades. I will let you know how they do.’ He added: ‘We’ve accumulated this staggering collection of lost keys over several decades. It’ll be a case of being extremely patient, and hoping.’ His post prompted dozens of replies from well-wishers, speculating over whether the challenge would unlock secrets from Althorp’s history.
The estate has been in the Spencer family for more than five centuries. Althorp House dates back to 1688, although a smaller home was on the site before.
It was the childhood home of Diana, whose father inherited the estate when she was 14, and she was buried on a small island on the Round Oval lake in the grounds of the estate.
Earl Spencer, Diana’s younger brother and uncle to Prince William and Prince Harry, has led extensive renovations at the house and new rounds of excavations in the grounds, which have unearthed an Anglo-Saxon settlement, a Roman villa and coins dating back to the 4th Century Roman emperor Constantine the Great.
