Earl Charles Spencer, younger brother of Princess Dianamarked his milestone 60th birthday on monday this week and was moved to tears by a gift from a friend.
To mark the occasion, the Earl hosted a party at Althorp House, his family home in Northamptonshire, but was overcome with emotion when he was presented with a canoe.
Although this may seem an unusual gift, the canoe will be used by Charles to sail to an island in Oval Lake on the Althorp property, where his beloved older sister is buried.
Earl Spencer told it Daily email: “I had 30 friends and family to stay this weekend. On Saturday a friend took me to the lake at Althorp.
“Her husband handmade this amazingly beautiful canoe for me, as a surprise, over many months. I cried when I saw it. It is almost too beautiful to paddle.”
He added: “The man said, 'I thought it would be helpful if you visit your sister'. Such an overwhelmingly beautiful thought.”
Diana's grave on the island can only be visited by boat, and the canoe is already pictured sitting on the shore next to the lake on the 13,000-acre estate.
Visitors can pay tribute to the late Princess of Wales when Althorp is open to the public in July and August, the anniversaries of Diana's birth (July 1) and death (August 31).