Princess Diana's Family Pay Poignant Tribute at the Royal's Childhood Home

Princess Diana's blood family has paid a poignant tribute to the late princess on the 25th anniversary of her death at her childhood home, Althorp House.

In a Twitter post on Wednesday, Diana's brother, Earl Spencer, released a photograph showing that the flag which flies above the house pediment had been lowered to half-mast, a traditional signal of mourning.

The gesture leads tributes to the princess who was killed in a high-speed car crash in Paris at the age of 36 in the early hours of August 31, 1997.

The subject of flying flags at half-mast became highly contentious in the days following the princess' death as Buckingham Palace became a central hub for public mourning. The flagpole above the palace remained bare according to custom despite government buildings flying their flags at half-mast in tribute.

Before Diana's death, Buckingham Palace only flew the royal standard (the monarch's official flag) whenever he/she was at the palace. Whenever Queen Elizabeth II arrived at the palace, the flag was raised and whenever she left, it was lowered.

As the queen was staying at her Scottish estate Balmoral in August 1997 when news of Diana's death reached Britain, there was no flag at Buckingham Palace. This became interpreted as a symbol that the royal family didn't care about the princess and their absence from London or participation in public mourning generated ill will among the public.

Before the royal family, along with Princes William and Harry, who had been staying with the queen in Scotland, returned to London for Diana's funeral on September 6, British newspapers sent out a public call for a flag to be flown at the palace for the princess.

"Where Is Our Queen? Where Is Her Flag?" read the front page of The Sun with the Daily Mail running a similar headline: "Let The Flag Fly at Half Mast."

When the queen arrived at the palace on September 5, the royal standard was raised to its full height as she spoke with mourners and helped place flowers outside.

On the day of the funeral when the queen left the palace to attend the service at Westminster Abbey, the royal standard was lowered according to tradition, but then the Union Jack (Britain's national flag) was raised and flown at half-mast. When this happened crowds outside the palace cheered.

This began a new tradition that there is always a flag flown at Buckingham Palace, which can be lowered in events of national mourning.

Relations between the royals and the Spencer family were called into question during the princess' funeral as Earl Spencer, Diana's younger brother, gave a eulogy that was interpreted as semi-critical of his sister's treatment since marrying into the royal family.

"Diana was the very essence of compassion, of duty, of style, of beauty," he said at Westminster Abbey. "All over the world, she was a symbol of selfless humanity. All over the world, a standard bearer for the rights of the truly downtrodden, a very British girl who transcended nationality.

"Someone with a natural nobility who was classless and who proved in the last year that she needed no royal title to continue to generate her particular brand of magic."

This was speculated to have been a reference to the fact that Diana had lost her HRH (Her Royal Highness) title when she divorced Prince Charles in 1996. After this, she was known as Diana, Princess of Wales.

The earl also pledged that Diana's "blood family" would watch over her two young sons, William, 15, and Harry, 12, saying:

"On behalf of your mother and sisters, I pledge that we, your blood family, will do all we can to continue the imaginative way in which you were steering these two exceptional young men so that their souls are not simply immersed by duty and tradition but can sing openly as you planned."

Though there have been no formal plans for the royals to mark the 25th anniversary, both William and Harry have paid tributes to their mother throughout the year with Harry being the most explicit in his wish for the day to be one of "memories."

Speaking at a polo event last week, Harry said: "Next week is the 25th anniversary of my mother's death, and she most certainly will never be forgotten.

"I want it to be a day filled with memories of her incredible work and love for the way she did it. I want it to be a day to share the spirit of my mum with my family, with my children, who I wish could have met her."

Both William and Harry unveiled a memorial statue to their mother on the grounds of her former home at Kensington Palace last year on what would have been her 60th birthday. This was the last time that the princes were photographed together amid a reported rift between them.

Harry is due to arrive in Britain next week alongside his wife, Meghan Markle, to attend a series of charity events.

Newsweek has reached out to Earl Spencer for comment.