Crows circle between ancient oak trees and geese hoot overhead as I walk down the track that weaves through the park of the Althorp estate. The gravel has been neatly raked and the box hedges smartly trimmed around the Northamptonshire stately home that has been owned by the Spencer family for more than 500 years. Two pet sheep, Lucky and Minty — orphan lambs that were reared in the house — graze peacefully by a wrought iron fence. It is a quintessentially English scene, a playground for the aristocracy.
Inside the 26-bedroom mansion, surrounded by 13,000 acres, the corridors are lined by marble busts and the walls are covered with family portraits. The extensive art collection includes paintings by Van Dyck, Gainsborough and Reynolds. There
