Bishop Says Certificate Proves Diana Was Buried On Island

A bishop released Princess Diana’s burial certificate Sunday to quash rumors that her body is in the Spencer church vault, not on an island at Althorp, the family’s ancestral home.

Diana’s brother, Earl Spencer, decided to bury her on the estate, instead of in the crypt, to save the nearby village from being overrun by sightseers. He put tickets to view her island grave on sale last week, at about $15.60 apiece, and got a huge response from around the world.

But in pubs, at parties and on street corners in Northamptonshire, where Althorp is located, rumors persist that Diana is buried in the Spencer crypt in the church of St. Mary the Virgin at Great Brington.

Paul Needham, a spokesman for the Bishop of Peterborough, said the rumors probably started because the crypt was opened after Diana’s death Aug. 31 in a Paris car crash. Her brother later decided to bury her inside the estate.