Is cult of Diana on the wane?

Could the grisly cult that surrounds the late Diana, Princess of Wales, finally be on the wane? Certainly there appears to be a dropping off of interest in the "Queen of Hearts" down at Althorp, her childhood home in Northamptonshire where her brother, Earl Spencer, has created a museum in her honour. The latest accounts for Althorp Enterprises, the company that runs the Princess Diana Exhibition, reveals that turnover has dropped to under £1m for the first time. In its heyday this figure exceeded £3m.

Although Spencer has published no information about visitor numbers, income for the year fell from £1,086,094 in 2006 to £907,799 last year, a drop of ten per cent. The downturn triggered a net loss for the year of £353,788. This also meant the amount passed on to the Diana Memorial Fund was substantially reduced, from just over £55,000 two years ago to £28,108 last year. As the Daily Mail reported today, the Bishop of London, Richard Chartres, called last year for a line to be drawn under Diana's memory. Some, it seems, were listening.