Charles Spencer welcomes adorable new addition at Althorp House

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Charles Spencer and Karen welcomed a new barn cat called Rudy

    Earl Charles Spencer and his wife Karen have welcomed a new furry addition to their sprawling family home in Northamptonshire.

    Taking to Instagram at the weekend, Karen shared a carousel of sweet snapshots giving centre stage to their new barn cat called Rudy.

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    Alongside the images, Karen penned: "Meet our new barn cat Rudy! Rudy wandered into the Park one day last fall and we all fell for him. We took him to the vet to see if he was chipped and he was, but the owners kept hanging up when the vet called".

    She continued: "So he has hit the cat lottery and is living in the stables. He's responsible for making sure we don’t have rodent problems. He gets lots of cuddles as he wanders all around the house offices keeping all the dogs in check!"

    Charles and Karen's new feline friend will join their growing collection of animals that already live on the property. The estate is also home to Tim the peacock, red deer, Guinea fowl, and two adorable sheep called Minty and Lucky.

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    Althorp House was previously owned by Princess Diana's father, Earl John Spencer, and is now home to her brother, Charles, the 9th Earl Spencer.

    The property boasts 90 rooms, 550 acres of land and a special temple dedicated to the late Princess, who is buried on the property's Oval Lake.

    Her resting place is only accessible via boat and is off-limits to the public.

    There used to be a bridge in place so that visitors could access the island, however, it was later removed for security reasons. Prince Harry revealed all in his memoir Spare, explaining: "The bridge had been removed, to give my mother privacy, to keep intruders away."

    Since inheriting his family home, Charles has been working hard to renovate his family's ancestral seat alongside his wife Karen. Back in February, Karen made an unexpected discovery at their majestic home. Taking to their joint instagram account, she shared an image of a large stone engraved with what appeared to be "half the Spencer family crest".

    Recounting her discovery, she wrote in the caption: "Was in the basement (or cellars, as they like to call it here…) today turning down the heat. Yes, if I want to turn the heat down I have to go all the way into the bowels of the basement into the 3 different boiler rooms, one by one, and turn the boiler down. It’s very old-fashioned.

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    "Anyway, while I was down there, I started poking around, as I often do, and came across this amazing stone. It looks like it says 'This house was built in 1609'. Wonder where it came from. Will ask one of the old staff if they know."

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