Charles Spencer and Princess Diana as children; Charles Spencer in 2015.Photo:courtesy Lord Charles Spencer; Amanda Edwards/WireImage
courtesy Lord Charles Spencer; Amanda Edwards/WireImage
Charles Spencernever told his sisterPrincess Dianaabout the abuse he endured at boarding school.
“I don’t remember us ever really discussing what we were going through. She went to a very gentle place, I believe,” the 9th Earl Spencer says of Diana’s own boarding school years. “We would reconnect for the school holidays, and I don’t remember ever talking about it with her.”
When Spencer, 59, finally told his older sisters, Sarah and Jane, 18 months ago, “they were stunned and appalled.”
Charles Spencer with his sister Diana (seated) and nanny Mary Clarke as he headed off for Maidwell Hall in 1972.©Earl Spencer
©Earl Spencer
In the heartbreaking new memoir, which was published on Tuesday, Spencer confronts the childhood trauma of his harrowing five years at an elite institution in the English countryside that left its young students vulnerable to predatory adults.
It was a difficult book to write, plunging Spencer — who reveals for the first time that he was the victim of physical, verbal and sexual abuse at the school — into a painful past.
Charles Spencer in his Maidwell “Sunday best” suit in 1972.©Earl Spencer
At his lowest points in childhood, Spencer reveals in the memoir, he contemplated self-harm.
“I genuinely did consider self-inflicted wounds with my father’s shotgun very regularly at the end of term,” he says. “No child should have to think of that, at the end of holidays, end of vacation. I would really strongly contemplate that just to stop myself having to go back to that place.”
Charles Spencer in 2021 at his ancestral home, Althorp (left). Right: His new memoir, ‘A Very Private School’.Ian Greeland; Simon and Schuster
Ian Greeland; Simon and Schuster
Today, he worries that in sharing his story, some will judge his candor as a plea for pity from those born into tremendous wealth and privilege.
“My biggest fear is that people might think, ‘Poor little rich boys. What have they got to complain about?’ It’s not about the wealth. It’s about vulnerability as children in any social class. My biggest hope is that it genuinely will help people,” Spencer tells PEOPLE.
If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
source: people.com
