Silence and Secrets: Charles Spencer’s Very Private School
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- Опубликовано: 14 мар 2024
- Charles Spencer, Princess Diana’s only brother and the uncle of Britain’s future King, William, shares deep and dark secrets from his years at Maidwell Hall, one of England’s most elite boarding schools. Spencer revels painful and explosive details of physical and sexual abuse that have been locked away for more than 50 years. He sits down with NBC News' Cynthia McFadden for his first interview about his new memoir “A Very Private School.”
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#PrincessDiana #CharlesSpencer #School
The world won’t heal until crimes against children stop.
Yes, it’s been the cause of so much trauma. I recommend reading Dr. Matte Gabor books on this issue.
@@mimipanini17*Gabor Matè. Just in case anyone wants to look him up. He is a brilliant man.
Poor man what a terrible loss of his childhood,I come from a family of 9,my mother worked her socks off to keep us all clean fed and most of all Loved our father didn't really help her but we all were happy
True ! Crimes against children are crimes against humanity
Child abuse is a crime being commited among people from all classes, income levels and nations too. A crime that non of us can afford to let go one.
Thank you, Charles for speaking the evil that many have experienced. Your book has brought relief.
Charles Spencer seems like a good man. I hope he finds healing and peace through this important work. My heart goes out to him and all others who experienced this type of isolation and abuse.
The fact Charles only started to discuss the abuse at the age of 42 is heart breaking ☹
Early childhood traumas rewire the children to fight or take flight. The parents and others betrayed the children and numbed their humanity. What an awful and cruel way to raise the children you love. Trauma experience and pride coupled? It takes time and tremendous courage to face powerful abusers in agreement. 😢😢😢😢 Prosecute the guilty.
Because it’s one against the majority of this world.
@@clisediagonzalez5010Fight-flight-freeze-flop- or even befriend: they're all recognised as survival strategies.
From my experience I'm going to speak my truth and I still must wait until 2 more people expire.
I'm done being victims- survivor blamed whenever I had the vulnerability, shaking in my skin, while sharing what happened to who I thought I could trust....
Sending so much love to Charles Spencer and all survivors.
Expose them. Expose them all.
Destigmatize Emotional Intelligence, Empathy, and Compassion.
(I heard 2024 is 'the year of exposure' and I'm here for it ).
Thank You Mr. Spencer.
I wasn't sxually abused, but was physically abused as a child by my adoptive parents, and when I first started speaking about it in my 30s, my family told me to get over it and stop talking about it.
At Princess Diana's funeral, Charles Spencer was the only person who made sense to me with the articulate speech that he gave about his sister. He has courage above and beyond as a speaker of the truth. When I was a child I went to a private convent school from the age of 4 to 12, where parent's pay fees. We knew how hostile the atmosphere at boarding school could be, but it was accepted in so many families that around the age of puberty you were sent to a boarding school. The timing couldn't actually be worse. This book will shine a light on a system that can victimize students and I am sure that it still exists. Charles Spencer continues to do a great deal of good with his life and I will never forget him.
Something sticks out in my mind from an interview he did several years ago. He said something like "it's a horrible tradition we have in England sending our children away to boarding school (away from their parents) at such a young age". 😥
I read Kate was against her kids going to boarding school. King Charles had a rough time too.
One is already enrolled?
It’s only the upper classes in England that send their kids to boarding schools.
I lost my childhood at 9yrs old when a man in our street abused me. I never told my mum. I was told they would come to series harm. I applaud Charles Spencer for writing this book. I hope he finds peace after this. No matter what age in years you are the abuse still haunts you for the rest of your life. My abuser was caught after over 20yrs I told the police as I heard young children were going into his house. He tried to commit suicide. Going through the process with the police was so scarey. The abuser makes the child think its their fault. They told me I saved many children which I should be proud of. But the scars I have will always stay with me. I had no boyfriends in my teenage years for fear of intimacy. I ended up going to see a physiatrist. But even then I didn't tell him everything. I look back on myself as that 9yr old child in a photo and just want to hug her.
I am so sorry that happened to you,I hope you find the support you need and further healing.
Brava ❤
I hate that the monster took away your childhood. I hope that you have found and will forever know true Love, Peace and Happiness.
💛 Thank you, for speaking out and preventing further abuse.
It was never your fault, and you are so brave to make sure he didnt hurt others....
i hope you find some inner peace....
and find the innocence of your childhood soul....
Love, peace and blessings....
I really appluad how sensitive this interviewer was at handling such a very distressing subject. Above all I sincerely thank Charles Spencer for sharing his very delicate past with us. For those out there that have also suffered, God bless you ❤🙏
Thank you, Earl Spencer, for sharing your story.
Dear and eloquent man just as his prescious sister was. It is good to hear him speak about what he went through. The truth will set you free.
Absolutely!!!
What a brave man for being so honest with the world. I'm so sorry this happened to you Charles 😔
It’s too bad that, without a present mother or functional father, Diana and little Charles couldn’t have at least stayed at day school together.
As the future Earl he would have been sent at 8 even if his mother was around and his father well. I’m British and know many men who suffered abuse of one kind or another at boarding school
So very sorry you had to suffer as a young boy thank you for exposing the disgusting cruelty teachers at boarding schools 22:53
*of teachers
Oh my goodness! I will never understand the depravity that some human beings are capable of! 😡
Good on him for coming out with this!
I’m so sorry Mr. Spencer. I know you don’t need that from a stranger in the USA but I have nothing but admiration for you. You are obviously stronger than you know. I wish you healing and real, pure joy.
As a survivor of CSA I don’t know if I can handle reading this. I so admire Charles Spencer for writing this-someone had to. 😢
i don't think many who haven't experienced CSA will read it. i saw a copy in a Bookshop and my Sister asked if i would read it. I remain undecided at the moment. He is incredibly brave to write it.
The worst of the worst prey on the most vulnerable. Children, sick, and elderly. Schools, hospitals, care centers. The worst abuse happens here away from prying eyes. I've experienced it myself. Evil truly flourishes.
Good for him coming forward. The photos certainly confirm his allegations; his entire countenance shifted, and that is extremely sad.😢
You did not go along, you were a kid just a kid without anyone to turn to. NO ONE to turn to.
Exactly, the child is a completely innocent victim here!
I suspect that those types of abusers would have reacted even more violently if a child had tried to 'stand up for themselves'. Ironically, the children were taking the best care of themselves by 'going along with it'.
Well said
Your very existence was threatened, and the survival instinct is at its function to live and survive to tell the truth of the evil world behind closed doors and absent parents. Total institutions strip vulnerable children of their individuality, let alone a history of gross neglect abuse and abandonment. Truly a lesson in delinquency. Thank you for your courage and service to survivors everywhere.
My heart goes out to Earl Spencer, the damage to him not just physically but emotionally, mentally and spiritually has clearly taken its toll on him during his lifetime.
I truly hope he can rid himself of the demons inside and find true peace of mind 🙏
Thank you Earl Spencer for speaking out and shedding light on this. Considering the way some of the British Press flushes out stories, usually for less than stellar means, I hope that they actually do some good and find these perpetrators. I have great respect for you, your honestly and courage. You've done a great service to many many children in speaking the truth. You are a good man. I'm so sorry you lived through this abusive horror, but perhaps some good will come out of it now. Bless you and your family.
I have so much respect for this gentleman. He has remained fiercely loyal to those whom he loves.
Many were abused and still are
In these days its part of a buisness. Human trafficing.. and more...
How horrific and tragic. ALL of the abusers NEED to be named.
Thank you Charles for being so courageous and speaking up about this heinous crime, this will help so many others to come forward, talk about it and get help to heal, especially the men!
Name the woman to the authorities, Charles! Even if you don't personally have her prosecuted, NAME HER to them so that she doesn't get away with it entirely!
She's probably crapping herself at the prospect.
@@JimiBegbaaji I hope she IS! No matter how long ago this happened she ought to be ARRESTED!
@@sequinrosette Nothing would happen, there's no way to prove it now, if there ever was, and it would be harrowing for the victims without justice able to be served.
@@annnee6818 There's no statute of limitations in the UK. Something can still be done about it.
I agree. In fact, I think he should have named her - and the headmaster - in his book.
Thank you for telling your story Earl Spencer.
Thank you for your strength.❤
Nothing is more evil than doing anything to harm a pure and innocent indefensible young child.
NOW, you know why Catherine is against Eton for George.
why is she against Eton? Im tolerably sure she has never said so
Sweet Diana and Charles Spencer loved each other ❤️
It seems they had no others to turn to, but they had each other. God bless the child that's got his own. Protect the children everywhere. It's not business as usual. Put a little love in your heart, it is magical and life restoring.
@@clisediagonzalez5010 they didnt actaully have that close a relatinonshp
Your book will be healing for people around the world who were abused as children. It is truly a loss of their childhood. Thank you for your bravery. Also, people need to be aware that this abuse continues daily in our world and children must be protected and believed.
Well done to Charles for being so brave & articulate. He says things that are very familiar to young kids who’ve been abused that you want to say but too scared to.
Is anyone ready to talk about the elephant in the room now?? Children are NOT protected. Doesnt matter if you are rich or poor. 😢
Abuse was not limited to boarding schools . At a primary school our class was terrorised by one teacher who screamed abuse and insults , physically assaulted most children ,strapped us with a leather strap . She could be heard screaming all over the school.She caused some children to be incontinent with fright . Parents complained ,nothing was done . Abuse was not limited to the upper class .
He is not claiming that it's only the upper class who suffered. Of course other schools had abuse. He is just recounting his own experience, and the fact that even if you were the son of an Earl, there was no protection.
Well, you were able to still leave school every day to go home. Boarders were not - and still can't! Unthinkable that children, mostly little boys, were robbed of their childhood at the tender age of eight, even without counting the abuse, it's horrible that they couldn't live with their families a normal family life.
Abuse is not limited to any class. And if it's going on at this level in society, then what hope do the rest have. People should think about and realise that this is a huge worldwide level of crime.
Catholic school...my parents divorced so i was the target of abject cruelty, by teachers!...
Just nuts!...
They sounded like the Magdelene laundries
Human beings are capable of dark acts 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 Charles Spencer is now a hero. This story will galvanize many who remained silent for years to come out and speak. Those molesters need to be brought to justice. The school should be shut and further investigation should resume.
May God bless and comfort Sir Charles Spencer. We listened to this interview many times and shed many tears 😭😭😭😭🙏🙏🙏🙏
The contemporary Spencers, Charles and Diana are reformists as much as they are traditionalists. They respect and are proud of their ancestry yet they want to do the right thing for the next generation. They are very in touch with society and the current culture.
Diana is dead and has been for 26 years.
What a lovely caring man. Awful children went through such terrible abuse.
Brave man! Finally... this is brought to light. Horrid, evil people preying on innocent children!
A native American woman, that had placed been in a boarding school-a lawyer asked her "why didn't you tell someone?" She said, "I was a child." That stark statement, resonates with children who have been abused😢
I downloaded the book to my Kindle - the episodes he describes are so distressing I could not read them in full. I felt physically sick. I hope that justice can be done even at this late stage. The upper classes in Britain are still sending their young children off to boarding schools, although they are probably kinder places now, but why is it so awful for them to educate them at a day school near to them? Because the name of your school still matters? Eton, Cambridge, etc - looks so good on a Resume or Curriculum Vitae and stamps a child 'upper class' as well as giving the children important 'connections'. In the old days of colonial India, children born there to English and Scottish officials would be sent all the way back to England for their education, not seeing their parents again for as long as four or even eight years in the case of their father! It's hard to understand the collective psyche that thought that was desirable.
They do not tend to go as young. A lot of these places are full of foreign kids now.
It is actually starting to count against you thankfully.
Are their parents British-based? If not, then that's bad. @@nicolad8822
And these dysfunctional people are running our country, no wonder its a complete mess.😢
Why would parents ever want to send their very young children to live with strangers.
There are many useless or bad parents who aren't loving people and shouldn't have children. This is the upper class way of poor parenting
Many Upper Class families sent their children off to boarding school here in America and probably still do.
What’s sad is that still today one in four children are abused, physically, emotionally and sexually. And usually by someone they have trusted.
Dear God please heal Charles and all of the people who have been sexually abused and abused in any way, and still have the wounds in adulthood --
Please expose all of the predators who still abuse others now,
In Jesus Name, Amen 🙏✝️❤️
Amen 🙏🏼
Dear Earl Spencer, This book will help so many people. I fully understand not wanting a legal case. The trauma and abandonment are too much to face again. Thank you
Absolutely agree.
It takes immense courage to bring CSA out into the open and reactions from family and friends aren't always supportive or the person even disbeleived!
Thank you Earl Spencer for speaking for all of the boys of your childhood school and putting the subject into the public domain, it needs to be said. All the best.
Quite right about the behavior of family members. They are frequently the biggest obstacles a child faces after the predator.
Parents who refuse to believe or deny the truth are more common than not.
I've heard parents say,'Just get over it'.
Or 'If it happened once shame on them. If it happened more than once, shame on you.'
These parents are the least likely to help their child receive therapy or any kind of assistance.
It takes courage for a child to express the abuse. When the adults in their life behave in this manner, it is, in my opinion, another form of abuse.
totally agree@@oonaghmarguerite6752
The vomiting, possible bulimia, cutting .. so similar to Diana. He had to recognize it when it was happening in her life and wonder what was happening to her. He had to yearn to be near to protect her and be able for her to be his confidant too, if only.. don't ever criticize his eulogy at her funeral. His agony at not being able to save her and wanting to save his nephews after his childhood, can you imagine?
he didnt have a good relationship with her.
Dear Sir / Charles I don't know if you remember me, Charles Shenstone. I haven't read the book yet (pending on Amazon ). We used to be friends albeit that you were in a higher class than me yet we shared the same dormitory and next door beds in The Spire.
My experieince of Maidwall Hall still haunts me. It is still very difficult to this day
❤
Unthinkable that such an awful crimes were committed against innocent children without nobody that worked at the school reporting them. Those that do not speak are as guilty as those that are the perpetrators.
I am so sorry for all of those that suffer such abuse.
It is to admire that Charles Spencer ( and certainly others) was able to make a career, have a family and take care of the Althorp State after such a hard life he had as a child.
What a crazy system.....
I think he nailed it when he said that the old monied parents believed it would ‘toughen their children up’ to stop them falling from grace later in life. And that the parents from nouveau riche backgrounds, would want to buy their children a seat at the table with access to privileged social networks. Of course, the wider context of why these schools exist is the preservation of the social order.
Hideous! I went to an all girls boarding school in Hertfordshire. I do totally understand and recognise how it leads to repressing emotions whilst there. Thank God I don’t have that much trauma from my time there in this realm but the Daily Mail certainly platformed some which was a surprise! Truly F’ed Up. I send Charles a big hug x
This moved me to tears. 😢What wickedness is among us. Wrongdoers should be named, shamed and prosecuted to the full extent of the law, as a deterrent to others. Even sadder is that the abuse of children is still rampant in our society.
Im so sorry, Earl Spenser. These pariahs knew you had no natural protection with your mum gone and being sent away so young. It makes my blood boil..
I'm so proud of you charles spencer.. it's so much harder to live with what happened the older we get..
Courageous man,I hope your book helps many
I have always favored this gentleman. He let the royal family have it when they didn't protect Diana and now he's disclosing this. Mad respect.
I am so sorry….😢😢😢😢broken heart😢😢 💔💔💔💔💔💔💔
Wish all children that have and are abused would speak out about it, so that the sick perpetrators could be put in jail.
Wasn't just public school where that went on in 1970's UK. It was a different time; if you spoke about it back then you stood every chance of not being believed.
I've said the same thing. Wasn't good for kids back then
Thank you for giving the WORLD knowledge your brave you gave helped so many coming forward 🌹
Well done Sir. You have my utmost admiration for writing such an honest & heartfelt memoir & sharing your experiences at this dark school with the world. The interview shows an intelligent, articulate & sensitive man that has faced his demons & triumphed and now deserves total peace & happiness. Thank you Charles...
Incredible...
We need more men to speak on this issue ❤
Charles you have got to sue them, you have had too much pain to endure without retaliation, the cruelty is unforgiveable
Good on you charles I will be buying this book.
Thank you for bringing this horrible story to the open!!
Thank you for telling your story. It takes a great deal of courage to speak out. Healing from this type of trauma is a long and often spiralling journey. Sending love and a blessing to you Charles for your continued healing!
Well done! What a courageous work and thoroughly worthwhile piece. All the very best.
Absolutely heartbreaking 💔 I believe every single word he's says...I went to boarding school at 12....and hated every single day....
Sorry you experienced this horror Charles. I went through something similar between the ages of 7 to 13 in New Zealand (1953 to 1959). It entailed both physical and emotional abuse at the hands of Nuns. However, there was no cane....just a thick leather strap about 18 inches long, a quarter of an inch thick and 2 inches in width, administered either on the hand (minor infractions) or on the bare buttocks until you were screaming for mercy, and then some more. The naked buttock punishment was always administered in the bathroom with all the other boys outside the door in the dormitory, so they could hear the screams. One boy, and I remember this well (because it was unique) was thrashed mercilessly, but managed to remain silent. How he managed this I will never know. When he and his sadist tormentor returned to the room where we were the look on the tormentor's face was a look of pure frustration.....Tony was the winner. You have my sincere sympathy. What you experienced was totally barbaric!
So so sad Charles .You haven’t had an easy life …you are doing the right thing ..better late than never .😢
I wish so much that his Dianna was still here to hug that little boy💔
“Very bad people’s worst instincts”… it may be their instinct, but they also plan and coordinate this breaking process. He either doesn’t yet remember the rest of it yet or can’t bear to speak about it yet.
There is no protection, and society is crafted that way. 💔 Prayers for Charles and all the others going through this and trying to recover as adults.
How dreadful. Something from a place I once worked has bothered me always.
You are so brave, thank goodness for you.
No wonder Princess Catherine don't want her child going to Eton !!
Wow, finally you chose to speak out about humans that are so dark & I hope this is cathartic on your path to healing! Wonderful that Britain has no statute of limitations unlike USA!
That's sad but not surprising, child predators will always find a way to be around children. What's ironic is that the parents were probably paying a high tuition fee only for their children to be abused and tortured.
And the parents (well, fathers anyway) of course knew all along what was happening to their children - they themselves had gone through the same ordeal. Such a criminal system!
The indifference of the parents to the children's plight is appalling in the book
What a terrible ordeal. My sympathies to the Earl Spencer and all the boys subjected to the horrible abuse. May they have peace of mind and heal from this. Sincerely, from Barcelona.
🙏🏻Oh my God, Charles, I’m so sorry. 🙏🏻
Thank you for telling your story publicly.
and you are helping change the world for the children by exposing your experience.
Oh my goodness. I have a new found respect for this man. I hope somehow the book brings a degree of healing for both Charles and the other pupils who suffered in a way no child should ever have to experience. I can’t imagine the courage it took to bring this out in the open.
I have read 2/3 of the book since getting it in the post yesterday afternoon. I started reading it outside of the post office. By page 18, my eyelid was twitching.
What a noble person. Being who he is telling this truth will free many others. One of my parents was an abused child. I was the only person she ever told. It was buried. Shevwas buried under incorrect diagnoses. Because the truth is so hirrendous. He didnt go along with it. Theres no choice.
I hope this brave book will help more people bring these abuses to light and hopefully if children make accusations they will be believed.
Charles Spencer could have so easily kept this to himself, but to tell and speak out IS the right thing to have done for DEFINITE. Well done to Charles, Diana would be proud you have spoken about this. Hopefully your healing journey is well on its way for you. I really admire your bravery and resilience. 👏👏👏👏👏💜💜💜
Charles is a beautiful brave and genuine soul. Dreadfully sad to hear what happened to him. 😢
This is absolutely horrendous! I lost my mother at a few months old but I had a marvellous, innocent childhood.Never did I receive any physical punishment or abuse and ran around barefoot in the summertime and swimming alone in the sea. My teachers were gold dust. I feel so sorry for these posh kids.
I like Charles, his speech at Diana’s death was brilliant.. it’s terrible what happened at his school on top of loosing his mother.
How sad, no mother or father for that matter to protect him!
My 4 years in boarding school were the most wonderful years of my childhood and schooling. I am in utter shock that there were schools like that in England during the period I was being educated.
Same. I went to boarding school in Sweden. The school had some very archaic strict rules. But by and large the teachers and housemates were nice and we had a great time. If we did something bad, there were no physical beatings. BUT you could be 'sentenced' to a 1 hour workout which at times was ridiculously grueling and crossed the line. Some people were worked so hard they would throw up.
My only other regret about boarding school is its relationship with alcohol. It was forbidden with the only result that we would go into the Forrest and be pushed to get violently drink as a sort of proof of manhood. Far too many developed drinking problems later.
Much love to Earl Spencer. Hoping that this has been cathartic for him.
Kate ought to be very SCARED to send George to boarding school. I think that leads to Kate's mysterious calamity. What a shame to live in such distress and so young.
She is....William wanted to send him according to prior reports.
I read she did not want them in boarding schools. I think she pick up her kids from school. I think most boarding schools are decent places, but sadly there will always be sick people.
Very brave thank you for coming out…. we need more people to come out and blow their covers.may you begin your journey of deep healing. Paris Hilton started a conversation …
How heinous!
So horrific! Makes me wonder if his dear father, mother and/or his sisters suffered any of the same when they were at boarding schools. 🇨🇦
Aww he has the same mannerisms as Diana.
I was at that School then ,And I can vouch it was odd, but at 6 years old you just take it,Most miserable days of my life
Not odd, but perverted abuse. Alas children are so vulnerable. As a child, what could you do? The adults are responsible for your life. Indifferent parents, going along with the status quo must share in the the blame. Charles Spencer's book is a light in the darkness
Sorry you had to experience that place.
Contact Charles he’d love to hear from you and the more of you all that can now speak of the abuse the better 🙏🏼 ‘talking it out’ is be of the best things you can do but it takes courage and feeling safe to share
What he has gone through and survived. The good, the bad, the evildoers. A survivor.
I'm so desperately sorry that this happened to you Charles. I sent my own son to a boarding school and I know nothing like this every happened. Different times and countries. It's really difficult to be believed when you have been abused. I was sexually abused by a family member and wasn't believed by my parents. It crushes you. So thankyou for telling you story and the story of other students because it is very important to tell it.
WE live on the most beautiful rock. Planet earth. Just don't look under the rock.
Thank you for alerting parents everywhere, to the best of your ability. Never too late.
Outstanding! The courage Earl Spencer is showing will help others. It is my hope this nobleman has now found a measure of peace.