Princess Diana's brother says they were both beaten by nannies as children
Princess Diana's brother says they were both beaten by nannies as children
Liz Foster Mon, September 28, 2026 at 4:47 AM UTC
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Charles Spencer described facing abuse as a child alongside sister Princess Diana (Image: Getty)Princess Diana's brother, Charles Spencer, detailed abuse at the hands of two nannies in his latest book, Swan Song: Diana, My Sister.
Earl Spencer revealed that he and his sister, Princess Diana, were abused as children by their nannies.
Charles Spencer, 62, recently opened up in his book, Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, about his childhood with the late Princess. While he wrote that the pair's "succession of nannies" was often kind, two particular caretakers were "abusive." He described "physical punishments" that "our parents knew nothing about." One of the abusive nannies was described as enjoying "wield[ing] a wooden spoon with great force, striking our outstretched palms, perhaps so any marks she made on us were hard to see."
"The other was much worse," he continued. This comes after Princess Diana's harrowing last moments were exposed in an autopsy.
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The second nanny would allegedly strike Charles and Diana's heads "hard against the white concrete wall outside the nursery." He described the abuse as causing "dizzying, throbbing pain and bewilderment."
She would also "grab us both by the hair and bang our heads together, with surprising strength," if both siblings were to be punished. Charles wrote that the "shock of the strikes" was "enormous" and would leave both siblings "in tears." However, he noted that the two were "never broken by the cruelty."
The Spencer children were allegedly beaten by nannies (Image: Getty)
He continued on to praise his and Diana's "vigilance." Charles remarked that he and his sister were "strong-willed children, stubborn when we were convinced that we were correct, especially so in the face of actions we felt sure were wrong."
Charles and Diana's mother, Frances Ruth Shand Kydd, also fired another nanny after she "became mystified by how frequently her eldest children, Sarah and Jane, suffered from stomach upsets." The nanny was allegedly feeding the children laxatives "for her own perverse reasons."
The Earl also thanked his "loveliest" nanny, Sally Percival.
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Charles detailed abuse at private school in an earlier memoir (Image: Getty)
In an earlier memoir, A Very Private School, Charles previously described trauma from his experience at Maidwell Hall, an elite private school.
"I felt exhausted and sick. I knew that, however inconceivable the prospect seemed, my father was on the point of abandoning me," wrote Charles of his father, John Spencer, 8th Earl Spencer.
"Soon after I arrived at Maidwell," stated Charles, "I learned that the school never had a victimless day."
He described a troubling scene: "The head boy witnessed these nightly beatings while standing in the shadows behind the headmaster, his job to record on the school list who had been beaten, for what, on which day and how many times."
Charles painted a picture of himself and fellow young boys facing "swinging blows to the buttocks before being pushed away." He described being beaten with a slipper "several times" through his trousers.
"Pajama bottoms presented no protection, and the pain was shocking in its intensity," he said.
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Source: “AOL Entertainment”
