Book Review: A Very Private School: A Memoir by Charles Spencer

Charles Spencer’s A Very Private School offers a fascinating and heartbreaking glimpse into his childhood at the elite Maidwell Hall, a very traditional British boarding school.

While Charles is famously the brother of Diana Spencer, she is only mentioned a few times — this memoir is very much about his own experiences. From a young age, all of the Spencer children were sent away to boarding school, a common practice among the upper class at the time. Because his parents were divorced, Charles spent only a few weeks a year with his family, mostly during holidays and term breaks.

The picture he paints of Maidwelll Hall is stark and disturbing. The school was brutally strict, with teachers — and especially the headmaster — described as sadistic and cruel. Corporal punishment was rampant, with beatings handed out for things as simple as poor grades or talking after lights out.

It’s a strange portrait of a childhood full of privilege but almost no love. Charles became a Lord at a young age, traveled on holidays to glamorous places, and rode in Rolls Royces — yet he lived with constant fear, loneliness, and emotional neglect. Despite living close to Althorp House (where his sister Diana is now buried), he was not allowed to visit his father or family on weekends.

One particularly gut-wrenching story: Charles recounts how his mother missed a solo performance he had been looking forward to, choosing instead to go out to dinner with friends. Moments like this left lasting scars, shaping his struggles with relationships and self-worth later in life.

For this memoir, Charles also interviewed many of his former classmates, who confirmed the widespread abuse and shared the lingering impacts it had on them.

Some readers might find it hard to sympathize with an aristocrat’s woes — after all, these are some of the most privileged families in Britain. But at its core, A Very Private School is a reminder that no child deserves abuse, isolation, or emotional neglect, no matter their background. Trauma doesn’t discriminate based on wealth.

While parts of the book get a little bogged down in detailed anecdotes about specific teachers (which I personally found a little tedious), about 80% of the story was riveting. I found myself deeply moved, troubled, and much more aware of a cultural world many Americans rarely glimpse.

My rating: 4 stars.
If you’re looking for a memoir that will make you feel things, teach you something new, and challenge your assumptions, this is worth the read.