'I was eight and sent away': Diana's brother Charles Spencer laments boarding school days

Earl Spencer, the brother of the late Princess Diana, has lamented over his time at boarding school.

In a scathing tweet shared alongside a photo from his days at Maidwell Hall, the Earl wrote, "50 years ago tonight, I spent my first ever night away from my family. I was 8, & I'd been sent away to boarding school.

"It was part of a family tradition. 12 September 1972 has been with me ever since."

Boarding school was indeed a family tradition for the Spencers; Diana herself attended Riddlesworth Hall Preparatory School near Thetford.

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However, the tradition has seemingly ended with the Earl, as he said in the tweet, "I have 7 children. None of them have been forced to go to boarding school."

This is not the first time Spencer has opened up about his school experience.

In an opinion piece for TES Magazine, Spencer delved into the problematic culture and environment he was met with as a pupil of Maidwell Hall, located in Maidwell, Northamptonshire.

"Maidwell Hall preparatory school was quite tough, with a slightly terrifying headmaster and military-style drill in the morning," the Earl wrote.

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"Once a week, boys deemed stupid or lazy were beaten really unpleasantly with a cane on bare buttocks. I'm still friends with several who went through this. One, who was beaten every Saturday for being stupid, did very well at Cambridge," Spencer continued.

The Earl says his privileged background meant teachers at Maidwell had "absolutely no expectations" for the young aristocrat.

"They just thought I'd be fine in life anyway. I was lucky enough to drift through; I could do exams and do a little bit of sport. Those who couldn't do either had an absolutely miserable time."

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It appears the military-style environment at boarding school not only affects the Earl to this day, but also his peers and followers who shared similar experiences.

"Ditto. Sept 1963. I was 7. The memory of the sound of weeping boys in our dormitory after lights out still haunts me," one commenter said under the Earl's tweet. "My Dad had such a miserable time at boarding school that he too broke the chain," another commenter concurred.

Spencer would go on to study at the extremely prestigious Eton College and then Oxford University.