Charles Spencer and Althorp House© Getty

Charles Spencer shares rare photo from his impressively 'gorgeous' home library

The 9th Earl Spencer has been custodian of Althorp House since 1992

Online Royal CorrespondentLondon
April 8, 2024

Charles Spencer often delights his Instagram followers by sharing photographs of his family's ancestral home as well as fascinating images from the archives of his ancestors.

Monday was no exception as he uploaded a stunning and rare snap inside Althorp House's impressive library. The photo showed the Earl's desk bathed in sunlight, with his laptop and a neat pile of papers positioned in front of a large red leather chair. 

Books line the nearby staircase as well as the shelves, which stretch almost from the floor to the ceiling, while the view from Charles' desk overlooks the house's leafy gardens. 

He wrote in the caption: "Where I’m writing today - in the Library, at @althorphouse. My study, where I usually work, has temporarily lost its magic: I am wasting too much time there, rather than getting stuck into all that needs doing. Very lucky to have such a gorgeous place as a room to retreat to, and write in…."

Library inside Althorp House© Instagram / @charles.earl.spencer
Charles shared a snap of his desk inside the library at Althorp

Charles has been custodian of Althorp House in Northampton since the death of his father John Spencer in 1992.

As well as working as a broadcaster, he has written a number of books around his family history and most recently, a personal memoir, A Very Private School, detailing his experiences at his boarding school, Maidwell Hall.

The Earl has shared a particularly harrowing account of his time at the private school in Northampton, claiming that the sexual assaults and beatings he suffered at Maidwell Hall, left him with lifelong "demons".

Last week, Charles shared a class photograph from 1977 when he would have been around 14 years old. In part of the caption, he wrote: "I am grateful to so many of these boys, for opening up to me about what happened to them, for my memoir. Some of them remain good friends, and others have reentered my life during the past five years, with our schoolboy friendship rekindled. The friendships from this place were its golden legacy."

The father-of-seven also delighted his followers as he recently shared a sweet childhood snap of him with his big sister, the late Diana, Princess of Wales, dressed in their red school uniform on Charles' first day at Silfield primary school in King's Lynn, Norfolk.

He wrote: "My first day of school, in September 1968: my father took this photograph of me and my sister, Diana, just before he drove us to Silfield, a really lovely primary school in King’s Lynn, Norfolk. The headmistress was Miss Jean Lowe, a warm and thoughtful lady who loved her boys and girls. I was there till 1972, when I headed off to the place I call - in my memoir - A Very Private School."

In an exclusive interview with HELLO! Canada, the Earl spoke about how Diana always looked out for him when they were growing up, with their former teacher Miss Lowe, saying that the future Princess "just wouldn't settle" in class until she knew her little brother was OK.

After she'd been given permission to go and check on Charles in his classroom, Diana returned with a "beaming smile" before declaring, with relief in her voice, "Thank you, Charles seems to be doing fine!"

LISTEN: Inside King Charles' private lunch with Princess Kate

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