Princess Diana's brother Earl Spencer says he was sexually abused at boarding school

In an extract from his memoir, published in the Mail on Sunday, Earl Spencer said he was targeted by a female member of staff at Maidwell Hall, Northamptonshire in the 1970s.

Now 59, he alleges the abuse began when he was just 11 years old.

Maidwell Hall said it was "sobering" to learn of Earl Spencer's experiences.

The school said allegations of sexual abuse had been referred to a "local authority designated officer".

Earl Spencer attended Maidwell Hall between the ages of eight and 13.

In his new book A Very Private School, he alleges that a female staff member, whom he described as a "voracious paedophile", groomed and abused him and other young boys in their dormitory beds at night.

Earl Spencer said he had established that the employee now either lives abroad or is dead, the Mail reports.

He also alleged the school's then headmaster, John Porch, inflicted "brutal beatings" and he believed the teacher gained "sexual pleasure from the violence". Mr Porch died in January 2022, according to an obituary in his old college newsletter.

Earl Spencer said reliving his time at Maidwell had been an "absolutely hellish experience".

In a statement to the Mail, Maidwell School said: "It is difficult to read about practices which were, sadly, sometimes believed to be normal and acceptable at that time.

"Almost every facet of school life has evolved significantly since the 1970s. At the heart of the changes is the safeguarding of children and promotion of their welfare."

Earl Spencer now owns Althorp House - a 13,000-acre estate in Northamptonshire which has been in the Spencer family for 500 years and where Princess Diana is buried.

After his time at Maidwell, he attended Eton College.

-bbc