Charles Spencer (born 1964), the 9th Earl Spencer, is a British historian, author and former television journalist. He studied Modern History at Magdalen College, Oxford, before spending about a decade with NBC News, where he worked as an on-air correspondent for the Today programme. He later presented historical television programmes and developed a career as a narrative historian. Spencer is also the younger brother of Diana, Princess of Wales, and has lived at the family seat of Althorp in Northamptonshire. His historical writing tends to concentrate on dramatic episodes involving monarchy, war, political upheaval and survival, presented through detailed narrative and individual experience.
His books include Blenheim: Battle for Europe, an account of the Duke of Marlborough’s victory over France in 1704; Prince Rupert: The Last Cavalier, a biography of the prominent Royalist commander of the English Civil War; and Killers of the King, which follows the men responsible for the execution of Charles I and the pursuit of the regicides after the Restoration. To Catch a King reconstructs Charles II’s extraordinary escape after defeat at Worcester in 1651, while The White Ship examines the 1120 maritime disaster that killed William Ætheling, heir to Henry I, and helped create the succession crisis that led to the Anarchy. His earlier Althorp: The Story of an English House and The Spencer Family deal with his own family history. Spencer’s 2024 book A Very Private School is different from these historical works: it is a memoir examining his traumatic childhood experiences at boarding school. He also co-hosts The Rabbit Hole Detectives history podcast and contributed to The Rabbit Hole Book, which explores unusual and forgotten stories from history.
