Charles Spencer melts hearts as he prepares for 'new life' to arrive at Althorp

Charles Spencer is a father-of-seven, but with most of his brood now all grown-up and living away from their father, their 90-room home must be fairly quiet.

However, as you can see in the clip below, this is all set to change, as the brother of Princess Diana revealed his plans to adopt a puppy. In the heart-melting video, the Earl visited an animal shelter where he was immediately besieged by the playful pups who no doubt will enjoy what very well could be their new forever home.

Several of the pups jumped up at Charles with their boundless energy, while two closest to the Earl also started nibbling on his sleeve.

In his caption, Charles shared: "One of these darlings is joining me for a new life at Althorp in a few days. Can't wait!" Many of his followers loved the adorable clip with many imploring the Earl to adopt several of the dogs instead of just one.

The 59-year-old's youngest child is daughter Charlotte Diana, who he shares with wife Lady Karen Spencer and Charles shared an insight into their relationship during their annual Easter egg hunt.

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The youngster could be seen riding up to a gatepost on a white pony in front of the family home, Althorp House, and collecting an egg before circling to the other side and picking up another egg.

Dressed in pyjamas with riding boots, a black coat and matching hat, Charlotte looked back to the camera and joked: "I'm glad I didn't go bareback."

Revealinghow protective over his daughter he is, Charles explained: "I have an 11-year-old, I have many children, and my youngest one I do the school run with her in the morning and it's a hoot, she's really funny and fun.

"She's quite bored of me asking, 'Are there any strange teachers at school?' She sort of rolls her eyes and says, 'For goodness' sake, we've been through this,' but I will always be on guard."

Charles' concerns for his daughter's wellbeing came from his own experiences at boarding school with the Earl revealing in his memoir, A Very Private School, that he had been sexually abused by a teacher.

In an extract from his book that was serialised in the Mail on Sunday, he wrote: "There seemed to be an unofficial hierarchy among her prey… she chose one boy each term to share her bed and would use him for intercourse. Her control over mesmerised boys was total, for we were starved of feminine warmth and desperate for attention and affection."

In another extract from the book, Charles claimed he was beaten with the spikes of a cricket boot by the school's Latin master. He described reliving his experiences at the school as "an absolutely hellish experience", writing: "I've frequently witnessed deep pain, still flickering in the eyes of my Maidwell contemporaries. Many of us left Maidwell with demons sewn into the seams of our souls."

In response to the claims in the book, Maidwell Hall said it was "sorry" about the experiences Earl Spencer and some others had at the school.

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