Frances Ruth Shand Kydd (previously Spencer, née Roche; 20 January 1936 – 3 June 2004) was the mother of Diana, Princess of Wales. She was the maternal grandmother of William, Prince of Wales and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, respectively first and fifth in the line of succession to the British throne. Born into British aristocracy, she was the daughter of Maurice Roche, 4th Baron Fermoy, and Ruth Roche, Baroness Fermoy, a confidante of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. Following her divorce from Viscount Althorp in 1969, and Diana's death in 1997, Shand Kydd devoted her later years to Catholic charity work after converting to Catholicism.

Early life

Frances Ruth Roche was born on 20 January 1936 at Park House, located on the royal estate at Sandringham in Norfolk. Her birth was on the same day as the death of King George V. Her father was Maurice Roche, 4th Baron Fermoy, a friend of King George VI and the elder son of the American heiress Frances Ellen Work and her first husband, the 3rd Baron Fermoy. Since birth, she held the style of The Honourable as the daughter of a baron. She was educated at Downham School in Essex.

Marriage and children

On 1 June 1954, she married John Spencer, Viscount Althorp (later the 8th Earl Spencer), at Westminster Abbey. Aged 18, she became the youngest woman to marry at Westminster Abbey since 1893. Their daughter Diana also recalled "seeing my father slap my mother across the face and I was hiding behind the door and she was crying." He was granted custody of their children by the courts after his former mother-in-law, Lady Fermoy, testified against her own daughter Frances.

Frances and Peter Shand Kydd were married on 2 May 1969 and lived on the Scottish island of Seil, where they bought an 18th-century farmhouse called Ardencaple, 10 kilometres from Oban. She divided her time between London, Seil and another sheep farm in Yass, New South Wales. On 14 July 1976, John Spencer, now the 8th Earl Spencer, married Raine, Countess of Dartmouth, daughter of the novelist Dame Barbara Cartland. Although Frances lived a quiet life, she was thrust into public view following the engagement of her daughter Diana to Prince Charles (later Charles III) on 24 February 1981. Frances and her second husband Peter separated in June 1988. a French woman who ran a champagne-importing business in London.

Later years

In 1996, she was banned from driving after being convicted of drunk driving, but denied she had a problem with alcohol. She and Diana quarrelled in May 1997, after Frances told Hello! magazine it was "absolutely wonderful" that Diana had lost her title of "Her Royal Highness" following her divorce from Charles. They were reportedly not on speaking terms at the time of Diana's death.

She spent her later years in solitude on Seil. She became a Catholic and devoted herself to Catholic charities.

Death and burial

Frances died at her home in Scotland on 3 June 2004, aged 68, following a long illness that included Parkinson's disease and brain cancer. Her funeral was held at St Columba's Cathedral in Oban on 10 June, attended by her children, sister and grandchildren, including Princes William (who gave a reading) and Harry. Their father, her former son-in-law, Charles, did not attend, as he was travelling to Washington to represent the Royal Family at the state funeral of the former US President Ronald Reagan the following day. Frances was buried in Pennyfuir Cemetery in Oban, Argyll and Bute.

Biography

In 2001, Maxine Riddington published a biographical book about her, entitled Frances: The Remarkable Story of Princess Diana's Mother.

Ancestry

References

Bibliography

  • Althorp House
  • Visit Scotland, Isle of Seil page