Frances Shand Kydd

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Frances Ruth Burke Shand Kydd (born January 20, 1936 in Sandringham , Norfolk , England , † June 3, 2004 on Seil , Scotland ) was the mother of Diana, Princess of Wales .

Life

Frances Ruth Burke Roche was born on January 20, 1936 at Park House on the Royal Estate of Sandringham, Norfolk. Her parents were Maurice Roche, 4th Baron Fermoy (1885–1955) and Ruth Gill (1908–1993). As the daughter of a member of the British nobility, Frances Roche was addressed from birth to The Honorable . Frances Roche married Edward John Spencer, ten years her senior , Viscount Althorp (1924–1992), son and heir of Albert Spencer, 7th Earl Spencer and Lady Cynthia Hamilton, daughter of James Hamilton, in Westminster Abbey on June 1, 1954 , 3. Duke of Abercorn . Both Ruth Roche, Baroness Fermoy, and Cynthia Spencer, Countess Spencer, were ladies-in-waiting to the Queen Mother. Frances Roche received the courtesy title Viscountess Althorp through her marriage to John Spencer . The marriage produced five children:

  • Hon. Elizabeth Sarah Lavinia Spencer (born March 15, 1955), married Lady Sarah McCorquodale
  • Hon. Cynthia Jane Spencer (born February 11, 1957), married Jane Fellowes, Baroness Fellowes
  • Hon. John Spencer (* / † January 12, 1960), died ten hours after his birth
  • Hon. Diana Frances Spencer (July 1, 1961 - August 31, 1997), married Diana, Princess of Wales
  • Hon. Charles Edward Maurice Spencer (born May 20, 1964), the 9th Earl Spencer .

In 1967, Frances Spencer began an extramarital affair with the married wallpaper tycoon Peter Shand Kydd, whom she had met in the summer of 1966 at a London soiree. When her husband confronted her with his suspicions in September 1967, she asked him for a probationary separation. It proved difficult for Frances Spencer to gain the upper hand in the ensuing legal process, especially after Peter Shand Kydd was divorced from his wife and found guilty of adultery due to his relationship with Viscountess Althorp. The custody dispute over Lord and Lady Althorp's children was decided by John Spencer after Lady Ruth Fermoy had testified to the detriment of her daughter.

A month after their divorce in 1969, Frances Spencer married her new significant other, Peter Shand Kydd. The couple lived on the Scottish island of Seil until their separation in June 1988. The separation was followed by a divorce a short time later. Frances Shand Kydd spent her final years on rope, where she died in 2004 after a long illness at the age of 68.

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personal data
SURNAME Shand Kydd, Frances
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Roche, Frances Ruth Burke (maiden name); Spencer, Frances, Viscountess Althorp
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British nobles; Mother of Diana, Princess of Wales
DATE OF BIRTH January 20, 1936
PLACE OF BIRTH Sandringham, Norfolk, England
DATE OF DEATH June 3, 2004
Place of death Rope (scotland)