Frances Shand Kydd
| Frances Shand Kydd | |
|---|---|
| Born | Frances Ruth Roche 20 January 1936 Park House, Sandringham, Norfolk, England |
| Died | 3 June 2004 (aged 68) Seil, Argyll and Bute, Scotland |
| Nationality | British |
| Known for | Mother of Diana, Princess of Wales |
| Title | The Honourable Frances Ruth Roche (1936–1954) Viscountess Althorp (1954–1969) The Honourable Frances Shand Kydd (1969–2004) |
| Spouse(s) | John Spencer, Viscount Althorp (1954–1969) Peter Shand Kydd (1969–1990) |
| Children | Lady Sarah McCorquodale Jane Fellowes, Baroness Fellowes The Hon. John Spencer Diana, Princess of Wales Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer |
| Parents | Edmund Roche, 4th Baron Fermoy Ruth Roche, Baroness Fermoy |
The Honourable Frances Shand Kydd (20 January 1936 – 3 June 2004) was the mother of Diana, Princess of Wales. Biographer Max Riddington, who was the writer of Frances: The Remarkable Story of Princess Diana's Mother, described Shand Kydd as a woman who was "certainly complicated" and also "funny, warm, intelligent, and energetic".[1] After Diana's death on 31 August 1997, Shand Kydd devoted the final years of her life to Roman Catholic charity work.
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Early life [edit]
Shand Kydd was born Frances Ruth Roche in Park House, on the royal estate at Sandringham, Norfolk.[2] Her father was Edmund Roche, 4th Baron Fermoy, a friend of King George VI and the elder son of the American heiress Frances Work and her first husband, the 3rd Baron Fermoy. Her mother, Ruth, Lady Fermoy DCVO, was a confidante and lady-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth (later the Queen Mother).[3]
Motherhood [edit]
On 1 June 1954, Shand Kydd married John Spencer, Viscount Althorp (later the 8th Earl Spencer) at Westminster Abbey. They had five children:
- Lady Sarah McCorquodale (19 March 1955), who married Neil Edmund McCorquodale, a nephew of Raine, Countess Spencer
- Jane Fellowes, Baroness Fellowes (11 February 1957), who married Baron Fellowes.
- The Honourable John Spencer, who died within 10 hours after his birth on 12 January 1960
- Diana, Princess of Wales (1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997), first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales
- Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer (20 May 1964), who married Victoria Lockwood, then Caroline Freud (née Hutton) (the latter formerly the wife of Matthew Freud)
The British media made comparisons between the lives of Shand Kydd and Diana because they were both inexperienced young women who were thrust into the spotlight by marriage to much older men in higher stations.[citation needed] Her marriage to Viscount Althorp was not a happy one and, in 1967, she left to be with Peter Shand Kydd, an heir to a wallpaper fortune whom she had met the year before. Subsequently, she was named "the other woman" in Janet Shand Kydd's divorce action against her husband.
A former official officer of Diana, Princess of Wales considered the inquest claims of a rift between Frances and the Princess to be "nonsense". This officer released letters about a strong and loving relationship that existed between Frances and her daughter. Diana had saved her mother from drowning and thought of her as her "best chum".[4]
Later years [edit]
On 14 July 1976, Viscount Althorp married Raine, Countess of Dartmouth, the daughter of novelist Barbara Cartland. He eventually won a bitter custody battle over Diana. Frances and Peter Shand Kydd were married on 2 May 1969 and lived on the remote Scottish island of Seil, but was forced into public view following the wedding of Diana to Prince Charles on 29 July 1981. Shand Kydd and her second husband separated in June 1988 after he left her for a younger woman.[5] She blamed the pressure of media attention for the breakdown of the marriage. 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 she told Hello! magazine that Diana was happy to lose her title of "Her Royal Highness" following her controversial divorce from Prince Charles. She was reportedly not on speaking terms with her daughter by the time of Diana's death.[6]
Following Diana's death, Shand Kydd made a point of visiting the family of Henri Paul, the driver of the Mercedes which Diana and her companion, Dodi Fayed, were in when it crashed in Pont de l'Alma tunnel in Paris, killing all three of them. She stated, "Strange though it may seem, my daughter's funeral was probably the proudest day of my life. Proud of her, proud of my elder daughters who were rock steady in their readings, and my only son who gave the ultimate tribute of brotherly love for her."[citation needed] In 2002, she testified at the trial of Diana's former butler, Paul Burrell, where she was forced to admit that she and Diana had been estranged for several months before Diana's death. She spent her later years in solitude on Seil. She became a Roman Catholic in 1994[7] and devoted herself to Catholic charities.[citation needed] She eventually became involved with the Handicapped Children's Trust, the Royal National Mission for Deep Sea Fishermen, the Mallaig and Northwest Fishermen's Association, and the National Search and Rescue Dogs Association.[8]
Death [edit]
Shand Kydd died in a Scottish hospital on 3 June 2004 following a long illness that included Parkinson's disease and brain cancer.[9] Her funeral at the Roman Catholic cathedral in Oban on 10 June was attended by many of her children and grandchildren, including Princes William (who gave a reading) and Harry. Their father, her former son-in-law, Charles, Prince of Wales, did not attend because he was on the way to another funeral—going to Washington to lead the British delegation at the state funeral of former US President Ronald Reagan the following day.
Lord St John of Fawsley, who was one of the friends of the members of the Spencer family, paid tribute to Frances. He spoke of her, "She was a very kind and caring person who loved her daughter, the Princess of Wales, very much. She found lasting peace and comfort in the Catholic Church.".[10]
Titles from birth to death [edit]
- The Honourable Frances Roche (20 January 1936–1 June 1954)
- Viscountess Althorp (1 June 1954–15 April 1969)
- Frances, Viscountess Althorp (15 April 1969–2 May 1969)
- The Honourable Mrs Shand Kydd (2 May 1969–3 June 2004)
See also [edit]
- Diana, Princess of Wales, Frances Shand Kydd's daughter
- Maxine Riddington, author of the biography Frances
References [edit]
 |
This article includes a list of references, but its sources remain unclear because it has insufficient inline citations. (June 2009) |
- ^ "Tragic life of Frances Shand Kydd". Mail Online (UK). 3 June 2004.
- ^ England & Wales, Birth Index, Jan-Feb-Mar 1936, 4b 344, Freedbridge Lynn, Norfolk
- ^ "Frances Shand Kydd". The Telegraph. 4 June 2004. Retrieved 27 April 2011.
- ^ "Family rift? Nonsense-Diana saved her mother from drowning and was her 'best chum'". Mail Online (UK). 21 January 2008.
- ^ "Frances Shand Kydd". The Telegraph. 4 June 2004. Retrieved 5 May 2012.
- ^ Milmo, Cahal (2002-10-25). "Diana did not talk to me in final months, admits her mother". The Independent. Retrieved 2009-06-27.
- ^ "Tragic life of Frances Shand Kydd". Mail Online (UK). 3 June 2004.
- ^ "Frances Shand Kydd". The Telegraph. 4 June 2004. Retrieved 5 May 2012.
- ^ "PRINCESS DIANA'S MOTHER DIES AFTER A LONG ILLNESS". HELLO! magazine (UK).
- ^ "Wills and Harry mourn grandmother death". Mail Online (UK). 4 June 2004.
External links [edit]
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- 1936 births
- 2004 deaths
- British courtesy viscountesses
- Cancer deaths in Scotland
- Converts to Roman Catholicism from Anglicanism
- Daughters of barons
- Deaths from brain tumor
- Deaths from Parkinson's disease
- English people of American descent
- English people of Irish descent
- English people of Scottish descent
- English Roman Catholics
- People from King's Lynn and West Norfolk (district)
- Spencer-Churchill family
- People from Argyll and Bute
- Seil
