Hon. Frances Ruth Roche

Notes:

Wikipedia Biography of Frances Ruth Roche

Frances Ruth Shand Kydd (n?e Roche, formerly Viscountess Althorp) (20 January 1936 ? 3 June 2004) was the first wife of John Spencer, 8th Earl Spencer and the mother of Diana, Princess of Wales. After two failed marriages and the deaths of two children, she devoted her later years to Roman Catholic charity work. Frances Ruth Roche was born in Park House, on the royal estate at Sandringham, Norfolk.[1] 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). On 1 June 1954, aged 18, Roche married John Spencer, Viscount Althorp (later the 8th Earl Spencer) at Westminster Abbey. She was then known as Viscountess Althorp (the name is pronounced Altrup).

The Althorps had five children:

Elizabeth Sarah Lavinia Spencer (19 March 1955), who married Neil Edmund McCorquodale, a distant cousin of Raine, Countess Spencer

Cynthia Jane Spencer later Baroness Fellowes (11 February 1957), who married Sir Robert Fellowes, later Baron Fellowes

John Spencer, who died within 10 hours of his birth on 12 January 1960

Diana Frances Spencer later Diana, Princess of Wales (1 July 1961? 31 August 1997), first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales

Charles Edward Maurice Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer (20 May 1964), who married Victoria Lockwood, then Caroline Freud (the latter formerly wife of Matthew Freud)

The British media made comparisons between Lady Althorp's and Diana's lives, because both were inexperienced young women who were thrust into the spotlight by marriage to much older men in higher stations to whom they were unfaithful. As with the marriage of the Prince and Princess of Wales, the marriage between Lord and Lady Althorp was not a happy one.

1) England & Wales, Birth Index, Jan Feb Mar 1936, 4b 344, Freedbridge Lynn, Norfolk

Family/Spouse: The Right Hon. Edward John Spencer, 8th Earl Spencer. Edward was born on 24 Jan 1924 in London, Middlesex, England; died on 29 Mar 1992 in London, Middlesex, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Diana Frances Spencer, Princess of Wales was born on 1 Jul 1961 in Norfolk, England; died on 31 Aug 1997 in Paris, France.

Notes:

Wikipedia Biography of Edmund Maurice Burke Roche

Roche was born in Chelsea, London, [1] the elder of twin sons of the Hon. James Roche (later Baron Fermoy) and his wife, Frances Ellen Work. He was educated at Harvard University, but returned to England on succeeding to his father's title in 1920. He rented Park House, Sandringham, Norfolk from the Royal Family and at the 1924 general election, he contested and won the local parliamentary constituency, King's Lynn, holding the seat until he stood down at the 1935 general election. [2][3] He was also elected the town's mayor in 1931. [4]

On 17 September 1931, Lord Fermoy married Ruth Sylvia Gill (the youngest daughter of Col. William Gill) at St. Devenick's, Bieldside, Aberdeenshire [1] and they had three children:

a) Hon. Mary Cynthia (b. 1934),
married
(1) Hon. Sir Anthony Berry (divorced 1966),
(2) Denis Geoghegan (divorced 1980),
(3) Michael Gunningham (divorced 1989)

b) Hon. Frances Ruth (b. 1936),
married
(1) Edward Spencer, Viscount Althorp (divorced 1969),
(2) Peter Shand Kydd

c) Hon. Edmund James Burke (b. 1939), later the 5th Baron Fermoy.

Lord Fermoy joined the Royal Air Force in 1939 at the start of World War II but when the incumbent Member of Parliament (MP) for King's Lynn was killed on active service in 1943, he resigned his commission and stood for re-election. He retired from politics when Parliament was dissolved for the 1945 general election. [2]

Lord Fermoy collapsed in a shop at King's Lynn, Norfolk in June 1955 and died three weeks later. [2] He was succeeded by his only son.

1) Williamson, D The Ancestry of Lady Diana Spencer In: Genealogist's Magazine, 1981; vol. 20 (no. 6) p. 192-199 and vol. 20 (no. 8) p. 281-282

2) The Times, Saturday, Jul 9, 1955; p. 8 col. D

3) Craig, F. W. S. (1983) [1969]. British parliamentary election results 1918-1949 (3rd edition ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.

4) The Borough Council of King's Lynn and West Norfolk

Edmund married Ruth Sylvia Gill, Baroness Fermoy in Scotland. Ruth was born on 2 Oct 1908 in Dalhebity, Bieldside, Aberdeenshire, Scotland; died on 6 Jul 1993 in London, Middlesex, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Wikipedia Biography of Ruth Sylva Gill

Lady Fermoy was born Ruth Sylvia Gill at her father's house, Dalhebity, Bieldside, Aberdeenshire, the daughter of Colonel William Smith Gill and his wife, Ruth. [1] She showed early promise as a pianist and studied under Alfred Cortot at the Paris Conservatoire in the 1920s. [2]

Her musical career was cut short when she met, and later married in 1931, the wealthy and much older Edmund Roche, 4th Baron Fermoy. Before he died in 1955, they had three children which included her middle child, Frances Ruth (the mother of Lady Diana Spencer). Lady Fermoy did play the piano in public occasionally after her marriage, most notably with Josef Krips at the Royal Albert Hall in 1950, and with Sir John Barbirolli and the Hall? Orchestra at King's Lynn in 1966.[3] She founded the King's Lynn Festival in 1951 and remained closely involved with the Festival for 25 years, persuading Queen Elizabeth to become its patron. [4]

In 1956, Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, appointed the Dowager Lady Fermoy an Extra Woman of the Bedchamber. The Queen Mother, being a widow herself, showed a preference for appointing widows to her household, and four years later Ruth, Lady Fermoy was promoted to Woman of the Bedchamber, a post she held for the next 33 years. [5]

The Queen Mother and Lady Fermoy became confidantes and it was largely supposed that they engineered the match between Charles, Prince of Wales and Lady Fermoy's granddaughter, Lady Diana Spencer. However, when asked about it, Lady Fermoy remarked, "You can say that if you like ? but it simply wouldn't be true". [6] It was also said that she counselled her granddaughter against the marriage. [7]

Lady Fermoy was a firm believer in the sanctity of marriage. In 1969, she testified against her own daughter's fitness as a mother, thus allowing Edward Spencer, Viscount Althorp to retain custody of their children after the couple's divorce. [2]

Lady Fermoy died at her home, 36 Eaton Square, London, [8] aged 84. It was reported that she was not on speaking terms with Diana when she died. [2]

1) Williamson, D The Ancestry of Lady Diana Spencer In: Genealogist's Magazine, 1981; vol. 20 (no. 6) pp. 192-199 and vol. 20 (no. 8) pp. 281-282
2) The Times (London), Thursday, 8 July 1993; p. 4 col. D and p. 19 col. A
3) Vickers, Hugo (2006). Elizabeth: The Queen Mother. Arrow Books/Random House. p. 337. ISBN 9780099476627.
4) History of the King's Lynn Festival
5) Mosley, C (ed.) Burke's Peerage, Baron

Notes:

Wikipedia Biography James Boothby Burke Roche

James Boothby Burke Roche, 3rd Baron Fermoy (28 July 1852 ? 30 October 1920) was an Irish peer and a Member of Parliament (MP) in the United Kingdom House of Commons. He was the great-grandfather of Diana, Princess of Wales.

He was born at Twyford Abbey, Middlesex in 1852, the son of Edmond Burke Roche, and his wife Eliza Caroline n?e Boothby.[1] He was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge.[2]

He visited the United States where he met and married the heiress Frances Ellen Work on 22 September 1880 at Christ Church, New York City. The marriage was not a success and they separated in December 1886. She was granted a divorce on the grounds of desertion on 3 March 1891 at Wilmington, Delaware.[3]

They had four children, twin sons and two daughters:

Eileen (b. and d. 1882)

Cynthia (10 April 1884 - 8 December 1966), who married firstly Arthur Scott Burden (d. June 1921) in 1906 and secondly Guy Fairfax Cary (d. 1950) in 1922. She is the matrilineal great-grandmother of American actor Oliver Platt.

Edmund Maurice Burke (15 May 1885 ? 8 July 1955), who was the grandfather of Diana, Princess of Wales.

Francis George Burke (15 May 1885 ? 30 October 1958), who died unmarried.[4]

In 1896 he stood as an Anti-Parnellite Nationalist candidate in the Kerry East by-election for a seat in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Nationalists had split into two factions after the party leader, Charles Stewart Parnell was named as co-respondent in a divorce. Roche was supported initially by both the Parnellites and the Anti-Parnellites, until it was revealed that he was himself divorced. During the campaign, Roche denied publicly that he knew of the divorce or that he had deserted his wife and children.[5] Although he went on to win the seat, the opposing Unionist candidate gained the highest vote ever recorded for a Unionist candidate in Kerry East.[6] He served one term and did not stand in the following general election in 1900.


On 1 September 1920 he succeeded his brother as Baron Fermoy. Just two months later he died at Artillery Mansions, Westminster, London. He was buried at St Marylebone Cemetery, Finchley on 3 November 1920.[7]
[edit]Styles

1852? 1856: James Boothby Burke Roche
1856? 1896: The Hon James Boothby Burke Roche
1896? 1900: The Hon James Boothby Burke Roche, MP
1900? 1920: The Hon James Boothby Burke Roche
1920: The Rt Hon James Boothby Burke Roche, 3rd Baron Fermoy


1) Williamson, D The Ancestry of Lady Diana Spencer In: Genealogist's Magazine, 1981; vol. 20 (no. 6) p. 192-199 and vol. 20 (no. 8) p. 281-282
2) Roche, the Hon. James Boothby Burke in Venn, J. & J. A., Alumni Cantabrigienses, Cambridge University Press, 10 vols, 1922? 1958.
3) The Times (London) Friday, 27 March 1896, p. 7 col. F
4) Mosley, Charles (ed.), Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, 107th edition (Burke's Peerage and Gentry LLC, 2003) vol. I p. 1414
5) The Times (London) Saturday, 28 March 1896, p. 13 col. E
6) The Times (London), Monday, 30 March 1896; p. 7 col. F
7) Cokayne, G. E., Gibbs, Vicary and Doubleday, H. A. The Complete Peerage: Volume V (St. Catherine Press, London, 1926) p. 303

James married Frances Eleanor "Ellen" Work on 22 Sep 1880 in New York City, New York County, New York. Frances (daughter of Franklin H. Work and Ellen Wood) was born on 27 Oct 1857 in New York City, New York County, New York; died on 26 Jan 1947 in New York City, New York County, New York. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Wikipedia Biography Frances Ellen Work

Born in New York City, she was a daughter of Franklin H. Work "Frank" (1819? 1911), a well-known stockbroker and prot?g? of Cornelius Vanderbilt, and his wife, Ellen Wood (1831? 1877). [1]

On September 22, 1880, at Christ Church, New York City, Frances Work married the Hon. James Boothby Burke Roche, who would later become the 3rd Baron Fermoy. They had four children: two daughters Cynthia Roche and Eileen, and twin sons Francis and Edmund. Edmund later became the 4th Baron Fermoy, and was the grandfather of Diana, Princess of Wales. Frances divorced Roche for desertion in 1891, before he had succeeded to the barony. Her lawyer was Thomas F. Bayard, former United States Secretary of State.[2]

On August 4, 1905, the Hon. Mrs. Burke Roche married Aurel de Batonyi, a Hungarian-born riding instructor and society horseman. When he had immigrated to the United States on the Majestic in 1891, Batonyi claimed he was a count. [3] It was also suggested that his real name was Arthur Cohn. [4] Frances sued de Batonyi for divorce two years after their marriage, allegedly because her father threatened to disinherit her if she continued to live with her husband. [4]

She was a prominent figure in the New York City and Newport, Rhode Island, social sets, and was friends with Mrs Reginald Vanderbilt. Her sister, Lucy Bond Work married Peter Cooper Hewitt, a son of New York City Mayor Abram Stevens Hewitt.
She died in the city of her birth at the age of 89. [1]

References

[1] Williamson, D. (1981) The Ancestry of Lady Diana Spencer In: Genealogist's Magazine vol. 20 (no. 6) p. 192-199 and vol. 20 (no. 8) pp. 281? 282.
[2] The Times (London) Friday, 27 March 1896, p. 7 col. F.
[3] United States Government. 1891 New York Ship's Arrivals Records Index. Washington, D.C.: National Archives. Series M237, Roll #571, July 8, 1891.
[4] Oakland Tribune, September 8 1907, pp. 17? 18.


PRI article, "Dollar Princesses"

Next week, Prince William will take Kate Middleton as his wife in what's being hailed, again, as the wedding of the century.

The pews will be filled with world leaders, other royal family and members of the British aristocracy.

Within that aristocracy will be a strong American connection. For many of their number are descendants of a generation of U.S. women. They were called the "dollar princesses."

The dollar princesses were a breed of very rich American girls who came over at the end of the 19th century to Britain and to Europe, looking for titles. And it was simple as that. It was cash in return for a title.

Daisy Goodwin has written novel, "The American Heiress," based on the lives of these women. Goodwin said newly wealthy Americans like the Vanderbilts had just about everything they wanted, except social status.

"Even though the Vanderbilts, for example, had more money than anybody, they weren't being asked to the nicest parties."

Consuelo Vanderbilt
The solution lay across the Atlantic in Britain. Dukes and earls, struggling with debt and dilapidated castles, were looking for wives with multi-million dollar dowries. The Vanderbilts 19-year-old daughter, Consuelo, married the Duke of Marlborough in 1895.
Goodwin said she was one of the first to make the journey, and the deal.

"When these American girls came over they were so much richer, so the men could hardly resist. And a quarter of the British aristocracy married American money in the period between 1890 and 1910. It's no exaggeration to say these dollar princesses saved the British aristocracy for a generation. They kept the stately homes of England going."

The phenomenon sparked a magazine called "Titled American," which Goodwin said was the "match.com" of its day.

The lives of the dollar princesses were closely followed in the U.S. press.

British men found them vivacious and independent. But for all their fame and considerable fortune, Goodwin said they failed to make fans out of one group ? the English women who suddenly lost their chance at nobility.

"They had kind of grown up from the nursery expecting to marry the Duke of This or the Earl of That, and that's what they were trained to do. And then suddenly, their career prospects were kind of jettisoned by some American girl from nowhere in their opinion who came in looking lovely but had no idea about how to dress, what to do, how to hold her fork or whatever and she would just pinch the most eligible bachelor from under these poor British girls' noses. And they hated it."

As in the much-watched case of Princesses Diana, many of the dollar princesses ended up in loveless marriages. That includes Diana's own great grandmother, Frances Work who was, in fact a dollar princess.

And so, Prince William also has stateside ancestry, thanks to the American obsession with British class and status. In some ways, said Goodwin, it marked the start of Anglo-mania.

"America had all the money but Britain had all the tradition and hey, that's something that hasn't really changed has it, you know. I would say that in America, there's probably more interest in the royal wedding than there is here even. And I'm amazed by that. But I think it's rather wonderful."

http://www.theworld.org/2011/04/a-look-back-at-the-dollar-princesse/

Notes:

Said to be a son of Jon Work and Sarah Duncan Boude.

Franklin married Ellen Wood about 1857 in New York. Ellen (daughter of John Wood and Eleanor Strong) was born on 18 Jul 1831 in Chillicothe, Ross County, Ohio; died on 22 Feb 1877 in New York City, New York County, New York. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]