Hon. Frances Ruth Roche

1936 - 2004  (68 years)

• Name	Frances Ruth Roche  [1, 2]
  Prefix	Hon.
  Birth	20 Jan 1936	Norfolk, England   [1, 2]
  Gender	Female
  Death	2 Jun 2004	England, United Kingdom   [1]
  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
  Person ID	I36901	Strong Family Tree
  Last Modified	17 Aug 2014

  
  

  Father	Edmund Maurice Burke Roche, 4rth Baron Femoy,   b. 15 May 1885, Chelsea, Middlesex, England d. 8 Jul 1955, Norfolk, England (Age 70 years)
  Mother	Ruth Sylvia Gill, Baroness Fermoy,   b. 2 Oct 1908, Dalhebity, Bieldside, Aberdeenshire, Scotland d. 6 Jul 1993, London, Middlesex, England (Age 84 years)
  Marriage	Scotland   [2]
  Family ID	F11367	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	The Right Hon. Edward John Spencer, 8th Earl Spencer,   b. 24 Jan 1924, London, Middlesex, England d. 29 Mar 1992, London, Middlesex, England (Age 68 years)
  Marriage	Y  [2]
  Children	1. Diana Frances Spencer, Princess of Wales,   b. 1 Jul 1961, Norfolk, England d. 31 Aug 1997, Paris, France (Age 36 years)
  Family ID	F11368	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	28 Apr 2012

  
  

• Event Map

  Birth - 20 Jan 1936 - Norfolk, England  = Link to Google Earth

  
  

• Sources

  [S819] Wikipedia Article. [S408] Strong Family Association of American Website, (http://strongfamilyofamerica.org/ Former address: http://sss.geocities.com/sfaapage).