Edward John Spencer (1924 - 1992)

Born 24 Jan 1924 in London, England, United Kingdom

Ancestors

Husband of Frances Ruth (Roche) Shand Kydd — married 1 Jun 1954 (to 1969) in Westminster Abbey, London, England

Husband of Raine (McCorquodale) Spencer — married 14 Jul 1976 in Caxton Hall, London, England

Descendants

Died 29 Mar 1992 at age 68 in Wellington Hospital, London, England, United Kingdom

Problems/Questions Profile managers: Jo Fitz-Henry [send private message], Chet Spencer [send private message], Lindsey Bowling [send private message], and Douglas Masterson [send private message]

Biography

Viscount John Spencer was a member of the aristocracy in British Isles.

Earl EDWARD JOHN SPENCER Birth: Jan. 24, 1924 Death: Mar. 29, 1992

British Nobility. Edward John Spencer was the Eighth Earl Spencer of Althorp and father of Diana, Princess of Wales. He was educated at Eton and Sandhurst. He had been an equerry (attendant) to King George VI, father of Queen Elizabeth, from 1950-1952, and to the Queen herself in the first two years of her reign. He married the Hon. Frances Burke Ruth Roche in 1954 and the union produced five children: Sarah McCorquodale, Jane Fellows (wife of the Queen's private secretary, Sir Robert), John (who died within 24 hours of his birth), Diana, and Charles (who became the Ninth Earl of Spencer upon his father's death). Edward and Frances had a twelve-year age difference, the same age gap that would occur with their daughter Diana on her marriage to Charles, Prince of Wales in 1981). They divorced in 1969, amidst much publicity and bad feelings and the fact that Frances's own mother Ruth, Lady Fermoy (who was a woman of the bedchamber to Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother) testified against her in court. It was reported that because of Lady Fermoy's testimony that Edward (then known as Viscount Althorp) was given custody of the children. His second wife was Raine, Countess of Dartmouth, daughter of romance novelist Barbara Cartland. It is well-documented how much the Earl's children did not like their stepmother (they referred to her as "Acid Raine") but Raine nursed him through a massive stroke he suffered in the late-1970's, the effects of which he was still feeling when he made the 3-1/2 minute walk up the nave at Saint Paul's Cathedral to give Diana away on July 29, 1981. The Spencer family can trace their lineage to Charles II and James II. The family fortune was made on 16th-century wool trading and it was because of that fortune that the family has had close ties with the British royal house ever since, but the family did not have the chance to marry into the royal house until the marriage of Diana in 1981. The Spencers almost married royalty in the early-1700's when the first Lady Diana Spencer (1710-1735) nearly married Frederick, Prince of Wales. The match was pushed by Diana's grandmother, Sarah Ferguson, but the union was called off by the wishes of King George II. In 1765, the Spencer title was created. Upon the death of his father, the 7th Earl of Spencer (born Albert Edward John, known as "Johnny") in 1975, Edward inherited the massive Althorp estate in Northamptonshire, in the English Midlands, built in 1508. He was proud of his ancestry and the connections it brought, but he endured negative publicity and pressure from his family when he sold family heirlooms from Althorp as a way of raising money for the estate's upkeep. According to the Times of London in their obituary of the Earl, "Althorp contains one of the largest private art collections in Europe, although not perhaps the most eclectic." He was said to have driven from Northamptonshire to London when he learned of the birth of Prince William in 1982 and he shouted from the balcony of the estate to the last of the day's visitors in 1984 on the birth of Prince Harry. He died at Humana Hospital in London of a heart attack. (bio by: Donna Di Giacomo)

Family links:

Spouse:

Frances Ruth Burke Roche Shand Kydd (1936 - 2004)*

Children:

Diana Spencer (1961 - 1997)*

Edward John VIII Spencer. Given Name: Edward John VIII. Surname: Spencer. A Given name was found in addition to a first name in the NAME tag. Edward John Spencer

United States, GenealogyBank Obituaries

Deceased Name Edward John Spencer Titles and Terms 8th Earl Event Type Obituary Event Date 14 Apr 1992 Event Place Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States Gender Male Age 68 Relationship to Deceased Deceased Birth Date 24 Jan 1924 Death Date Apr 1992 Death Place London, , England Newspaper Journal Gazette, The

Spouse and Children Diana Daughter Female Charles Son Male Lady Sarah Mccorquodale Daughter Female Lady Sarah Mccorquodale Daughter Female Frances Roche Wife Female Raine Legg Wife Female Extended Family Dame Barbara Cartland Mother-In-Law Female

No biography yet.^[1] Can you add information or sources?

Sources

1. ↑ Spencer-13010 was created by Evelyn McKelvey through the import of My Family File-WEIR-HIBBARD.ged on Sep 18, 2016. This comment and citation should be deleted after a short biography has been added and primary sources have been cited.

"United States, GenealogyBank Obituaries, 1980-2014," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVR1-XHKY : 14 September 2016), Edward John Spencer, Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States, 14 Apr 1992; from "Recent Newspaper Obituaries (1977 - Today)," database, GenealogyBank.com (http://www.genealogybank.com : 2014); citing Journal Gazette, The, born-digital text.

• Source: S42 Author: Ancestry.com Title: Public Member Trees Publication: Name: Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2006;; Repository: #R1
• Repository: R1 Name: www.ancestry.com Address: E-Mail Address: Phone Number:
• Source: S-1938396353 Repository: #R-1938398764 Title: Ancestry Family Trees Publication: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com. Original data: Family Tree files submitted by Ancestry members. Note: This information comes from 1 or more individual Ancestry Family Tree files. This source citation points you to a current version of those files. Note: The owners of these tree files may have removed or changed information since this source citation was created. Page: Ancestry Family Trees Note: Data: Text: https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/tree/26867133/family
• Repository: R-1938398764 Name: Ancestry.com Address: http://www.Ancestry.com Note:
• Ancestry.com

• England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:CN67-RN6Z : 18 September 2020), Edward John Spencer, 1924.
• "England and Wales Birth Registration Index, 1837-2008," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QV3D-BNNQ : 2 October 2014), Edward J Spencer, 1924; from "England & Wales Births, 1837-2006," database, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : 2012); citing Birth Registration, Paddington, London, England, citing General Register Office, Southport, England.

• England and Wales Marriage Registration Index, 1837-2005," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVDJ-S1C6 : 8 October 2014), Frances R B Roche and null, 1954; from "England & Wales Marriages, 1837-2005," database, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : 2012); citing 1954, quarter 2, vol. 5C, p. 585, Westminster, London, England, General Register Office, Southport, England.

• "England and Wales Death Registration Index 1837-2007," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVZC-FWWC : 4 September 2014), Edward John Earl Spencer, Mar 1992; from "England & Wales Deaths, 1837-2006," database, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : 2012); citing Death Registration, Westminster, London, England, General Register Office, Southport, England.
• https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/3210/edward-john-spencer

• http://www.thepeerage.com/p10089.htm#c100886.1
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Spencer,_8th_Earl_Spencer