Frances Ellen Work

Frances Ellen Work (October 27, 1857 – January 26, 1947) was an American heiress and socialite. She was a great-grandmother of Diana, Princess of Wales, and her great-great-grandchildren include the Duke of Cambridge, Prince Harry, and the American actor Oliver Platt.

Biography

Born in New York City, she was a daughter of Franklin H. Work (1819–1911), a well-known stockbroker and protégé of Cornelius Vanderbilt, and his wife, Ellen Wood (1831–1877).

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 maternal 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.

On August 4, 1905, the Hon. Mrs. Burke Roche married Aurel de Batonyi, a Hungarian-born riding instructor and society horseman. When he immigrated to the United States on the White Star liner Majestic in 1891, Batonyi had claimed he was a count. It was also suggested that his real name was Arthur Cohn. 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.