The Crown, the popular Netflix series about the British monarchy, has depicted the Princess of Wales’s mother, Frances Shand Kydd, as a cunning and ambitious woman who orchestrated her daughter’s marriage to the King. The show portrays Frances as a modern-day Mrs Bennet, the character from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice who is obsessed with finding wealthy husbands for her daughters.
In the fifth season of The Crown, which covers the period from 1982 to 1986, Frances is shown as a master manipulator who uses her connections and influence to arrange meetings between the young Princess and the then Prince of Wales. She also encourages the Princess to accept the Prince’s proposal, despite the obvious signs of his infidelity and lack of affection.
The show suggests that Frances had a personal motive for pushing her daughter into the royal marriage, as she wanted to regain her social status and prestige after her own divorce from John Spencer, the 8th Earl Spencer, in 1969. Frances had left her husband and four children for Peter Shand Kydd, a wealthy wallpaper heir, and faced ostracism and criticism from the aristocratic circles.
Frances Shand Kydd, the Princess of Wales’s mother, in 1997 Credit: Tim Graham/Getty Images
The Crown also implies that Frances had a strained relationship with her daughter, and that she was jealous and resentful of her fame and popularity. The show depicts Frances as a cold and distant mother who rarely visited or supported the Princess, especially after her separation from the Prince in 1992.
However, the portrayal of Frances in The Crown has been challenged by some of her friends and relatives, who claim that the show has exaggerated and distorted her role and personality. They argue that Frances was not a scheming or selfish mother, but a loving and caring one who wanted the best for her daughter.
They point out that Frances had a close bond with the Princess, and that they spoke on the phone almost every day. They also say that Frances was proud and supportive of the Princess’s humanitarian work and achievements, and that she was devastated by her death in 1997.
One of Frances’s friends, Lady Annabel Goldsmith, told The Telegraph that Frances was “a wonderful mother” who was “very fond” of the Prince of Wales. She said that Frances did not interfere or meddle in the Princess’s marriage, and that she was “horrified” by the portrayal of her in The Crown.
Another friend, Lady Elizabeth Anson, said that Frances was “a very good mother” who was “very close” to the Princess. She said that Frances was “very hurt” by the suggestion that she had arranged the Princess’s marriage, and that she had no idea that the Prince was involved with Camilla Parker Bowles.
Frances’s son, Charles Spencer, the 9th Earl Spencer, has also criticised The Crown for its inaccurate and unfair depiction of his mother. He said that the show had “a lot of invention” and that it was “very hard” for him to watch. He said that he was “passionate” about defending his mother’s reputation, and that he hoped that the viewers would “see past the fiction”.