- James Roche, 3rd Baron Fermoy
James Boothby Burke Roche, 3rd Baron Fermoy (
28 July 1852 –30 October 1920 ) was an Irish peer and MP in theBritish House of Commons of theUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland . He was the great-grandfather ofDiana, Princess of Wales .He was born at Twyford Abbey,
Middlesex in 1852, the son of Edmond Burke Roche, and his wife Eliza Caroline "née" Boothby. [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] He was educated atTrinity College, Cambridge .Mosley, Charles (ed.), "Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, 107th edition" (Burke's Peerage and Gentry LLC, 2003) vol. I p. 1414]He visited the
United States where he met and married the heiressFrances Work on22 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 on3 March 1891 atWilmington, Delaware ."The Times (London)" Friday, 27 March 1896, p. 7 col. F]They had four children, twin sons and two daughters:
*Eileen Burke (b. and d. 1882).
*Cynthia Burke (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 thematrilineal great-grandmother of American actorOliver Platt .
*Edmund Maurice Burke (15 May 1885 –8 July 1955 ), who was the grandfather ofDiana, Princess of Wales .
*Francis George Burke (15 May 1885 –30 October 1958 ), who died unmarried.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. ["The Times (London)" Saturday, 28 March 1896, p. 13 col. E] 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. ["The Times (London)", Monday, 30 March 1896; p. 7 col. F] He served one term and did not stand in the following general election in 1900.On
1 September 1920 he succeeded his brother asBaron Fermoy . Just two months later he died at Artillery Mansions,Westminster ,London . He was buried at St Marylebone cemetery,Finchley on3 November 1920 . [Cokayne, G. E., Gibbs, Vicary and Doubleday, H. A. "The Complete Peerage: Volume V" (St. Catherine Press, London, 1926) p. 303]tyles
*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 FermoyReferences
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