FRANCES SHEA can was criminal underworld boss Reggie Kray's first wife.
Get to know more about the story of Frances Shea and her connections to the Kray brothers.
Who was Frances Shea?
Frances Sheas was born on September 23, 1943, in Hoxton, London, to parents Elsie Shea – who was a seamstress, and father Frank Shea Sr – who was a woodworker.
She was of Irish descent and had a brother, Frank Jr, who worked as a driver for the Krays during the early 1960s.
Her father, besides being a woodworker, also ran the gambling at The Regency Club in Stoke Newington, where the Kray brothers were occasionally around.
Meanwhile, in 1960, Frances Shea was working a clerical job at The Strand after she had left school.
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How did Frances Shea meet Reggie Kray?
Frances met Reggie for the first time when she was 16, through her brother.
However, they became close in the 1960s, when they started a relationship at the start of the decade.
Reggie took Frances to the Astor Club in Mayfair's Berkeley Square and Jersey before proposing in 1961.
However, she was 18 and he was 27 and she thought that she was too young to get married already.
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They took a short break, and Frances had a brief relationship with 21-year-old Pete Whelan in May 1964.
She got back with Reggie who then took her further from the UK to Barcelona and Milan.
Reggie tried his luck again in February 1965 and proposed for the second time with Frances accepting.
How long was Frances Shea married to Reggie Kray for?
On April 19, 1965, Frances and Reggie tied the knot at St James The Great Church in Bethnal Green.
Frances was 22 years old while Reggie was now aged 31.
Their marriage wasn't formally dissolved and it only lasted for eight months.
What happened to Frances Shea?
Sadly, aged 23, on June 7, 1967, Frances Shea took her own life.
Her funeral was at the same church where she got married to Reggie, with her husband trying to give her the best goodbye he could.
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It is believed that Frances' death led Reggie to excessive drinking and his downfall, before him murdering Jack McVitie four months later.
Before going to prison, Reggie visited her grave, sometimes more than once a day.
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