Frances Manners, Duchess of Rutland

Frances Helen Sweeny was born on 19 June 1937 at Beaumont House, a nursing home in Marylebone Lane, London, to American amateur golfer, socialite and businessman Charles Francis Sweeny and his wife, Scottish debutante Margaret Whigham. Her mother had suffered eight miscarriages and given birth to a stillborn daughter prior to her birth. She was baptised in the Catholic Church on 21 July 1937 at the Brompton Oratory. She had one younger brother, Brian Charles Sweeny (1940–2021). Her parents divorced in 1947. Her mother subsequently married the 11th Duke of Argyll in 1951 and scandalously divorced him in 1963. Frances and her brother were largely raised by their mother's cook. She attended finishing school in Florence and Paris and was acclaimed "debutante of the year" in 1955. ==Marriage and family==

On 15 May 1958, Sweeny married Charles Manners, 10th Duke of Rutland, considered one of Britain's most eligible bachelors, at Caxton Hall. She wore a pink organza cocktail dress by Norman Hartnell. ==In popular culture==

Frances is portrayed by Phoebe Farnham in A Very British Scandal, a historical drama television miniseries portraying her mother's divorce from the Duke of Argyll in 1963. ==References==