The Diana Chronicles

by Tina Brown

The goal of the Fermoys’ coming-out ball for Frances and Mary the following year was to clinch marriage proposals. On May 21, 1953, they entertained 450 guests in the splendor of Londonderry House. “By two o’clock,” reported the Evening Standard, “eightsome reels and foursomes had made the ballroom bounce. By three o’clock the lights in the ballroom were switched off and guests danced in the darkness, illuminated only by the lights outside.” Lord Fermoy, in white tie and tails, opened the ball partnering the Queen Mother to the music of “It’s a Lovely Day Today.” When the tiny royal personage entered the ballroom at 11:15 P.M. wearing a pink and silver leaf-patterned organza gown and diamond tiara, the music stopped and all the women present dipped in a low, rustling curtsy. The glamour of it all was a deal-closer for the rising courtier Johnnie Spencer, who danced the night away with Frances in her white organza ball gown scattered with rhinestones. For him, there was no greater aphrodisiac than royal connections.