Robert and Sophie ffrench

Born on on 9 October 1832 at Monivea Castle in County Galway, Ireland, Robert Percy ffrench was the son of Robert ffrench and Katherine Eleanor née Browne.

He was educated at Rugby. He was with the British diplomatic service between 1852 and 1878. He was Secretary of Her Majesty’s Legation at Berne in 1868. In 1869 he became the acting Chargé d’Affaires to Madrid. He became Secretary of the Embassy to St Petersburg in 1872. He was appointed Secretary of the Embassy to Vienna in 1873 and he became the Chargé d’Affaires to Vienna in 1878.

In 1863 he married Sophie de Kindiakov, daughter of Alexander de Kindiakov. Their marriage produced one daughter, Kathleen Emily Alexandra ffrench, born on 20 June 1864.

Robert Percy ffrench died, aged 63, in Naples on 22 April 1896.

‘Mr Robert Percy ffrench, of Monivea Castle, who died last Wednesday at Naples of pneumonia, had been ill for some time, but it was only on Monday night that his life was considered to be in danger. The late Mr Percy ffrench was one of the best-known men in European society, and he had intimate friends in almost every capital upon the Continent. He had much experience of the world, was very generous, possessed great charm of manner, and was an admirable conversationalist. He spoke several languages, especially French, so perfectly that it was practically impossible to guess his nationality. Mr ffrench entered the Diplomatic Service in 1852, and retired while acting as Chargé d’Affaires in Vienna in 1878. He married, in 1863, Sophie, only child of Alexander de Kindiakoff, by whom he has left one daughter. The family of ffrench, originally de Frascinia, is of Norman origin. The death of the late Mr ffrench removes another landmark in the the society of our generation’ (Truth, 30 April 1896).

He was ‘one of the best-looking and most popular men in society. He married the daughter of a Russian nobleman, and leaves an only daughter’ (Dublin Daily Express, 27 April 1896).

Sophie ffrench died in 1902. [According to her daughter’s Russian Wikipedia page, she was addicted to morphine and she left her husband ‘after a few years.’ No source is given for this information.]

Photographed by Bayard and Bertall of Paris

[From an album compiled by Lady Augusta Frances Hoare, wife of Sir Henry Ainslie Hoare, 5th Baronet.]