Frances Shea grew up in Bethnal Green, East London, the daughter of Frank Shea, who ran gambling operations at the Regency Club in Stoke Newington. It was there, at the club, that she crossed paths with Reggie Kray. Along with his twin brother Ronnie, Reggie was one of the most feared men in the East End, running organized crime across London throughout the 1950s and 1960s. Frances was just sixteen years old at the time. Reggie was twenty-seven.
Frances Shea and gangster Reggie Kray (third and fourth from left) with friends at a London nightclub, 1962
Despite the age gap and the shadow of Reggie’s criminal world, the two were drawn to each other. In 1961, Reggie proposed to Frances. She turned him down, feeling too young for marriage. He didn’t walk away. Even from prison, he wrote her letters. Four years later, he asked again — and this time, Frances said yes.
Frances Shea and Gangster Reggie Kray at a London nightclub, 1962Frances Shea and Gangster Reggie Kray at a London nightclub, 1962Frances Shea and Gangster Reggie Kray at a London nightclub, 1962Frances Shea and gangster Reggie Kray with friends at a London nightclub, 1962Frances Shea and gangster Reggie Kray with friends at a London nightclub, 1962
The couple spent time together in the years before their wedding, traveling and being photographed at nightclubs across London. These early photos show Frances as a young, striking woman — stylish and poised, often smiling beside Reggie.
Reg and Francis sunbathing in 1962, in Southern SpainYoung Frances Shea, wife of gangster Reggie Kray, 1962Reg Kray and Francis pose for a group photo with two unknown people, circa 1963, in Tangier, Morocco
By November 1964, the couple were photographed again on holiday in southern Spain, relaxed and seemingly at ease. These images stand in sharp contrast to what lay ahead.
A dressed-down Reggie, in unbuttoned shirt and sandals, takes a walk with his wife Frances while holiday in November 1964 in southern Spain
(l-r) Johnny Squibb (very good friend of the Krays, particularly Reg), Reggie Kray and Frances Kray in Nov 1964 in Southern Spain
Frances Shea taken by Reggie Kray while on holiday in November 1964 in southern SpainReggie (left) and his young wife Frances on holiday together in November 1964 in southern SpainReggie Kray and wife Frances sunbathing on the beach in November 1964 in southern Spain
In April 1965, just days before their wedding, Reggie and his brother Ronnie were acquitted of all charges of demanding money with menaces. The pair celebrated outside the family home on Valance Road, Frances at Reggie’s side.
Reggie Kray and Frances Shea outside the Kray home in Valance Road after he and Ronnie are acquitted of all charges of demanding money with menaces, 5th April 1965Reggie Kray and Frances Shea outside the Kray home in Valance Road after he and Ronnie are acquitted of all charges of demanding money with menaces, 5th April 1965Reggie Kray and Frances Shea outside the Kray home in Valance Road after he and Ronnie are acquitted of all charges of demanding money with menaces, 5th April 1965
On April 20th, 1965, Reggie and Frances married at St. James’s Church in Bethnal Green. Frances’s parents opposed the marriage. The first priest refused to perform the ceremony because of Reggie’s criminal reputation. A second priest agreed to officiate. The wedding was grand — attended by both celebrities and criminal figures from the Krays’ world.
Frances Shea and gangster Reggie Kray on their wedding day, April 20th, 1965Frances Shea and gangster Reggie Kray on their wedding day, April 20th, 1965Frances Shea and gangster Reggie Kray on their wedding day, April 20th, 1965Frances Shea and gangster Reggie Kray on their wedding day, April 20th, 1965Frances Shea and gangster Reggie Kray on their wedding day, April 20th, 1965Frances Shea and gangster Reggie Kray on their wedding day, April 20th, 1965Frances Shea and gangster Reggie Kray on their wedding day, Ronnie Kray on the left, April 20th, 1965Frances Shea and gangster Reggie Kray on their wedding day, Ronnie Kray on the left, April 20th, 1965Frances Shea and gangster Reggie Kray on their wedding day, Ronnie Kray on the left, April 20th, 1965Frances Shea and gangster Reggie Kray on their wedding day, April 20th, 1965Frances Shea and gangster Reggie Kray on their wedding day, April 20th, 1965Frances Shea and gangster Reggie Kray on their wedding day, April 20th, 1965Frances Shea and gangster Reggie Kray on their wedding day, Ronnie Kray on the right, April 20th, 1965Frances Shea and gangster Reggie Kray on their wedding day, Ronnie Kray on the right, April 20th, 1965Frances Shea on her wedding day, April 20th, 1965Frances Shea and gangster Reggie Kray on their wedding day, Ronnie Kray on the right, April 20th, 1965Frances Shea on her wedding day, April 20th, 1965
Frances Shea on her wedding day, April 20th, 1965
Frances Shea on her wedding day, April 20th, 1965
Frances Shea on her wedding day, April 20th, 1965
The couple honeymooned in Athens, Greece, visiting the Acropolis and posing for photographs that gave no outward sign of the trouble already building beneath the surface.
Frances Shea and Gangster Reggie Kray On Their Honeymoon In Greece, 1965
Frances Shea and Reggie Kray on their honeymoon at the Acropolis, Greece, April 1965
Frances Shea and Reggie Kray on their honeymoon at the Acropolis, Greece, April 1965
Reggie Kray and Frances Shea on their honeymoon in Athens, Greece, April 1965
Two months after the wedding, Frances left Reggie and moved back in with her parents. The marriage had been defined by physical and emotional abuse. On one documented occasion, Reggie cut his own hand and forced Frances to watch the blood drip. Struggling with severe depression, she attempted suicide by overdosing on barbiturates. Reggie refused to accept the end of the relationship, and by 1967, they had reconciled — though they no longer lived together. A second honeymoon in Ibiza that summer was planned but never happened.
Frances Shea and gangster Reggie Kray on holiday in Jersey, 1960sFrances Shea and gangster Reggie Kray on holiday in Jersey, 1960sFrances Shea and gangster Reggie Kray on holiday in Jersey, 1960s
On June 7th, 1967, Frances Shea died from an overdose of sleeping pills. She was twenty-three years old. Reggie paid for her funeral, which included a floral wreath over six feet tall spelling out her name. Her parents told Reggie that Frances’s final wish had been to be buried under her maiden name. He refused, insisting she be buried as Frances Kray and dressed in her white satin wedding gown. Frances’s mother quietly persuaded the undertaker to dress the body in tights and a slip beneath the dress, determined to honor her daughter’s wishes as much as she could.
The funeral card photo of Frances Shea, 1967
Reggie visited Frances’s grave multiple times before his arrest later that year for the murder of Jack McVitie, a minor criminal. He received a life sentence with a minimum term of thirty years. Decades later, when he was permitted to attend his brother Charlie’s funeral in 2000, he made a point of visiting Frances’s grave and kissing the tombstone. In prison, Reggie converted to Christianity, took up painting, and wrote several books, including his autobiography, Born Fighter.
They were complete phonies. The same kind of nightclub owners you’ll find around the world, tending to be seedy. The British media ran with their legend as Underworld figures even though they weren’t even gangsters. I’ve watched their documentaries and read about them. Comparatively, they are tame jokes.
This morning I took a taxi in London and the driver could have done Ron’s voice over… It was obvious that having just visited the Tower of London, where the Krays were jailed as civilians, and Madame Tussauds, where the Krays are on display, I was thinking of the Krays. He mentioned he grew up in the krays neighborhood where they conducted business, and we talked about the krays. According to him, krays were respected by the community the same way Pablo Escobar was. In essence, they bought neighborhood loyalty with money, employment, and employment in the neighborhood. He said he couldn’t leave the neighborhood because rival gangs would hear his accent and assume he supported or worked for the krays. Definitely not Al Capone or Pablo Escobar, but for their short time they turned the east end on its head… just my opinion.
They were both sadistic psychopathic killers who liked sex with underage boys along with their wealthy posh old friends, and one was a murderer too, but he was a closet homosexual who tried to fake it but failed. Oh, and don’t forget that they loved their dear old mum. Both of them were not master criminals. Most movies about them are old bollocks.
John Pearson claimed this in The Profession of Violence. Ronnie had extensive access to him, and it was agreed that the details would not be revealed until both men were deceased. Before she died in 1967, Frances Shea had said something similar to a friend. Reggie is believed to have killed her for a long time. Although we will never know for sure, some people spoke out after Ronnie and Reggie’s deaths to say he was either jealous or silencing her after she talked about the brothers.
I’ve seen a documentary about him and that other creep, Lord Boothby, it would turn your stomach, called the gangster and the peer or something similar.
They turned out to be mostly myths. They became famous due to their association with celebrities and their nightclub at the time, which led to their reputation and lore. Neither of them were the bosses of all of London. They were the first celebrity gangsters in the UK. They’d have an IG and a podcast if they were still around.
They were tough street kids. They were both amateur boxers. One of them was violently psychotic (and usually off his medication). Based on the documentaries I’ve seen, they were self-proclaimed gangsters who killed a pretty small number of people (3-5, depending on who tells the stories) and made their living through running clubs. It is not nearly as diverse or deadly as the Italian mafia.
Yeah I think ur right, kind dumb how in movies they’re portrayed as ultra powerful old school bosses when they were glorified gangsters who touched little boys. I could be wrong but pretty sure they weren’t nearly as influential as media portrays
They were absolute psychopaths and the world’s a better place without them.
They were complete phonies. The same kind of nightclub owners you’ll find around the world, tending to be seedy. The British media ran with their legend as Underworld figures even though they weren’t even gangsters. I’ve watched their documentaries and read about them. Comparatively, they are tame jokes.
Yes, the media has exaggerated their size.
This morning I took a taxi in London and the driver could have done Ron’s voice over… It was obvious that having just visited the Tower of London, where the Krays were jailed as civilians, and Madame Tussauds, where the Krays are on display, I was thinking of the Krays. He mentioned he grew up in the krays neighborhood where they conducted business, and we talked about the krays. According to him, krays were respected by the community the same way Pablo Escobar was. In essence, they bought neighborhood loyalty with money, employment, and employment in the neighborhood. He said he couldn’t leave the neighborhood because rival gangs would hear his accent and assume he supported or worked for the krays. Definitely not Al Capone or Pablo Escobar, but for their short time they turned the east end on its head… just my opinion.
They were both sadistic psychopathic killers who liked sex with underage boys along with their wealthy posh old friends, and one was a murderer too, but he was a closet homosexual who tried to fake it but failed. Oh, and don’t forget that they loved their dear old mum. Both of them were not master criminals. Most movies about them are old bollocks.
They reportedly had sex with each other multiple times as teenagers
What? Are you sure. Please give me the source. Asking for a friend
John Pearson claimed this in The Profession of Violence. Ronnie had extensive access to him, and it was agreed that the details would not be revealed until both men were deceased. Before she died in 1967, Frances Shea had said something similar to a friend. Reggie is believed to have killed her for a long time. Although we will never know for sure, some people spoke out after Ronnie and Reggie’s deaths to say he was either jealous or silencing her after she talked about the brothers.
Did you know them both then? Everyone comments on their life etc, and the Kray twins died before most of these commentators were born.
They weren’t the most feared or the richest, they just loves the attention and fame.
They look like discount Robert Deniro’s
I’ve seen a documentary about him and that other creep, Lord Boothby, it would turn your stomach, called the gangster and the peer or something similar.
They were driven out of Manchester by the Quality Street Gang. The Kray twins were far from the top boys in the UK, despite their legendary status
Their fame was primarily due to their desire for fame, and they were basically celebrity gangsters.
I’m going against everyone’s opinion by saying that I love the story of the twins.
They turned out to be mostly myths. They became famous due to their association with celebrities and their nightclub at the time, which led to their reputation and lore. Neither of them were the bosses of all of London. They were the first celebrity gangsters in the UK. They’d have an IG and a podcast if they were still around.
They were tough street kids. They were both amateur boxers. One of them was violently psychotic (and usually off his medication). Based on the documentaries I’ve seen, they were self-proclaimed gangsters who killed a pretty small number of people (3-5, depending on who tells the stories) and made their living through running clubs. It is not nearly as diverse or deadly as the Italian mafia.
Didn’t one of the twins like touching little boys? Or was that both of them
I believe it was Ronnie Kray (the one who usually wore glasses) who was into that. Although I, admittedly, could be wrong.
Yeah I think ur right, kind dumb how in movies they’re portrayed as ultra powerful old school bosses when they were glorified gangsters who touched little boys. I could be wrong but pretty sure they weren’t nearly as influential as media portrays