AFTER LOSING his great-grandmother and his great-aunt within two months, Prince William is determined not to lose touch with another elderly, albeit less publicly prominent relation: he has been seeing more of his grandmother, Mrs Frances Shand Kydd.

Mandrake can reveal that it was Frances, 66, who helped William over his recent "wobble" when he became disillusioned with his life at St Andrews. She supported his wish to move out of his hall of residence into a flat.

The increased contact between Mrs Shand Kydd and William has pleased the Spencer family who, since the death of the Princess of Wales, have always been concerned that the prince's upbringing was being controlled solely by the Windsors - even though Frances was named in Diana's will as his guardian.

Since William has been at St Andrews he has been in far greater touch with "Granny Frances" who, besides her bungalow on the remote Isle of Seil, has a house at Falkland, just half an hour's drive from the university. She also keeps in more regular contact with Prince Charles, and has been an overnight guest at Highgrove.

"William is incredibly fond of Frances and finds her robust advice immensely helpful," says a friend of the Spencer family. "Naturally William also loves his other grandmother but as she is, after all, the Queen, it's easier for him to ring Frances."

It is in this spirit that Frances has criticised Fox TV, the makers of a forthcoming film about how William has coped since the death of his mother in 1997, describing it as "intrusive and insensitive". She adds: "William has coped well with events that would be traumatic enough for any young person let alone having to cope with them in such a public way."