Diana Mitford
| Diana Mitford | |
|---|---|
Diana, Lady Mosley
|
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| Born |
Diana Freeman-Mitford 17 June 1910 Belgravia, Westminster, England |
| Died | 11 August 2003 (aged 93) Paris, France |
| Resting place | St Mary's Church, Swinbrook, Oxfordshire, England |
| Citizenship | British |
| Occupation | Author, reviewer |
| Known for | Mitford sister who married Sir Oswald Mosley, leader of the British Union of Fascists, association with Adolf Hitler and literary critic and author. |
| Title | The Honourable Lady Mosley |
| Spouse(s) | Bryan Guinness (1929–1932) Sir Oswald Mosley (1936–1980) |
| Children | Jonathan Guinness Desmond Guinness Alexander Mosley Max Mosley |
| Parent(s) | David Bertram Ogilvy Freeman-Mitford, 2nd Baron Redesdale Sydney Mitford |
| Relatives | Sisters: Nancy (deceased) Pamela (deceased) Unity (deceased) Jessica (deceased) Deborah (deceased) Brother: Tom (deceased) |
Diana, Lady Mosley (17 June 1910 – 11 August 2003), born Diana Freeman-Mitford and usually known as Diana Mitford, was one of Britain's noted Mitford sisters. She was first married to Bryan Walter Guinness, heir to the barony of Moyne, and upon her divorce from him married Sir Oswald Mosley, 6th Baronet, of Ancoats, leader of the British Union of Fascists. Her second marriage, in 1936, took place at the home of Joseph Goebbels, with Adolf Hitler as guest of honour. Subsequently, her involvement with Fascist political causes resulted in three years' internment during the Second World War. She later moved to Paris and enjoyed some success as a writer. In the 1950s she contributed diaries to Tatler and edited the magazine The European. In 1977 she published her autobiography, A Life of Contrasts, and two more biographies in the 1980s. She was also a regular book reviewer for Books & Bookmen and later at The Evening Standard in the 1990s. She caused controversy when she appeared on Desert Island Discs in 1989. A family friend, James Lees-Milne, wrote of her beauty, "She was the nearest thing to Botticelli's Venus that I have ever seen".
Diana Mitford was the fourth child and third daughter of David Freeman-Mitford, 2nd Baron Redesdale (1878–1958, son of Algernon Freeman-Mitford, 1st Baron Redesdale), and his wife, Sydney (1880–1963), daughter of Thomas Gibson Bowles, MP. She was a first cousin of Clementine Churchill, second cousin of Angus Ogilvy, and first cousin, twice removed, of Bertrand Russell. Mitford was born in Belgravia and raised in the country estate of Batsford Park, then from the age of 10 at the family home, Asthall Manor, in Oxfordshire, and later at Swinbrook House, a home her father had built in the village of Swinbrook. She was educated at home by a series of governesses except for a six-month period in 1926 when she was sent to a day school in Paris. In childhood, her younger sisters Jessica Mitford ("Decca") and Deborah Cavendish, 11th Duchess of Devonshire ("Debo"), were particularly devoted to her.
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