Diana Mitford (later Lady Mosley)
(1910-2003), Nazi sympathiser and author; former wife of Hon. Bryan Guinness, and later wife of Sir Oswald Mosley, 6th Bt; daughter of 2nd Baron RedesdaleDiana Mosley (née Freeman-Mitford, later Guinness), Lady Mosley
Sitter in 24 portraits
The third of six daughters of Baron Redesdale, Mosley's controversial political beliefs would lead to her eventual exile from England. Married at 18 to the poet and playwright Bryan Guinness, the couple played host to the Bright Young Things gatherings of the 1920s. In 1932 she left Guinness for the leader of the British Union of Fascists Oswald Mosley. She attended the first Nuremberg rally with her sister, the Nazi sympathiser Unity Mitford in 1934 and two years later Adolph Hitler would attend her secret marriage to Mosley. Considered a danger to national security, she was imprisoned at Holloway prison for 3 years and placed under house arrest till 1949. While living in France, Mosley edited the fascist cultural magazine The European and wrote regularly for Tatler and The Times. In 1977 she published her memoirs A Life of Contrasts.
by Unknown photographer
bromide print, circa 1914
NPG x27956
by Marcus Adams
gelatin silver print, 1930
NPG x199850
Diana Mitford (later Lady Mosley)
by Bassano Ltd
half-plate glass negative, 27 January 1932
NPG x26672
Diana Mitford (later Lady Mosley)
by Bassano Ltd
half-plate glass negative, 27 January 1932
NPG x26673
Diana Mitford (later Lady Mosley)
by Bassano Ltd
half-plate glass negative, 27 January 1932
NPG x26674
Diana Mitford (later Lady Mosley)
by Bassano Ltd
half-plate glass negative, 27 January 1932
NPG x26675
Diana Mitford (later Lady Mosley)
by Bassano Ltd
half-plate glass negative, 27 January 1932
NPG x26676
Diana Mitford (later Lady Mosley); Jonathan Bryan Guinness, 3rd Baron Moyne
by Yevonde
tri-colour separation negative, 1934
NPG x221100
by Yevonde
tri-colour separation negative, 1934
NPG x221101
Diana Mitford (later Lady Mosley)
by Yevonde
tri-colour separation negative, 1934
NPG x221102
Diana Mitford (later Lady Mosley); Jonathan Bryan Guinness, 3rd Baron Moyne
by Yevonde
tri-colour separation negative, 1934
NPG x221103
Diana Mitford (later Lady Mosley); Jonathan Bryan Guinness, 3rd Baron Moyne
by Yevonde
tri-colour separation negative, 1934
NPG x221104
Diana Mitford (later Lady Mosley); Jonathan Bryan Guinness, 3rd Baron Moyne
by Yevonde
tri-colour separation negative, 1934
NPG x221105
by Yevonde
tri-colour separation negative, 1935
NPG x220031
by Yevonde
tri-colour separation negative, 1935
NPG x220028
by Yevonde
tri-colour separation negative, 1935
NPG x220029
by Yevonde
tri-colour separation negative, 1935
NPG x220030
Diana Mitford (later Lady Mosley)
by Bassano Ltd
bromide print, February 1935
NPG x84242
Diana Mitford (later Lady Mosley)
by Bassano Ltd
bromide print, February 1935
NPG x84243
Diana Mitford (later Lady Mosley)
by Bassano Ltd
whole-plate film negative, 22 February 1935
NPG x31130
Related People
- Thomas Gibson Bowles (grandfather)
- Daphne Bowyer (née Freeman-Mitford), Lady Denham (aunt)
- Deborah Vivien Cavendish (née Freeman-Mitford), Duchess of Devonshire (sister)
- Peregrine Andrew Morny Cavendish, 12th Duke of Devonshire (nephew)
- Hon. Iris Elizabeth Freeman-Mitford (aunt)
- Jessica Lucy Freeman-Mitford (later Treuhaft) (sister)
- Nancy Freeman-Mitford (sister)
- (Ernest) Rupert Bertram Freeman-Mitford (uncle)
- Thomas David Freeman-Mitford (brother)
- Hon. Unity Valkyrie Freeman-Mitford (sister)
- Pamela Jackson (née Freeman-Mitford) (sister)
- Hon. Frances Georgiana Kearsey (née Freeman-Mitford) (aunt)
- Sir Oswald Mosley, 6th Bt (husband)
- Bryan Walter Guinness, 2nd Baron Moyne of Bury St Edmunds (husband)
- David Bertram Ogilvy Freeman-Mitford, 2nd Baron Redesdale (father)
- Algernon Bertram Freeman-Mitford, 1st Baron Redesdale (grandfather)
- Sydney (née Bowles), Lady Redesdale (mother)
Comments back to top
We are currently unable to accept new comments, but any past comments are available to read below.
If you need information from us, please use our Archive enquiry service . Please note that we cannot provide valuations. You can buy a print or greeting card of most illustrated portraits. Select the portrait of interest to you, then look out for a Buy a Print button. Prices start at around £6 for unframed prints, £16 for framed prints. If you wish to license an image, select the portrait of interest to you, then look out for a Use this image button, or contact our Rights and Images service. We digitise over 8,000 portraits a year and we cannot guarantee being able to digitise images that are not already scheduled.