The real Diana Mitford: society beauty and unabashed fascist
The scandalous life of Diana Mitford, from Bright Young Thing to her notorious embrace of fascism
Diana Mitford was the most dazzling and infamous of the Mitford sisters, an aristocratic British family who became particularly well known in the 1930s. Tall, blonde and a celebrated society beauty, she captivated everyone from poets to politicians.
But her charm masked a steely resolve and political conviction that would embroil her in scandal for the rest of her life.
Diana Mitford and Oswald Mosley
At just 18, Diana married Bryan Guinness, heir to the brewing fortune and one of the most eligible young men of the Bright Young Things set, a group of Bohemian young aristocrats and socialites in London during the Roaring Twenties. Theirs was a golden coupledom: their London home became a hub for literary and artistic high society, frequented by Evelyn Waugh (who dedicated his novel, Vile Bodies (1930), to them) and others. They had two sons: Jonathan and Desmond.
But in 1933, Diana stunned polite society by leaving Bryan for Sir Oswald Mosley, the leader of the British Union of Fascists.
Their relationship began in secrecy, largely due to the disapproval of Diana’s father and the political explosiveness of their views. They eventually married in 1936 in a private ceremony held in Berlin at the home of the Nazi propaganda minister, Joseph Goebbels. The guest of honour? Adolf Hitler himself, who had close connection with another of the sisters, the openly Nazi Unity Mitford.
With Mosley, Diana had two more sons: Alexander and Max – the future president of the governing body for Formula One racing.
How fascist was Diana Mitford?
Fluent in German and deeply enmeshed in the European fascist elite, Diana served as a conduit between the British aristocracy and Hitler’s inner circle – a role she never publicly regretted.
In July 1940, Diana and was arrested under Regulation 18B – a Second World War measure that empowered the British Government to detain, without trial, individuals suspected of being a threat to national security. Her eldest sister, Nancy, horrified by Diana’s fascism, tipped off the British authorities and urged her arrest, as did her former father-in-law, Walter Guiness, Lord Moyne. Oswald had been arrested under the same law in May.
Declassified MI5 documents subsequently revealed that the authorities considered Diana a greater security risk than Mosley, with one observing: “[She is] far cleverer and more dangerous than her husband and will stick at nothing to achieve her ambitions. She is wildly ambitious”.
Why was Diana Mitford released from prison?
Conditions in Holloway Prison caused both Diana and her husband to fall ill at various points. Following a bombing raid by the Luftwaffe on the prison that led to unsanitary conditions, an irascible Diana exclaimed that Winston Churchill and the Tories should be executed.
In 1943, Mosley became gravely unwell, and Diana appealed for her mother, Sydney, to reach out to Winston Churchill’s wife, Clementine. Clementine Churchill replied that the couple would likely be lynched if released.
Nevertheless, mindful that Mosley could become a martyr for British fascists were he to die in prison, the government eventually arranged for the couple to be released under cover of darkness to avoid protesters. They were, however, to remain under house arrest outside London for the duration of the war.
What happened to Diana Mitford after WW2?
After the war, the Diana Mitford lived in genteel exile with Mosley, first in Ireland and then eventually settling in France.
There, they resided in suitably grand style at the Temple de la Gloire, a neoclassical mansion just outside Paris. With its Ionic columns and sweeping views, it offered the perfect setting for Diana’s brand of faded grandeur and polished froideur.
Diana became part of a rarefied social set that included her neighbours and fellow outcasts, the former Edward VIII and his wife, Wallis Simpson. The couples shared more than just titles and tailors – they were united by their wartime allegiances, their love of luxury and their mutual suspicion of liberal democracy.
In exile, Diana penned articles, essays and her icy, unapologetic memoir, A Life of Contrasts, in 1977. Unsurprisingly, it stirred renewed controversy.
One of the most enduring scandals of her later life came in 1989, when she appeared on the long running BBC Radio programme Desert Island Discs. During the broadcast, she selected Wagner (Hitler’s favourite composer), trivialised the Holocaust and expressed her continued affection for the Nazi dictator. The backlash was immediate and fierce.
How did Diana Mitford die?
In old age, she remained unapologetically herself: cool, elegant and intellectually razor-sharp. She corresponded widely, maintained her trademark style, and even reconciled with her sister Nancy, visiting her in Paris and exchanging witty, often wicked letters.
She continued to write, variously for publications such as Tatler and the London Evening Standard; as well as penning a biography of Wallis Simpson, until her death in 2003, aged 93, in Paris.
Authors
Danny Bird is Content Producer for BBC History Magazine and was previously staff writer for BBC History Revealed. He joined the History team in 2022. Fascinated with the past since childhood, Danny completed his History BA at the University of Sheffield, developing a special interest in the Spanish Civil War and the Paris Commune. He subsequently gained his History MA from University College London, studying at its School of Slavonic and East European Studies (SSEES)