This series Diana Mitford shocked Peaky Blinders fans. But the real Diana Mitford’s life is TV show worthy.
At 18, she scandalized the family after she kept her engagement secret to her first husband, Bryan Guinness, who is the heir to the beer fortune.
His family was initially against the engagement because they feared that two such young men would acquire such a large fortune.
Eventually they were convinced and Diana married Bryan and they instantly became an It couple in London.
Mitford brothers (left-right) Unity, Tom, Deborah, Diana, Jessica, Nancy, Pamela
The couple often hosted aristocratic events including Bright Young Things and were friends with Evelyn Waugh and other names of the time.
Diana gave birth to children Jonathan and Desmond in 1930 and 1931 before meeting Sir Oswald Mosley at a garden party the following year.
Although he was married at the time to Lady Cynthia Curzon, daughter of Lord Curzon, the two began an affair.
Mosley was not going to divorce his wife for Diana, but in 1933 Cynthia died of peritonitis.
Diana’s behavior scandalized her family and they refused to support her choice to leave Bryan to Mosley as her sister was separated for a short time.
The head of the British League of Fascists would later become her second husband. The two were married in a civil ceremony held at the Joseph Goebbels hall in Berlin in 1936. The only other guest was Hitler.
Society Belles: Three of the Mitford sisters at the wedding of Lord Stanley of Aldernay. Left to right: Unity, Diana, and author Nancy Mitford
In MI5 documents released in 2002, Lady Mosley was described as “angrily ambitious” and stated: “Sir Oswald Mosley’s wife, Diana Mosley, is considered by her family and close circle to be the “best authority” . . . is currently a public hazard. accepted.
“It is said that she is much more intelligent and dangerous than her husband and will do anything to fulfill her ambitions.”
As a result of his political relationship, II. He was imprisoned in Holloway Prison as an enemy of the Allies during World War II.
After she and her husband were released from prison, they took a cruise in the Mediterranean before settling on the outskirts of Paris next door with the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.
Diana Mosley with her second husband, Sir Oswald Mosley, founder of the British League of Fascists
Throughout his life, he remained ambiguous, discussing his allegiance to Britain, his strong belief in fascism, and his relationship with Hitler.
When he appeared in the Desert Island Discs in 1989, he caused controversy by saying that it was only “years” after the war that Hitler believed he had exterminated the Jews and refuted the six million deaths as “incomprehensible”.
According to his obituary in The Telegraph, he was an “unrepentant Nazi” and a diamond swastika was found among his jewellery.
By the way, saying that he “approved” of Hitler, “Hitler, although not handsome, was attractive with his great inner dynamism and charm.
‘Attraction can mean a lot; I don’t think I’ve ever met such an attractive person. Maybe it was just strong I guess, but it felt like more than that.’
Mary S. Lovell, biographer of the Mitford sisters, said Diana was “perhaps the most hated woman in England for a while”.
While many despised her sister for her political alliances, others admired her for her intelligence and beauty.
Her family also spoke out openly, claiming that Lady Diana didn’t really support the fascist cause and was simply “in love” with the wrong man.
Source: Daily Mail
