George Godolphin Osborne, 8th Duke of Leeds (16 July 1802 – 8 August 1872) was a British peer.

Early life and background

Lord Leeds was born at Gogmagog Hills,

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and North ...

, the eldest son of Lord Francis Osborne and his wife, The Hon. Elizabeth Eden. Lord Leeds's father, Lord Francis, was the second son and youngest child of

Francis Osborne, 5th Duke of Leeds Francis Godolphin Osborne, 5th Duke of Leeds, (29 January 1751 – 31 January 1799), styled Marquess of Carmarthen until 1789, was a British politician. He notably served as Foreign Secretary under William Pitt the Younger from 1783 to 1791. H ...

, and his wife, the former Lady Amelia Darcy. Lord Leeds's mother was the daughter of

William Eden, 1st Baron Auckland William Eden, 1st Baron Auckland, PC (Ire), FRS (3 April 174528 May 1814) was a British diplomat and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1774 to 1793. Early life A member of the influential Eden family, Auckland was a younger son ...

. In 1832, his father was created Baron Godolphin, upon which George became known as ''The Hon. George Osborne''. When the 1st Baron Godolphin died in 1850, George succeeded his father and became the ''2nd Baron Godolphin of Farnham Royal co. Buckingham''. Nine years later, George's cousin, the 7th Duke of Leeds, died without issue; George therefore inherited the Dukedom of Leeds, thus becoming styled ''His Grace The Duke of Leeds''. With the Dukedom of Leeds, George also inherited the titles Earl of Danby co. York, Viscount Osborne of Dunblane, 4 May 1859, Baron Osborne of Kiveton co. York, Marquess of Carmarthen, Viscount Latimer of Danby co. York, and Baronet Osborne of Kiveton co. York. Although the dukedom had passed to George, the Baronies of Conyers and Darcy de Knayth and the Portuguese countship of Mértola were passed to his cousin

Sackville Lane-Fox Sackville Walter Lane-Fox (24 March 1797 – 18 August 1874), was a British Conservative Party politician. Background Lane-Fox was the son of James Fox-Lane, of Bramham Park, West Yorkshire, by the Honourable Mary Lucy, daughter of George Pit ...

. Lane-Fox was the son of George's father's elder sister,

Mary Pelham, Countess of Chichester Mary Pelham, Countess of Chichester (7 September 1776 – 21 October 1862), formerly Lady Mary Henrietta Juliana Osborne, was the wife of Thomas Pelham, 2nd Earl of Chichester. She was born in Grosvenor Square, London, the daughter of Fra ...

; and as those peerages allowed for succession in the female line, they passed to Lane-Fox. The Godolphin barony and the dukedom remained united until the death of the last Duke of Leeds in 1964, when both titles became extinct.

Marriage and issue

On 21 October 1824, he married Harriet Emma Arundel Stewart at the

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Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. She was an illegitimate daughter of

Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Earl Granville Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Earl Granville, (12 October 1773 – 8 January 1846), styled Lord Granville Leveson-Gower from 1786 to 1815 and The Viscount Granville from 1815 to 1833, was a British Whig statesman and diplomat from the Leveson-G ...

, by Lady Henrietta Frances Spencer, wife of the 3rd Earl of Bessborough. Harriet Stewart was thus a maternal half-sister of

Lady Caroline Lamb Lady Caroline Lamb (née Ponsonby; 13 November 1785 – 25 January 1828) was an Anglo-Irish aristocrat and novelist, best known for ''Glenarvon'', a Gothic novel. In 1812 she had an affair with Lord Byron, whom she described as "mad, bad, and ...

. With Harriet Stewart, he had eight children: * Sir George Godolphin Osborne, 9th Duke of Leeds (11 August 1828 –23 December 1895); succeeded his father as the 9th Duke in 1872. He married on 16 January 1861 Hon. Frances Georgiana Pitt-Rivers, daughter of

George Pitt-Rivers, 4th Baron Rivers George Pitt-Rivers, 4th Baron Rivers (16 July 1810 – 28 April 1866), known as George Beckford until 1828, was a British peer and politician. He held a place as a Lord-in-waiting in several governments, migrating from the Tory to the Liberal Part ...

Sudeley Castle Sudeley Castle is a Grade I listed castle in the parish of Sudeley, in the Cotswolds, near to the medieval market town of Winchcombe, Gloucestershire, England. The castle has 10 notable gardens covering some 15 acres within a 1,200-acre estate ...

and Lady Susan Georgiana Leveson-Gower (herself a daughter of

); had issue. He was succeeded in the dukedom by his second surviving son,

George Osborne, 10th Duke of Leeds George Godolphin Osborne, 10th Duke of Leeds, JP (18 September 1862 – 10 May 1927), styled Earl of Danby from birth until 1872 and subsequently Marquess of Carmarthen until 1895, was a British peer and Conservative politician. Early life He w ...

. * Reverend Lord Francis George Godolphin Osborne (6 April 1830 –6 March 1907); married on 4 July 1854 Matilda Katharine Rich (d. 19 January 1914), and had one daughter. * Lady Susan Georgina Godolphin Osborne (6 April 1830 –14 November 1903); married on 22 June 1864 Henry John Milbank (1824-1872), son of Mark Milbank and Lady Augusta Henrietta Vane (daughter of

William Vane, 1st Duke of Cleveland William Henry Vane, 1st Duke of Cleveland, KG (27 July 1766 – 29 January 1842), styled Viscount Barnard until 1792 and known as The Earl of Darlington between 1792 and 1827 and as The Marquess of Cleveland between 1827 and 1833, was a Britis ...

); had issue. * Major Lord D'Arcy Godolphin Osborne (14 June 1834 –20 March 1895); married Annie Allhusen on 6 December 1887. * Lord William Godolphin Osborne (28 August 1835 –28 December 1888); married on 8 September 1859 Mary Catherine Headley and had issue. * Lady Emma Charlotte Godolphin Osborne (1837 –24 May 1906) * Lady Charlotte Godolphin Osborne (1838 –25 March 1914) * Lady Blanche Godolphin Osborne (1842 –13 February 1917); married on 16 September 1869 General Charles Henry Morris, son of Sir John Morris, 2nd Bt. and Hon. Lucy Juliana Byng; had two daughters.

Later life and death

The 8th Duke of Leeds died on 8 August 1872 at the age of 70 at

Gog Magog Hills The Gog Magog Hills are a range of low chalk hills, extending for several miles to the southeast of Cambridge in England. The highest points are situated either side of the A1307 Babraham Road, and are marked on Ordnance Survey 1:25000 maps as ...

, England. He was buried in the Osborne family chapel at

All Hallows Church, Harthill, South Yorkshire The All Hallows Church is an Church of England, Anglican parish church in the Diocese of Sheffield, located in Harthill, South Yorkshire, England. It is a Listed building, Grade I listed building. History All Hallows Church was commissioned ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leeds, George Osborne, 8th Duke of 1802 births 1872 deaths

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Eldest sons of British hereditary barons Burials at Osborne family chapel, All Hallows' Church (Harthill)