While Diana Mosley was imprisoned in Holloway, Winston Churchill arranged for her to be allowed a bath every day. She declined the privilege, refusing to take precedence over the other prisoners waiting their turn on the bathing rota. [1]
Diana Mitford, the beautiful and controversial third of the six Mitford sisters, spent much of the Second World War in Holloway Prison because of her support for fascism and her close association with Hitler. After her release in 1943, she and her husband, Sir Oswald Mosley, began rebuilding their lives.
Diana remained utterly devoted to her husband and his political causes. Together they established Euphorion Books, enabling Oswald to publish when the British media shunned him, and Diana edited several of his books. For six years she also edited and contributed to The European, a cultural magazine promoting his political views. Her loyalty was absolute, for she never truly regretted her support for fascism or her friendship with Hitler.
Her literary life, however, extended well beyond her husband’s work. She translated Goethe’s Faust and contributed articles, diary pieces and reviews to Tatler, Books and Bookmen and, in her eighties, the Evening Standard. Her own books included the memoir A Life of Contrasts (1977), The Duchess of Windsor (1980) and Loved Ones (1985), a collection of affectionate portraits of relatives and friends.
Oswald’s death in 1980 devastated her. Diana moved to Paris but continued to travel, read, garden and entertain. She remained exceptionally beautiful and retained the formidable self-possession for which the Mitford sisters were famous.
Diana suffered a slight stroke in August 2003 and died in her Paris home on 11 August, during an oppressive heatwave. She was 93.
Her long life was filled with beauty, privilege, love and literary talent, but also with political convictions she never seemed to regret.
Selected links for relevant websites, books, movies, videos, and more. Some of these links lead to protected content on this website, learn more about that here.
Susannah Fullerton: The Remarkable Mitford Sisters
Susannah Fullerton: Mitford Reading
Susannah Fullerton: Outrageously Enjoyable
Susannah Fullerton: Diana Mitford is born
ThamesTV: Lady Diana Mosley interview
Stories Through Time: The Outrageous Life of Diana Mitford
BBC: The Mitfords: Six sisters who captured the maelstrom
The Guardian: Diana Mosley Obituary
A Life of Contrasts by Diana Mitford
The Duchess of Windsor by Diana Mitford
Susannah Fullerton: Deborah Mitford and the Devonshire Jewels