Francis D'Arcy Godolphin Osborne, 12th Duke of Leeds, KCMG (16 September 1884 – 20 March 1964), known between 1943 and 1963 as Sir D'Arcy Osborne, was a British diplomat.
In about 1919 or 1920, Osborne met Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, the future Queen Elizabeth, with whom he maintained a life-long friendship and correspondence. He later described her as "the past love of his life".
Osborne was posted to Rome (1909–1913), Washington D.C., The Hague, Lisbon (Counsellor, 1928–1929) and Rome (Counsellor, 1929–1931). He then served as British Minister in Washington, the deputy head of the British mission to the United States. from 1931 to 1935.
When Italy declared war on the United Kingdom in 1940, Osborne, accredited to the Holy See but living in Italian territory, moved inside the Vatican according to arrangements made under the Lateran Treaty. With a few exceptions, Osborne would be immured inside the Vatican until the liberation of Rome in 1944, working under difficult conditions from a pilgrim hostel attached to the Convent of Santa Marta.
Using the code name "Mount", he was one of the group, which he supported with his own money, led by Monsignor Hugh O'Flaherty and a French diplomat François de Vial who helped conceal some 4,000 escapees, whether Jews or Allied soldiers, from the Nazis: 3,925 survived the war.[3] Their story was portrayed in the 1983 film The Scarlet and the Black, starring Gregory Peck as O'Flaherty. He also played a key part in a plot in 1940, which involved the Pope and certain German generals, to overthrow Hitler.[4] Major Sam Derry, in his book The Rome Escape Line, described meeting Sir D'Arcy in the Vatican in 1943:
Unruffled poise... Seldom have I met any man in whom I had such immediate confidence. He welcomed us warmly, yet I found it impossible to behave with anything but strict formality. Apart from the restraining influence of my clothing [he was disguised as a monsignor] I was almost overwhelmed by an atmosphere of old-world English courtliness and grace which I had thought belonged only to the country-house parties of long ago. Sir D'Arcy was spry, trim, a young sixty, but he had spent years enough in the diplomatic service to develop an astonishing aptitude for creating around himself an aura of all that was most civilized in English life. I felt as though I had returned home after long travels, to find that royalty had come to dinner, and I had to be on my best behaviour.[5]
Following this dinner, Sir D'Arcy offered Derry the command of the escape organisation.[6]
After the war, Osborne retired from the Diplomatic Service and settled in Italy, living at the Palazzo Sacchetti, 66 Via Giulia, Rome. With the future Pope Paul VI, whom he had befriended during the war, he founded an industrial school for the poor boys of Rome. He was visited by The Queen and The Queen Mother on several occasions. His financial situation remained precarious, and in 1962 a group of friends, including The Queen Mother, arranged a sum of money for his relief.
On several occasions after the war, he wrote in defence of Pius XII's wartime record, which had come under attack.
Osborne succeeded his second cousin once removed as the Duke of Leeds on 26 July 1963. He died just a year later on 20 March 1964, at the age of seventy-nine, at which point the dukedom and all of its subsidiary titles became extinct.[7] Pope Paul VI, who had sent his personal chamberlain to visit Osborne's residence daily during his final illness, expressed his condolences, as did Cardinal Cicognani, the papal Secretary of State.
Osborne was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in 1930, and promoted to Knight Commander (KCMG) in the 1943 Birthday Honours, receiving the knighthood on his only trip to the United Kingdom during the Second World War, which required special Italian permission. He was also a Knight of Grace of the Order of Saint John (KStJ) and Knight Commander of the Order of St. Gregory the Great (KCSG).
LegacyEdit
Osborne kept an extensive diary, portions of which were used by Owen Chadwick as the basis of his 1980 Ford Lectures and his 1988 book, Britain and the Vatican during the Second World War. Chadwick's quotations from Osborne's diary included: "I reached the grave conclusion during the Mass that I am nothing but a pencilled marginal note in the Book of Life. I am not in the main text at all."[8] The diary is in the collections of the British Library.
arcy, osborne, 12th, duke, leeds, francis, arcy, godolphin, osborne, 12th, duke, leeds, kcmg, september, 1884, march, 1964, known, between, 1943, 1963, arcy, osborne, british, diplomat, gracethe, duke, leedskcmgbritish, minister, holy, seein, office, 1936, 194. Francis D Arcy Godolphin Osborne 12th Duke of Leeds KCMG 16 September 1884 20 March 1964 known between 1943 and 1963 as Sir D Arcy Osborne was a British diplomat His GraceThe Duke of LeedsKCMGBritish Minister to the Holy SeeIn office 1936 1947Preceded bySir Charles WingfieldSucceeded bySir Victor PerownePersonal detailsBornFrancis D Arcy Godolphin Osborne 1884 09 16 16 September 1884Died20 March 1964 1964 03 20 aged 79 RelationsLord Sydney Godolphin Osborne grandfather Parent s Sidney Francis Godolphin OsborneMargaret Dulcibella HammersleyEducationHaileybury CollegeOccupationDiplomatAncestral arms of the Osborne family Dukes of Leeds Contents 1 Early life and career 2 Minister to the Holy See 3 Later life and death 4 Honours 5 Legacy 6 Ancestry and family tree 7 References 7 1 Sources 8 External linksEarly life and career EditOsborne was the eldest son of Sidney Francis Godolphin Osborne and of Margaret Dulcibella nee Hammersley Through his father he was the great great grandson of Francis Osborne 5th Duke of Leeds Foreign Secretary between 1783 and 1791 He was educated at Haileybury College before joining HM Diplomatic Service In about 1919 or 1920 Osborne met Lady Elizabeth Bowes Lyon the future Queen Elizabeth with whom he maintained a life long friendship and correspondence He later described her as the past love of his life Osborne was posted to Rome 1909 1913 Washington D C The Hague Lisbon Counsellor 1928 1929 and Rome Counsellor 1929 1931 He then served as British Minister in Washington the deputy head of the British mission to the United States from 1931 to 1935 Minister to the Holy See EditMain article Foreign relations of Pope Pius XII Osborne was Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the Holy See 1936 1947 1 His appointment came on the heels of Cardinal Secretary of State Pacelli s future Pope Pius XII complaints regarding the short tenure of holders of the post in fact Osborne himself waited six months after his appointment before arriving in Rome 2 When Italy declared war on the United Kingdom in 1940 Osborne accredited to the Holy See but living in Italian territory moved inside the Vatican according to arrangements made under the Lateran Treaty With a few exceptions Osborne would be immured inside the Vatican until the liberation of Rome in 1944 working under difficult conditions from a pilgrim hostel attached to the Convent of Santa Marta Using the code name Mount he was one of the group which he supported with his own money led by Monsignor Hugh O Flaherty and a French diplomat Francois de Vial who helped conceal some 4 000 escapees whether Jews or Allied soldiers from the Nazis 3 925 survived the war 3 Their story was portrayed in the 1983 film The Scarlet and the Black starring Gregory Peck as O Flaherty He also played a key part in a plot in 1940 which involved the Pope and certain German generals to overthrow Hitler 4 Major Sam Derry in his book The Rome Escape Line described meeting Sir D Arcy in the Vatican in 1943 Unruffled poise Seldom have I met any man in whom I had such immediate confidence He welcomed us warmly yet I found it impossible to behave with anything but strict formality Apart from the restraining influence of my clothing he was disguised as a monsignor I was almost overwhelmed by an atmosphere of old world English courtliness and grace which I had thought belonged only to the country house parties of long ago Sir D Arcy was spry trim a young sixty but he had spent years enough in the diplomatic service to develop an astonishing aptitude for creating around himself an aura of all that was most civilized in English life I felt as though I had returned home after long travels to find that royalty had come to dinner and I had to be on my best behaviour 5 Following this dinner Sir D Arcy offered Derry the command of the escape organisation 6 Later life and death Edit Protestant Cemetery Rome grave of the 12th Duke of LeedsAfter the war Osborne retired from the Diplomatic Service and settled in Italy living at the Palazzo Sacchetti 66 Via Giulia Rome With the future Pope Paul VI whom he had befriended during the war he founded an industrial school for the poor boys of Rome He was visited by The Queen and The Queen Mother on several occasions His financial situation remained precarious and in 1962 a group of friends including The Queen Mother arranged a sum of money for his relief On several occasions after the war he wrote in defence of Pius XII s wartime record which had come under attack Osborne succeeded his second cousin once removed as the Duke of Leeds on 26 July 1963 He died just a year later on 20 March 1964 at the age of seventy nine at which point the dukedom and all of its subsidiary titles became extinct 7 Pope Paul VI who had sent his personal chamberlain to visit Osborne s residence daily during his final illness expressed his condolences as did Cardinal Cicognani the papal Secretary of State The Duke of Leeds was buried in the Protestant Cemetery Rome on 24 March 1964 Sir Peter Scarlett British Minister to the Holy See represented the Queen at the funeral and the British Ambassador to Italy Sir John Ward represented the Queen Mother Honours EditOsborne was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George CMG in 1930 and promoted to Knight Commander KCMG in the 1943 Birthday Honours receiving the knighthood on his only trip to the United Kingdom during the Second World War which required special Italian permission He was also a Knight of Grace of the Order of Saint John KStJ and Knight Commander of the Order of St Gregory the Great KCSG Legacy EditOsborne kept an extensive diary portions of which were used by Owen Chadwick as the basis of his 1980 Ford Lectures and his 1988 book Britain and the Vatican during the Second World War Chadwick s quotations from Osborne s diary included I reached the grave conclusion during the Mass that I am nothing but a pencilled marginal note in the Book of Life I am not in the main text at all 8 The diary is in the collections of the British Library Ancestry and family tree EditAncestors of D Arcy Osborne 12th Duke of Leeds16 Francis Osborne 5th Duke of Leeds8 Francis Osborne 1st Baron Godolphin17 Amelia Darcy 12th Baroness Darcy de Knayth4 Lord Sydney Godolphin Osborne18 William Eden 1st Baron Auckland9 Hon Elizabeth Eden19 Eleanor Elliot2 Sidney Francis Godolphin Osborne20 Pascoe Grenfell10 Pascoe Grenfell21 Mary Tremenheere5 Emily Charlotte Grenfell22 St Leger St Leger 1st Viscount Doneraile11 Hon Georgiana St Leger23 Mary Barry1 D Arcy Osborne 12th Duke of Leeds24 Thomas Hammersley12 Charles Hammersley25 Anne Greenwood6 Hugh Hammersley26 John Buncombe Poulett Thomson13 Emily Poulett Thomson27 Charlotte Jacob3 Margaret Dulcibella Hammersley28 Thomas Eden14 Arthur Eden29 Mariana Jones7 Dulcibella Eden30 John Buncombe Poulett Thomson 26 15 Frances Poulett Thomson31 Charlotte Jacob 27 vteDukes of Leeds family treeJohn Danvers 1540 1594 EARL OF DANBY in the County of York first creation 1603Eleanor DanversHenry Danvers 1573 1644 1st Earl of DanbyEarldom of Danby first creation extinct 1644Anne WalmesleyVISCOUNT OSBORNE of Dunblane BARON OSBORNE of Kiveton in the County of York and VISCOUNT LATIMER of Danby in the County of YorkEARL OF DANBY second creation in the County of York 1674MARQUESS OF CARMARTHEN 1689DUKE OF LEEDS 1694Thomas Osborne 1632 1712 1st Duke of LeedsVisounty Osborne surrendered 1674BARON GODOLPHIN of Rialton in the County of Cornwall first creation 1684EARL OF GODOLPHIN and VISCOUNT RIALTON 1706Edward Osborne 1655 1689 Viscount LatimerPeregrine Osborne 1659 1729 2nd Viscount Osborne2nd Duke of LeedsSidney Godolphin 1645 1712 1st Earl of Godolphin1st Baron Godolphin of Rialton Henry Godolphin 1648 1733 BARON GODOLPHIN of Helston in the County of Cornwall second creation 1735Peregrine Hyde Osborne 1691 1731 3rd Duke of LeedsFrancis Godolphin 1678 1766 2nd Earl of Godolphin2nd Baron Godolphin of Rialton 1st Baron Godolphin of Helston Francis Godolphin 1706 1785 2nd Baron Godolphin of Helston Earldom of Godolphin Viscounty Rialton and Godolphin barony of Rialton extinct 1766Godolphin barony of Helston extinct 1785Thomas Osborne 1713 1789 4th Duke of LeedsMary Godolphin 1723 1764 Francis Godolphin Osborne 1751 1799 5th Duke of LeedsBARON GODOLPHIN of Farnham Royal in the County of Buckingham third creation 1832George William Frederick Osborne 1775 1838 6th Duke of LeedsFrancis Godolphin Osborne 1777 1850 1st Baron Godolphin of Farnham Royal Francis Godolphin D Arcy D Arcy Osborne 1798 1859 7th Duke of LeedsGeorge Godolphin Osborne 1802 1872 8th Duke of Leeds2nd Baron Godolphin of Farnham Royal Sydney Godolphin Osborne 1808 1889 George Godolphin Osborne 1828 1895 9th Duke of Leeds3rd Baron Godolphin of Farnham Royal Sidney Francis Godolphin Osborne 1835 1903 George Frederick Osbornestyled Earl of Danby 1861 George Godolphin Osborne 1862 1927 10th Duke of Leeds4th Baron Godolphin of Farnham Royal Francis D Arcy Godolphin Osborne 1884 1964 12th Duke of Leeds6th Baron Godolphin of Farnham Royal Dukedom extinct 1964John Francis Godolphin Osborne 1901 1963 11th Duke of Leeds5th Baron Godolphin of Farnham Royal References Edit The London Gazette 22 May 1936 Chadwick 1988 p 3 Gallagher J P 1968 Scarlet Pimpernel of the Vatican Coward McCann p 175 Owen Chadwick s Britain and the Vatican During the Second World War 1988 Cambridge University Paperback Library p 86 et seq Sam Derry 1960 The Rome Escape Line New York Norton Retrieved 1 November 2017 p 43 Tony Narroway Samuel Ironmonger Derry Freemason and master escapee Freemasonry Today website 6 March 2015 Retrieved 1 November 2017 John Julius Norwich A Christmas Cracker 2017 n p n d ISBN 0993212611 p 2 Owen Chadwick Britain and the Vatican during the Second World War Cambridge Cambridge University Press p 128 Retrieved 1 November 2017 Sources Edit Chadwick Owen 1988 Britain and the Vatican During the Second World War Cambridge University Press External links EditD Arcy Osborne 12th Duke of Leeds thepeerage comPeerage of EnglandPreceded byJohn Osborne Duke of Leeds1963 1964 Extinct Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title D 27Arcy Osborne 12th Duke of Leeds amp oldid 1171634404, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
