Regency Personalities Series
In my attempts to provide us with the details of the Regency, today I continue with one of the many period notables.
George Godolphin Osborne 8th Duke of Leeds
16 July 1802 – 8 August 1872
George Godolphin Osborne 8th Duke of Leeds was born the eldest son of Francis Osborne and his wife, The Hon. Elizabeth Eden. 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. Nine years later, George’s cousin, the 7th Duke of Leeds, died and he also inherited the dukedom of Leeds, thus becoming styled His Grace The Duke of Leeds. The Godolphin barony and the dukedom remained united until the death of the last duke of Leeds in 1964, when both titles became extinct.
In 1824 he married the Lady Harriet Emma Arundel Stewart, an illegitimate daughter of Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Earl Granville by the Lady Henrietta Frances Spencer, wife of the 3rd Earl of Bessborough. Lady Harriet was thus a maternal half-sister of the Lady Caroline Lamb.
With Harriet Stewart, he had eight children:
- George Godolphin Osborne, 9th Duke of Leeds (11 August 1828 –23 December 1895)
- Reverend Lord Francis George Godolphin Osborne (6 April 1830 –6 March 1907)
- Lady Susan Georgina Godolphin Osborne (6 April 1830 –14 November 1903)
- Major Lord D’Arcy Godolphin Osborne (14 June 1834 –20 March 1895)
- Lord William Godolphin Osborne (28 August 1835 –28 December 1888)
- 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)
The Things That Catch My Eye 