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, the eldest son of Lord Francis Osborne and his wife, The Hon. Elizabeth Eden.^[1] Lord Leeds's father, Lord Francis, was the second son and youngest child of Francis Osborne, 5th Duke of Leeds, and his wife, the former Lady Amelia Darcy.^[2][3] Lord Leeds's mother was the daughter of William Eden, 1st Baron Auckland.

In 1832, his father was created Baron Godolphin,^[3] upon which George became known as The Hon. George Osborne.^[1] When the 1st Baron Godolphin died in 1850, George succeeded his father and became the 2nd Baron Godolphin of Farnham Royal co. Buckingham.^[1][3]

Nine years later, George's cousin, the 7th Duke of Leeds, died without issue; George therefore inherited the Dukedom of Leeds,^[1][3][4] 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.^[1]

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. Lane-Fox was the son of George's father's elder sister, Mary Pelham, Countess of Chichester; and as those peerages allowed for succession in the female line, they passed to Lane-Fox.^[3][5][6] The Godolphin barony and the dukedom remained united until the death of the last Duke of Leeds in 1964, when both titles became extinct.^[3][4]

Marriage and issue

On 21 October 1824, he married Harriet Emma Arundel Stewart at the British Embassy in Paris.^[1] She was an illegitimate daughter of Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Earl Granville, by Lady Henrietta Frances Spencer, wife of the 3rd Earl of Bessborough. Harriet Stewart was thus a maternal half-sister of Lady Caroline Lamb.

With Harriet Stewart, he had eight children:^[1][7]

• 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 of Sudeley Castle and Lady Susan Georgiana Leveson-Gower (herself a daughter of Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Earl Granville); had issue.^[8] He was succeeded in the dukedom by his second surviving son, George Osborne, 10th Duke of Leeds.^[9]
• 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.^[10]
• 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); had issue.^[11]
• Major Lord D'Arcy Godolphin Osborne (14 June 1834 –20 March 1895); married Annie Allhusen on 6 December 1887.^[12]
• Lord William Godolphin Osborne (28 August 1835 –28 December 1888); married on 8 September 1859 Mary Catherine Headley and had issue.^[13]
• Lady Emma Charlotte Godolphin Osborne (1837 –24 May 1906)^[14] a Lady of the Bedchamber to the Duchess of Edinburgh.
• Lady Charlotte Godolphin Osborne (1838 –25 March 1914)^[15]
• 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.^[16]

Later life and death

The 8th Duke of Leeds died on 8 August 1872 at the age of 70 at Gog Magog Hills, Cambridgeshire, England.^[1][7] He was buried in the Osborne family chapel at All Hallows Church, Harthill, South Yorkshire.^[1]