25 mei 2011

Diana Mitford, The Hon. Lady Mosley

Diana was the beauty of the family. Her blonde hair and blue eyes led Hitler to describe her as “the perfect Aryan,” which she took as a huge compliment. At 18 she became officially engaged to Bryan Guinness, heir to the brewing empire, as well as the barony of Moyne. Her parents didn’t like the match at first, but were eventually persuaded. Hers was the society wedding of the year in 1929. The couple was extremely wealth and renowned for the lavish parties they hosted. Their glamorous life came to an end, however, when Diana met Oswald Mosely, leader of the Fascist party in England. She fell in love, divorcing her husband. At the time, this amounted to social suicide, especially as Mosely was married and refused to leave his wife. It was only in 1936, a few years after his wife’s death, that Mosely decided to marry Diana. Hitler was present at the small ceremony. Diana’s decision to divorce led to a brief estrangement with her entire family, and a permanent one with Decca. In fact, only Debo and Pam seemed able to completely accept the situation, relations with the other sisters coming and going.

Diana had been introduced to Hitler in 1935 by her sister Unity, who was obsessively in love with the dictator and part of his inner circle. Diana liked him from the start, and she and her sister were frequent guests of his. Because of this connection, she and Mosely were imprisoned in England during WWII, and for a couple years afterwards. After the war, Diana and Mosely got on with life as usual. They had homes in Ireland, London, and Paris, and Mosely continued to be unfaithful to her, as he always had. Like Nancy, Diana published some translations and two memoirs to earn income. She died in 2003, at the age of 93.

(bron: Мой Рай)