Francis Osborne, 5th Duke of Leeds

George III
George III
Prime Minister	The Right Hon. William Pitt
Preceded by	The Earl Temple
Succeeded by	The Lord Grenville
Leader of the House of Lords
	In office; 1789–1790
Preceded by	The Lord Sydney
Succeeded by	The Lord Grenville
Personal details
Born	29 January 1751
Died	31 January 1799 (aged 48); Tory
Spouses	; Lady Amelia Darcy (m. 1773; div. 1779) ; Catherine Anguish; (m. 1788)
Children	George Osborne, 6th Duke of Leeds; Mary Pelham, Countess of Chichester; Francis Osborne, 1st Baron Godolphin; Lord Sidney Osborne; Lady Catherine Whyte-Melville;
Parent(s)	Thomas Osborne, 4th Duke of Leeds; Lady Mary Godolphin
Alma mater	Christ Church, Oxford

Francis Godolphin Osborne, 5th Duke of Leeds,

Governor of Scilly. In 1790, he was made a Knight of the Order of the Garter

. As a statesman, he is generally regarded as a failure, and his deep hostility to the newly independent United States damaged relations between the two countries.

Background and education

Carmarthen was the only surviving son of Thomas Osborne, 4th Duke of Leeds, by his wife, Lady Mary, daughter of Francis Godolphin, 2nd Earl of Godolphin, and Henrietta Godolphin, 2nd Duchess of Marlborough. He was educated at Westminster School and at Christ Church, Oxford.^[1]

Political career

Carmarthen was a

Captain of Deal Castle. In the House of Lords he was prominent as a determined foe of the prime minister, Lord North, who, after he had resigned his position as chamberlain, deprived him of the office of Lord Lieutenant of the East Riding of Yorkshire in 1780. He regained this, however, two years later.^[1]

Early in 1783, Carmarthen was selected as ambassador to France, but he did not take up this appointment, becoming instead

King George III himself set the main lines of foreign policy before he became mentally disabled.^[2] Pitt's rejection of Leeds' anti-Russian policy was the final blow and he left office in April 1791.^[3]

Leeds had done nothing to foster good relations with the newly independent United States: two future Presidents, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, as envoys from the United States, both complained of his obstructive attitude and "aversion to having anything to do with us".^[4] While Adams, who was rather Anglophile by inclination, was prepared to forgive and forget, Jefferson was not, and it can be argued that Leeds's only lasting achievement was to foster Jefferson's implacable hostility as President to Great Britain and its rulers.^[5]

Subsequently, Leeds took little part in politics: in 1792, hearing rumours that a new coalition might be formed, he unwisely offered himself as its head and met with a firm rebuff from both Pitt and the King.^[6]

Family

Leeds married firstly in 1773 Lady Amelia Darcy, daughter of Robert Darcy, 4th Earl of Holderness on 29 November 1773. Lady Amelia became Baroness Darcy de Knayth and Baroness Conyers in her own right in 1778. They were divorced in 1779.^[7] Their marriage produced three children:

George William Frederick Osborne, Marquess of Carmarthen (21 July 1775 – 10 July 1838), later 6th Duke of Leeds; married Lady Charlotte Townshend, daughter of the 1st Marquess Townshend, on 17 August 1797 and had issue.
Lady Mary Henrietta Juliana Osborne (7 September 1776 – 21 October 1862); married Thomas Pelham, 2nd Earl of Chichester (28 April 1756 – 4 July 1826) in 1801 and had issue.
Lord Francis Osborne (18 October 1777 – 15 February 1850), later 1st Baron Godolphin; married The Hon. Elizabeth Eden, third daughter of the 1st Baron Auckland, on 31 March 1800 and had issue.

He married secondly Catherine, daughter of Thomas Anguish, in 1788 and had two more children:

Lord Sidney Godolphin Osborne (1789–1861); unmarried.
Lady Catherine Anne Sarah Osborne (1791–1878); married Major John Whyte-Melville on 1 June 1819 and had issue.

Leeds died in London in January 1799, aged 48, and was buried in the Osborne family chapel at

All Hallows Church, Harthill, South Yorkshire. He was succeeded in the dukedom by his eldest son from his first marriage, George Osborne, 6th Duke of Leeds. His second son from his first marriage, Lord Francis Osborne, was created Baron Godolphin in 1832. The dowager Duchess of Leeds died in October 1837, aged 73. Leeds's Political Memoranda were edited by Oscar Browning for the Camden Society in 1884, and there are eight volumes of his official correspondence in the British Museum.^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Chisholm 1911.
^ Jeremy Black, British Foreign Policy in an Age of Revolutions, 1783-1793 (1994), pp. 55-56.
^ William Hague William Pitt the Younger.^{[page needed]}
^ McCullough, David John Adams, Simon and Schuster New York (2001).^{[page needed]}
^ McCullough, John Adams.^{[page needed]}
^ Hague, William William Pitt the Younger Harper Collins (2004).^{[page needed]}
^ "House of Lords Journal Volume 35: April 1779 11-20". British History Online. HMSO. Retrieved 13 September 2021.

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Leeds, Thomas Osborne, 1st Duke of s.v. Francis Osborne, 5th duke of Leeds". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 16 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 368.

Parliament of Great Britain
Preceded by Richard Burton Phillipson William Cornwallis	1774 With: Richard Burton Phillipson	Succeeded by Richard Burton Phillipson John St John
Preceded by William Evelyn The Earl of Clanbrassil	1774–1775 With: Francis Owen	Succeeded by Philip Yorke
Court offices
Preceded by The Earl De La Warr	Lord Chamberlain to The Queen 1777–1780	Succeeded by The Earl of Ailesbury
Political offices
Preceded by The Earl Temple	Foreign Secretary 1783–1791	Succeeded by The Lord Grenville
Preceded by The Lord Sydney	Leader of the House of Lords 1789–1790	Succeeded by The Lord Grenville
Honorary titles
Vacant Title last held by The Viscount of Irvine	Lord Lieutenant of the East Riding of Yorkshire 1778–1780	Succeeded by The Earl of Carlisle
Preceded by The Earl of Carlisle	Lord Lieutenant of the East Riding of Yorkshire 1782–1799	Succeeded by The Earl of Carlisle
Vacant Title last held by The Marquess of Rockingham	Vice-Admiral of Yorkshire 1795–1799	Vacant Title next held by The Lord Mulgrave
Preceded by The Lord Godolphin	Governor of the Isles of Scilly 1785−1799	Succeeded by The Duke of Leeds
Peerage of England
Preceded by Thomas Osborne	Duke of Leeds 1789–1799	Succeeded by George Osborne
Preceded by Thomas Osborne	writ in acceleration ) 1776–1799	Succeeded by George Osborne

[FOOTNOTEChisholm1911-1] Chisholm 1911.

[2] Jeremy Black, British Foreign Policy in an Age of Revolutions, 1783-1793 (1994), pp. 55-56.

[3] William Hague William Pitt the Younger.^{[page needed]}

[4] McCullough, David John Adams, Simon and Schuster New York (2001).^{[page needed]}

[5] McCullough, John Adams.^{[page needed]}

[6] Hague, William William Pitt the Younger Harper Collins (2004).^{[page needed]}

[7] "House of Lords Journal Volume 35: April 1779 11-20". British History Online. HMSO. Retrieved 13 September 2021.

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