British politician (1751?1799)
Francis Godolphin Osborne, 5th Duke of Leeds
,
KG
,
PC
(29 January 1751 ? 31 January 1799), styled
Marquess of Carmarthen
until 1789, was a British politician. He notably served as
Foreign Secretary
under
William Pitt the Younger
from 1783 to 1791. He also was
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
[
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]
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
.
Political career
[
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]
Carmarthen was a
Member of Parliament
for
Eye
in 1774 and for
Helston
from 1774 to 1775; in 1776 having received a
writ of acceleration
as
Baron Osborne
, he entered the
House of Lords
, and in 1777 Lord Chamberlain of
the Queen
's Household and
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.
Early in 1783, Carmarthen was selected as ambassador to France, but he did not take up this appointment, becoming instead
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
under
William Pitt the Younger
in December of the same year.
Historian
Jeremy Black
says that in terms of foreign policy, Pitt and other leaders were disappointed with his performance as a minister. The
Duke of Leeds
, as he became upon his father's death in 1789, was anti-French but did not develop an active and aggressive foreign policy. 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
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]
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:
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
.
References
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Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
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Secretary of State for Foreign
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Secretary of State for Foreign,
Commonwealth and Development Affairs
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International
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National
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Artists
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