Diana Mitford - Post-war

Post-war

After the war ended the couple kept homes in Ireland, with apartments in London and Paris. Their recently renovated Clonfert home, a former Bishop's palace, burned down in an accidental fire. Following this, they moved to a home near Fermoy, County Cork, later settling permanently in France, at Orsay. They were neighbours of Duke and Duchess of Windsor, and soon became close friends with them. The Duchess of Windsor, upon seeing the Temple de la Gloire for the first time, was said to have remarked, "Oh, it's charming, charming but where do you live?"

Once again they were well known for entertaining, but were barred from all functions at the British Embassy. During their time in France, the Mosleys quietly went through another marriage ceremony; Hitler had safeguarded their original marriage license, and it was never found after the war. During this period, Mosley was unfaithful to Diana but she found for the most part that she was able to learn to keep herself from getting too upset regarding his adulterous habits. The only time she and sister Jessica communicated with each other following their estrangement was when they were both taking care of their sister Nancy. Nancy was at Versailles, and was battling Hodgkin's disease. Soon after Nancy's death in 1973, all communication between the sisters ceased. Diana was also a lifelong supporter of the British Union of Fascists (BUF), and its postwar successor the Union Movement, to which she made financial contributions until the 1994 death of its organiser Jeffrey Hamm.

At times she was ambiguous when discussing her loyalties to Britain and her strong belief in fascism. In her 1977 autobiography A Life of Contrasts she wrote "I didn't love Hitler any more than I did Winston . I can't regret it, it was so interesting." At other times, however, her anti-semitism became more explicit: the journalist Paul Callan remembered mentioning that he was Jewish while interviewing her husband in Diana's presence. According to Callan: "I mentioned, just in the course of conversation, that I was Jewish – at which Lady Mosley went ashen, snapped a crimson nail and left the room ... No explanation was given but she would later write to a friend: A nice, polite reporter came to interview Tom but he turned out to be Jewish and was sitting there at our table. They are a very clever race and come in all shapes and sizes."

In 1989, she was invited to appear on the BBC Radio 4 programme Desert Island Discs with Sue Lawley. She caused controversy for describing Hitler as "fascinating", and when asked: "What about the six million Jews murdered by the Nazis?", she replied: "Oh no, I don't think it was that many." Her choices were: Symphony No. 41 (Mozart), "Casta Diva" from Norma (Bellini), "Ode to Joy" (Beethoven), Die Walküre (Wagner), Liebestod (Wagner), "L'amour est un oiseau rebelle" from Carmen (Bizet), "A Whiter Shade Of Pale" (Procol Harum) and "Polonaise", Op. 44 (Chopin).

In 1998, due to her advancing age, she moved out of the Temple de la Gloire and into a Paris apartment. Temple de la Gloire was subsequently sold for £1 million in 2000. Throughout much of her life, particularly after her years in prison, she was afflicted by regular bouts of migraines. In 1981, she underwent a successful surgery to remove a brain tumour. She convalesced at Chatsworth House, the residence of her sister Deborah. In the early 1990s, she was also successfully treated for skin cancer. In later life she also suffered from deafness.