He was the son of Francis Godolphin Osborne, first Baron Godolphin (d. 1850); he succeeded to the dukedom in 1859.

REFERENCES TO George Godolphin Osborne, eighth duke of Leeds:

John Gibson Lockhart to Charlotte Lockhart Hope, 15 March 1854 in The Life and Letters of John Gibson Lockhart (London: John C. Nimmo, 1897)