Fane was the fifth and youngest son of John Fane, 11th Earl of Westmorland, by Lady Priscilla Anne, daughter of William Wellesley-Pole, 3rd Earl of Mornington.^[2] He was educated at Harrow and Trinity College, Cambridge, where he was a member of the 'Apostles', chancellor's medallist in 1850 and graduated M.A. in 1851.^[3] Between 1856 and 1858 he was secretary of legation at St. Petersburg and first secretary and acting chargé d'affaires at Paris from 1865 to 1867.^[1]

An extract from a letter written by Edward Granville, the 3rd Earl St Germans, to his son (dated Aug 5, 1850) reads: "Julian Fane has just gained his gold medal at Cambridge from his best English poem. [His Mother] went down to hear him recite it. He must by all accounts be a remarkably clever young man, besides being a wonderful musician."

In 1852 he issued Poems, and a translation of Heine in 1854.^[1]

Fane married Lady Adine Eliza Anne, daughter of George Cowper, 6th Earl Cowper, in 1866. They had one son (who did not reach adulthood) and a daughter, Ethel Anne Priscilla, who married William Grenfell, 1st Baron Desborough. Lady Adine Fane died in October 1868, only a few months after the birth of her son. Fane only survived her by two years and died in 1870.^[2]

He died at 29 Portman Square, London, on 19 April 1870.^[4]

•   This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Lee, Sidney, ed. (1903). "Fane, Julian Henry Charles". Index and Epitome. Dictionary of National Biography. Cambridge University Press. p. 418.

• Works by Julian Fane at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)