Bodley was a descendant of diplomat and scholar Sir Thomas Bodley, founder of the Bodleian Library, and was, through his mother, a cousin of Gertrude Bell, a writer and archaeologist who helped establish the Hashemite dynasties.
Bodley adalah keturunan dari diplomat dan cendekiawan Sir Thomas Bodley, pendiri Perpustakaan Bodleian, dan , melalui ibunya, sepupu dari Gertrude Bell, seorang penulis dan arkeolog yang membantu mendirikan dinasti-dinasti Hashemite.