Arthur Valerian Wellesley, 8th Duke of Wellington

His Grace The Duke of Wellington KG, LVO, OBE, MC, DL
The Duke of Wellington at Battlesbury Barracks, May 2006.
Born	Arthur Valerian Wellesley 2 July 1915 (1915-07-02) Rome, Italy
Nationality	British
Alma mater	New College, Oxford
Title	Duke of Wellington
Predecessor	Gerald Wellesley
Spouse	Diana McConnel (1921–2010)
Children	(Arthur) Charles Wellesley, Richard Wellesley, Jane Wellesley, John Wellesley, James Wellesley
Parents	Gerald Wellesley (father) Dorothy Violet (mother)

Brigadier Arthur Valerian Wellesley, 8th Duke of Wellington, KG, LVO, OBE, MC, DL (born 2 July 1915), styled Marquess Douro between 1943 and 1972, is a senior British peer and a retired Brigadier in the British Army. He lost his membership of the House of Lords in the election under the House of Lords Act 1999.

Apart from his British titles, he holds the hereditary titles of 8th Prince of Waterloo (Prins van Waterloo) of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, and 8th Duke of the Victory (Duque da Vitória) of the Kingdom of Portugal with its subsidiary titles Marquis of Torres Vedras (Marquês de Torres Vedras) and Count of Vimeiro (Conde de Vimeiro). These were granted to the first Duke as victory titles for his distinguished services as victorious commanding general in the Peninsular War (in Spain and Portugal), and at the Battle of Waterloo (in what is now Belgium).

The 8th Duke of Wellington was also the 9th Duke of Ciudad Rodrigo (Duque de Ciudad Rodrigo) of the Kingdom of Spain, but on 10 March 2010 he ceded the Spanish Dukedom to his eldest child, Charles Wellesley, Marquess of Douro. In accordance with Spanish procedure, the Marquess made formal claim to the title with the Spanish authorities. King Juan Carlos of Spain, through his minister, granted the succession of the dukedom to the Marquess of Douro by Royal Decree on 21 May 2010, reported officially in the Official Bulletin of State for 12 June 2010.

Background and education

Wellington was born in Rome, Italy, the son of Gerald Wellesley, 7th Duke of Wellington, and Dorothy Violet, daughter of Robert Ashton. He was known by his courtesy title Marquess Douro from 1943 when his father succeeded in the dukedom on the death of his nephew. He attended Eton and New College, Oxford.

Career

The Duke in 1986, by Allan Warren.

Wellington joined the British Army, serving in the Second World War with the Royal Horse Guards. He was awarded the Military Cross in 1941. He eventually rose to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel, commanding that regiment in 1954. He then moved to the Household Cavalry Regiment, which he began commanding in 1959. He commanded the 22nd Armoured Brigade (1960–1961), served in the British Army of the Rhine, and became defence attaché to Spain in 1964. He retired from the Army in 1968 as a Brigadier.

Wellington has also been involved in business as a Director of Massey Ferguson Holdings Ltd from 1967 to 1989 and of Motor Iberica SA (Spain) from 1967 to 1999. In 1975 he was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant of Hampshire.

Honours

Wellington was made a Member of the Royal Victorian Order (MVO) in 1952 and a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 1958. In 1990 he was further honoured when he was made a Knight of the Garter. His foreign honours include being appointed an Officer of the Legion of Honour of France, a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St. Michael of the Wing of Portugal and a Member of the Order of Isabel La Catolica of Spain. He is also an Officer of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem. FKC.

Honorary appointments

Wellington is Deputy Colonel-in-Chief (to HRH The Duke of York) of the Yorkshire Regiment, Deputy Colonel (to HRH The Princess Royal) of The Blues and Royals and an Honorary Colonel of the 2nd Battalion, Wessex Regiment.

Family

The 8th Duke of Wellington wearing his robes as a Knight Companion of the Order of the Garter at Windsor Castle (2006)

Wellington was twice engaged to Lady Rose Paget, the daughter of Charles Paget, 6th Marquess of Anglesey, who eventually married the Hon. John McLaren. On 28 January 1944 he married Diana Ruth McConnel (1921–2010), only daughter of Major-General Douglas Fitzgerald McConnel CB, CBE, of Knockdolian, Colmonell, Ayr, at St. George's Cathedral in Jerusalem. They had five children:

• Arthur Charles Valerian Wellesley, Marquess of Douro, 10th Duke of Ciudad Rodrigo (b. 19 August 1945), married to the Princess Antonia of Prussia and has issue, two sons, three daughters, two granddaughters and two grandsons.
• Lord Richard Gerald Wellesley (b. 20 June 1949), who lives on his maternal grandfather's estate Knockdolian; he married 1973 (div) Joanna Marion Sumner, daughter of John Sumner of Marston St. Lawrence, and has issue, two daughters, Davinia Chloe (b. 1977) and Natasha Doone (b. 1981).
• Lady (Caroline) Jane Wellesley (b. 6 July 1951), film producer and author; who is unmarried.
• Lord John Henry Wellesley (b. 20 April 1954), married 1977 Corinne Vaes, daughter of Robert Vaes, a Belgian diplomat, and has issue, one son Gerald Valerian born in 1981 and one daughter Alexandrina Sofia born in 1983.
• Lord James Christopher Douglas Wellesley (b. 16 December 1964), married 1994 (divorced 2005) as her second husband, Laura Elizabeth Wedge, daughter of a property magnate, and has issue, 1 daughter, Eleanor (b. 1995). He is now married (as of 26 July 2005) to his daughter's former teacher Emma Nethercott.

See also

• Duke of Wellington's Regiment
• 76th Regiment of Foot

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by the Duke of Wellington
• 3rd Battalion Yorkshire Regiment (Duke of Wellington's)

Media related to Arthur Valerian Wellesley, 8th Duke of Wellington at Wikimedia Commons

Orders of precedence in the United Kingdom
Preceded by His Grace The Duke of Leinster	His Grace the Duke of Wellington United Kingdom Order of Precedence Gentlemen	Succeeded by His Grace The Duke of Sutherland
Peerage of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Gerald Wellesley	Duke of Wellington 1972–Present	Succeeded by Incumbent
Peerage of Ireland
Preceded by Gerald Wellesley	Earl of Mornington 1972–Present	Succeeded by Incumbent
Dutch nobility
Preceded by Gerald Wellesley	Prince of Waterloo 1972–Present	Succeeded by Incumbent
Spanish nobility
Preceded by Gerald Wellesley	Duke of Ciudad Rodrigo 1968–2010	Succeeded by Charles Wellesley
Portuguese nobility
Preceded by Gerald Wellesley	Duke of the Victory 1972–Present	Succeeded by Charles (Lamar) Wellesley