Brigadier Arthur Valerian Wellesley, 8th Duke of Wellington, (2 July 1915 – 31 December 2014), styled Marquess of Douro between 1943 and 1972, was a senior British peer and a brigadier in the British Army. His main residence was Stratfield Saye House in Hampshire. He was a member of the House of Lords from 1972 until 1999, losing his seat by the House of Lords Act.

Background and education

Wellington was born in Rome, Italy, on 2 July 1915, the son of Lord Gerald Wellesley, future 7th Duke of Wellington, by his wife Dorothy Violet, daughter of Robert Ashton. He had one younger sister, the socialite Lady

Elizabeth Clyde Lady Elizabeth Clyde (born Elizabeth Wellesley, 26 December 1918 – 25 November 2013) was an English socialite. She was the daughter of Gerald Wellesley, 7th Duke of Wellington, and Dorothy Violet Ashton, and thus a great-great-granddaughter of ...

, whose son is the actor and musician

Jeremy Clyde Michael Jeremy Thomas Clyde (born 22 March 1941) is an English actor and musician. During the 1960s, he was one-half of the folk duo Chad & Jeremy (with Chad Stuart), who had little success in the UK, but were an object of interest to American ...

. At the time of Wellington's birth, his father Gerald was the third son of the 4th Duke of Wellington, with little prospect of succeeding to the family's estates and titles. Wellington was 28 when his first cousin Henry, the 6th Duke, was killed in action aged 31 while serving in Italy during the Second World War. Wellington's father then became the 7th Duke, and Wellington himself came to be known by the

courtesy title A courtesy title is a title that does not have legal significance but rather is used through custom or courtesy, particularly, in the context of nobility, the titles used by children of members of the nobility (cf. substantive title). In some co ...

''Marquess of Douro.'' He was known by this moniker between 1943 and 1972, when he became 8th Duke upon the death of his father. Wellington attended Eton before going up to New College, Oxford.

Military career

Wellington was commissioned a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

in the Territorial Army in 1936, and was commissioned with the same rank (on probation) in the British Army Reserve in 1939. In 1940, he was given a full commission as a second lieutenant in the

Royal Horse Guards Regiment The Royal Regiment of Horse Guards (The Blues) (RHG) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, part of the Household Cavalry. Raised in August 1650 at Newcastle upon Tyne and County Durham by Sir Arthur Haselrigge on the orders of Oliver ...

, with the service number 68268. He served in the Second World War with the

1st Household Cavalry Regiment The Household Cavalry Composite Regiment was a temporary, wartime-only, cavalry regiment of the British Army consisting of personnel drawn from the 1st Life Guards, 2nd Life Guards and Royal Horse Guards. It was active in 1882 for service in the ...

in the Middle East and Italy, during which time he was awarded the Military Cross, and promoted to the war substantive rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

. Following the war, the 1st Household Cavalry Regiment disbanded, and he returned to Royal Horse Guards, where he was promoted to lieutenant in 1946, and advanced to the rank of captain later that year. He received successive promotions to

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

in 1951, and to

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

in 1954, rising to command of his regiment. Seeing service in Cyprus between 1956 and 1958, he was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in 1958. He then moved to the

Household Cavalry Regiment The Household Cavalry Regiment (HCR) is an Armoured Cavalry regiment of the British Army based in Bulford Camp in Wiltshire. It is the brother regiment of the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment (HCMR) based at Hyde Park Barracks in London - both ...

, which he began commanding in 1959. Promoted to colonel in 1960, he commanded the

22nd Armoured Brigade The 22nd Armoured Brigade was an armoured brigade of the British Army that saw service during and after the Second World War. The brigade was formed on the outbreak of war on 3 September 1939 from Territorial Army (TA) armoured regiments. ...

(1960–1961), served as Commander, Royal Armoured Corps in the I(BR) Corps of the British Army of the Rhine, and became defence attaché to Spain in 1964. He retired from the Army in 1968 and was granted the honorary rank of brigadier.

Honorary appointments

Wellington was appointed the Colonel-in-Chief of the Duke of Wellington's Regiment in 1974, making him the only non-royal Colonel-in-Chief. After its absorption into the Yorkshire Regiment, he was appointed Deputy Colonel-in-Chief of the new regiment. He was also Deputy Colonel of

The Blues and Royals The Blues and Royals (Royal Horse Guards and 1st Dragoons) (RHG/D) is a cavalry regiment of the British Army, part of the Household Cavalry Regiment. The Colonel of the Regiment is Anne, Princess Royal. It is the second-most senior regiment in ...

and an Honorary Colonel of the 2nd Battalion, Wessex Regiment.

Later life and death

Wellington was 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. He was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant of Hampshire on 18 April 1975. Through his final years, the Duke continued to conduct public engagements, most recently at the Order of the Garter investiture, 16 June 2014. Wellington died peacefully at his home, Stratfield Saye Estate, near Basingstoke, on New Year's Eve 2014, six months before the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo, and seven months before his 100th birthday.

Marriage and issue

Wellington was twice engaged to Lady Rose Paget, the daughter of Charles Paget, 6th Marquess of Anglesey, who eventually married the Hon. John Francis McLaren. On 28 January 1944 he married Diana Ruth McConnel (1922–2010), only daughter of Major-General Douglas McConnel, of Knockdolian, Colmonell, Ayr, at St. George's Cathedral, Jerusalem. With Diana, he had five children: * Arthur Charles Valerian Wellesley, 9th Duke of Wellington, 10th Duke of Ciudad Rodrigo (19 August 1945); married

Princess Antonia of Prussia Princess is a regal rank and the feminine equivalent of prince (from Latin '' princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or for the daughter of a king or prince. Princess as a subs ...

. *Lord Richard Gerald Wellesley (20 June 1949); married Joanna Sumner on 14 July 1973. They have two daughters. *Lady (Caroline) Jane Wellesley (6 July 1951) *Lord John Henry Wellesley (20 April 1954); married Corinne Vaes, daughter of a Belgian diplomat, on 7 May 1977. They have two children. Father-in-law of singer James Blunt. *Lord (James) Christopher Douglas Wellesley (16 December 1964); married 1) Laura Wedge in 1994 and they were divorced in 2005. 2) Emma Nethercott, with whom he had a daughter, Skye (2006-2021).

Titles and styles

*2 July 1915 – 16 September 1943: Valerian Wellesley *16 September 1943 – 4 January 1972: Marquess of Douro *4 January 1972 – 31 December 2014: ''His Grace'' The Duke of Wellington **(Spain): ''The Most Excellent'' The Duke of Ciudad Rodrigo (4 January 1972 – 21 May 2010) **(Belgium and the Netherlands): ''His Serene Highness'' The Prince of Waterloo (4 January 1972 – 31 December 2014) He was 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, Lord Douro petitioned a formal claim to the title with the Spanish authorities. King Juan Carlos of Spain, through his Minister, granted the succession of the dukedom to Douro on 21 May 2010.Reported officially in the '' Official State Gazette'' for 12 June 2010.

Honours and decorations

On 26 December 1941, as Second Lieutenant Wellesley, Wellesley was awarded the Military Cross "in recognition of distinguished services in the Middle East (including Egypt, East Africa, The Western Desert, The Sudan, Greece, Crete, Syria and Tobruk) during the period February, 1941, to July, 1941." Wellington was appointed a Member (Fourth Class) of the Royal Victorian Order (MVO) on 15 March 1952. Membership (Fourth Class) was redesignated ''Lieutenant'' in 1984, thus adjusting his

post-nominal letters Post-nominal letters, also called post-nominal initials, post-nominal titles, designatory letters or simply post-nominals, are letters placed after a person's name to indicate that the individual holds a position, academic degree, accreditation, ...

to LVO. He was made an Officer (Military) of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) on 7 February 1958 "in recognition of distinguished services in Cyprus for the period 1st July to 31st December, 1957". In April 1990, he was further honoured by the Queen as a Knight of the Garter. His foreign honours include appointments as Officer of the Légion d'honneur, Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St. Michael of the Wing of Portugal and Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Isabel La Catolica of Spain. Wellington was also an Officer of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem (OStJ). Wellesley was elected a Fellow of King's College London (FKC).

References

External links

*
The Yorkshire Regiment (14th/15th, 19th and 33rd/76th Foot

''Debrett's People of Today''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wellington, Valerian Wellesley, 8th Duke Of 1915 births 2014 deaths Valerian Wellesley, 8th Duke of Wellington People educated at Eton College Alumni of New College, Oxford Royal Horse Guards officers Deputy Lieutenants of Hampshire Dukes of Ciudad Rodrigo 108 Dukes da Vitória Knights of the Garter Lieutenants of the Royal Victorian Order Officers of the Order of St John Officers of the Order of the British Empire Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic Recipients of the Military Cross British Army personnel of World War II Princes of Waterloo British Army brigadiers Wellesley, Valerian 8 Wellesley, Valerian 8 Earls of Mornington People from Rome