Catherine Sarah Dorothea Wellesley, Duchess of Wellington (' Pakenham; 14 January 1773 – 24 April 1831), known before her marriage as Kitty Pakenham, was the wife of

Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington Field marshal (United Kingdom), Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington (; 1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was a British Army officer and statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures in Britain during t ...

Early life

Catherine Pakenham was born on 14 January 1773 in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, Ireland. A daughter of

Edward Pakenham Major-General Sir Edward Michael Pakenham, (19 March 1778 – 8 January 1815), was a British Army officer and politician. He was the son of the Baron Longford and the brother-in-law of the Duke of Wellington, with whom he served in the Pen ...

, and the former Catherine Rowley, she became "

The Honourable ''The Honourable'' (Commonwealth English) or ''The Honorable'' (American English; American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific Style ...

Catherine Pakenham" when her father succeeded as the 2nd Baron Longford in 1776. Among her siblings were Thomas Pakenham, 2nd Earl of Longford; Gen.

Sir Edward Pakenham Major general (United Kingdom), Major-General Sir Edward Michael Pakenham, (19 March 1778 – 8 January 1815), was a British Army officer and politician. He was the son of Edward Pakenham, 2nd Baron Longford, the Baron Longford and the brothe ...

; and Lt.-Gen. Sir Hercules Robert Pakenham, aide-de-camp to

King William IV William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded hi ...

. Her paternal grandparents were Thomas Pakenham, 1st Baron Longford, and Elizabeth Cuffe, 1st Countess of Longford. Her maternal grandparents were Elizabeth Rowley, 1st Viscountess Langford, and

Hercules Langford Rowley Hercules Langford Rowley Privy Council of Ireland, PC ( – 25 March 1794) was an Irish politician and landowner. Early life Rowley was born . He was the only son of Frances (née Upton) Rowley and Hercules Rowley, a Member of Parliament for Cou ...

, Member of Parliament for

County Meath County Meath ( ; or simply , ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is bordered by County Dublin to the southeast, County ...

and

County Londonderry County Londonderry (Ulster Scots dialects, Ulster-Scots: ''Coontie Lunnonderrie''), also known as County Derry (), is one of the six Counties of Northern Ireland, counties of Northern Ireland, one of the thirty-two Counties of Ireland, count ...

Personal life

Pakenham had met Wellesley in Ireland when they were both young, and Wellesley, after numerous visits to the Longfords' Dublin home, made his feelings towards her clear. At the time, her family disapproved of the match as Wellesley was the third son of a large family and had little in the way of prospects. After the rejection by the Pakenhams, Wellesley became serious about his military career, was posted to the Netherlands and India, enjoyed a spectacular rise, and seemingly forgot about Pakenham. Although she remained hopeful that they would be reunited, she admitted to a friend, Olivia Sparrow, after many years that she thought the "business over". She became engaged to Galbraith Lowry Cole, the second son of the

Earl of Enniskillen Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. In modern Britain, an earl is a member of the peerage, ranking below a marquess and above a viscount. A feminine form of ''earl'' never developed; instead, ''countess'' is used. The tit ...

, but Sparrow, who was in contact with Wellesley, revealed that he still considered himself attached to her. After much soul-searching, Pakenham broke off the engagement to Cole, although she believed the stress of the affair had damaged her health.

Marriage to Arthur Wellesley

Pakenham had been a pretty, vivacious girl when Wellesley had met her ten years before, but she had been very ill in 1795–6, during his absence, and was thin, pale and in poor health by the time he informed their mutual friend Olivia Sparrow that he was returning to England and that she should "renew the proposition he had made some years ago" on his behalf. Pakenham feared that Wellesley felt bound by promises he had made ten years earlier and was in two minds as to whether to accept the proposal. Despite his more formal proposal after he had obtained her brother's permission, she insisted that he should see her in person before committing himself. Wellesley travelled to Ireland to meet her, and although he was obviously disappointed in the change in her (he remarked to his brother "She has grown ugly, by Jove!"), went ahead with the marriage. The couple were married on 10 April 1806,

St. George's Church, Dublin St. George's Church is a former parish church in Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Designed by Francis Johnston (architect), Francis Johnston, it is considered to be one of his finest works. The structure is located at Hardwicke Place, jus ...

(while it was using a temporary chapel in Drumcondra), by Wellesley's clergyman brother, Gerald. After a brief

honeymoon A honeymoon is a vacation taken by newlyweds after their wedding to celebrate their marriage. Today, honeymoons are often celebrated in destinations considered exotic or romantic. In a similar context, it may also refer to the phase in a couple ...

, Wellesley returned to England. Pakenham followed him and after a stay with his brother, while Wellesley continued to inhabit his bachelor's lodging, they set up home together in

Harley Street Harley Street is a street in Marylebone, Central London, named after Edward Harley, 2nd Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer. With little in common, Wellesley could not help but give the impression that he found her poor company and although they had two sons,

Arthur Arthur is a masculine given name of uncertain etymology. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. A common spelling variant used in many Slavic, Romance, and Germanic languages is Artur. In Spanish and Ital ...

, in 1807, and

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...

, in 1808, they lived apart for most of the time and occupied separate rooms in the house when they were together. Her brother, Edward "Ned" Pakenham, served under Wellesley throughout the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1808–1814) was fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French ...

and Wellesley's regard for him helped to smooth his relations with Pakenham, until Ned's death at the

Battle of New Orleans The Battle of New Orleans was fought on January 8, 1815, between the British Army under Major General Sir Edward Pakenham and the United States Army under Brevet Major General Andrew Jackson, roughly 5 miles (8 km) southeast of the Frenc ...

in 1815. Wellesley remained in Portugal and Spain during the entire Peninsular War, not returning to England until 1814. Pakenham aged quickly and became short-sighted, causing her to squint when talking. Wellesley found her vain and vacuous. It appears that she indeed loved him, but contented herself by doting on her sons and four adopted children. Wellesley confided to his closest female friend, Harriet Arbuthnot, that he had "repeatedly tried to live in a friendly manner with her ... but it was impossible ... & it drove him to seek that comfort & happiness abroad that was denied him at home". Harriet, the nature of whose own relations with Wellesley remains a subject of speculation, had a rather low opinion of Pakenham—"she is such a fool"—but disputed Wellesley's claim that she cared nothing for his happiness; in a rare moment of sympathy, she wrote that Pakenham wanted above all to make her husband happy, but had no idea how to do it.

Duchess of Wellington

She became the Duchess of Wellington on Wellesley's creation as the Duke of Wellington on 3 May 1814 and eventually joined him in France when he was appointed

Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

after

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

's exile to

Elba Elba (, ; ) is a Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean island in Tuscany, Italy, from the coastal town of Piombino on the Italian mainland, and the largest island of the Tuscan Archipelago. It is also part of the Arcipelago Toscano National Park, a ...

. Lady Elizabeth Yorke commented that "her appearance, unfortunately, does not correspond with one's notion of an ambassadress or the wife of a hero, but she succeeds uncommonly well in her part".

Maria Edgeworth Maria Edgeworth (1 January 1768 – 22 May 1849) was a prolific Anglo-Irish novelist of adults' and children's literature. She was one of the first realist writers in children's literature and a significant figure in the evolution of the novel i ...

, however, found her "delightful" and "amiable" and commented that:

Germaine de Staël Anne Louise Germaine de Staël-Holstein (; ; 22 April 176614 July 1817), commonly known as Madame de Staël ( ; ), was a prominent philosopher, woman of letters, and political theorist in both Parisian and Genevan intellectual circles. She was ...

described Pakenham as "adorable".

Death

She became seriously ill in 1831, which brought Wellington to her bedside. She ran a finger up his sleeve to find if he was still wearing an armlet she had once given him, "She found it, as she would have at any time these past twenty years, had she cared to look for it" remarked Wellington. "How strange it was", he went on to say, "that people could live together for half a lifetime and only understand each other at the end". She died on 24 April.

Arms

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wellington, Catherine Wellesley, Duchess of People from County Longford 1773 births 1831 deaths 18th-century Irish people 19th-century Irish people People from County Dublin Catherine Wellesley, Duchess of Wellington British duchesses by marriage Daughters of barons Spouses of prime ministers of the United Kingdom Wives of knights Women of the Regency era

Catherine Katherine (), also spelled Catherine and Catherina, other variations, is a feminine given name. The name and its variants are popular in countries where large Christian populations exist, because of its associations with one of the earliest Ch ...

Irish expatriates in England