Henry Richard Charles Wellesley
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Henry Richard Charles Wellesley, 1st Earl Cowley, (17 June 1804 – 15 July 1884), known as The Lord Cowley between 1847 and 1857, was a British diplomat. He served as
British Ambassador to France The British Ambassador to France is the United Kingdom's foremost diplomatic representative in France, and is the head of Britain's diplomatic mission in Paris. The official title is ''His Majesty's Ambassador to France''. Traditionally, the ...
between 1852 and 1867.


Background and education

Wellesley was born in 1804 in
Cheshunt Cheshunt ( ) is a town in Hertfordshire, England, north of London on the River Lea and Lee Navigation. It contains a section of the Lee Valley Park, including much of the River Lee Country Park. To the north lies Broxbourne and Wormley, Hertfor ...
, Hertfordshire, the eldest son of
Henry Wellesley, 1st Baron Cowley Henry Wellesley, 1st Baron Cowley GCB (20 January 1773 – 27 April 1847) was an Anglo-Irish diplomat and politician. He was the younger brother of the soldier and politician the first Duke of Wellington. He is known particularly for his servic ...
, and Lady
Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...
, daughter of
Charles Cadogan, 1st Earl Cadogan Charles Sloane Cadogan, 1st Earl Cadogan (29 September 1728 – 3 April 1807) was a British peer and Whig politician. Early life Cadogan was the only son of Charles Cadogan, 2nd Baron Cadogan and his wife, the former Elizabeth Sloane. His ma ...
. He was a nephew of the
1st Duke of Wellington Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of 19th-century Britain, serving twice as prime minister of ...
and the 1st Marquess Wellesley. He was educated at
Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England * Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States * Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...
and
Brasenose College, Oxford Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The library and chapel were added in the mi ...
.


Diplomatic career

Wellesley entered the diplomatic service in 1824, receiving his first important appointment in 1845, when he became Minister Plenipotentiary to the Ottoman Empire.Haydn, Joseph. The Book of Dignities: Containing Lists of the Official Personages of the British Empire. London: Longman Brown Green, 1851 pp.83-4. This was followed in June 1851 by his appointment as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the reinstated diet of the
German Confederation The German Confederation (german: Deutscher Bund, ) was an association of 39 predominantly German-speaking sovereign states in Central Europe. It was created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 as a replacement of the former Holy Roman Empire, w ...
, a position which he only held for a short time, as he was chosen in 1852 to succeed
Lord Normanby Marquess of Normanby is a title that has been created twice, once in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The first creation came in 1694 in the Peerage of England in favour of John Sheffield, 3rd Earl of M ...
as the British Ambassador in Paris. Lord Cowley, as Wellesley had become on his father's death in 1847, held this important post for fifteen years, and the story of his diplomatic life in Paris cannot be separated from the general history of England and France. As Minister during the greater part of the reign of
Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...
, he conducted the delicate negotiations between the two countries during the time of those eastern complications which preceded and followed the
Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...
, and also during the excitement and unrest produced by the attempt made in 1858 by
Felice Orsini Felice Orsini (; ; 10 December 1819 – 13 March 1858) was an Italian revolutionary and leader of the ''Carbonari'' who tried to assassinate Napoleon III, Emperor of the French. Early life Felice Orsini was born at Meldola in Romagna, then p ...
to assassinate the Emperor of the French; while his diplomatic skill was no less in evidence during the
war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...
between France and
Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
and the subsequent course of events in
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
. In 1857 he was created Viscount Dangan, in the County of Meath, and Earl Cowley. He was further honoured in 1866 when he was made a
Knight of the Garter The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. It is the most senior order of knighthood in the British honours system, outranked in precedence only by the Victoria Cross and the George ...
. Having assisted
Richard Cobden Richard Cobden (3 June 1804 – 2 April 1865) was an English Radical and Liberal politician, manufacturer, and a campaigner for free trade and peace. He was associated with the Anti-Corn Law League and the Cobden–Chevalier Treaty. As a young ...
to conclude the commercial treaty between Great Britain and France in 1860, he retired as ambassador in 1867.


Personal life

On 22 October 1833 Lord Cowley married the Hon. Olivia Cecilia (d. 1885) at
St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle in England is a castle chapel built in the late-medieval Perpendicular Gothic style. It is both a Royal Peculiar (a church under the direct jurisdiction of the monarch) and the Chapel of the Order of the Gar ...
, daughter of the 20th Baroness de Ros and
Lord Henry FitzGerald Lord Henry FitzGerald PC (Ire) (30 July 1761 – 9 July 1829) was the fourth son of the 1st Duke of Leinster and the Duchess of Leinster (née Lady Emily Lennox). A younger brother was the revolutionary Lord Edward FitzGerald. Life Fitzgerald ...
(fourth son of the 1st Duke of Leinster). Together, they were the parents of three sons and two daughters: * William Henry Wellesley, 2nd Earl Cowley (1834–1895) * Lady Feodorowna Cecilia (1838–1920), who married
Francis Bertie, 1st Viscount Bertie of Thame Francis Leveson Bertie, 1st Viscount Bertie of Thame, ( "barty of tame"; 17 August 1844 – 26 September 1919) was a British diplomat. He was Ambassador to Italy between 1903 and 1905 and Ambassador to France between 1905 and 1918. Background ...
in 1874. * Lady Sophia Georgiana Robertina (1840–1923), who married
Charles Philip Yorke, 5th Earl of Hardwicke Charles Philip Yorke, 5th Earl of Hardwicke, (23 April 1836 – 18 May 1897), styled Viscount Royston until 1873, and nicknamed Champagne Charlie for his love of the high life, was a British aristocrat, Conservative politician, dandy and bankr ...
in 1863. * Hon. Cecil Charles Foley (1842–1916), who served in the
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
and died unmarried. * Col. Hon. Frederick Arthur (1844–1931), who married Emma Anne Caroline Bloomfield Loftus, daughter of
Lord Augustus Loftus Lord Augustus William Frederick Spencer Loftus, (4 October 1817 – 7 March 1904) was a British diplomat and colonial administrator. He was Ambassador to Prussia from 1865 to 1868, to the North German Confederation from 1868 to 1871 and to the ...
, in 1873; they divorced and he married Catherine Candelin in 1884; they divorced in 1897 and he married ''Evelyn'' Katrine Gwenfra Wellesley, Duchess of Wellington ( Williams), in 1904; she was a daughter of
Thomas Peers Williams Lt.-Col. Thomas Peers Williams (27 March 1795 – 8 September 1875) was MP for Great Marlow from 1820 to 1868. He was Father of the House of Commons from December 1867 to 1868. Early life Williams was the son of Owen Williams (1764–1832), MP ...
, MP, and widow of
Henry Wellesley, 3rd Duke of Wellington Henry Wellesley, 3rd Duke of Wellington (5 April 1846 – 8 June 1900) was a British peer and Conservative Party politician. Early life He was a son of Lord Charles Wellesley and grandson of the 1st Duke of Wellington. He was born with no titl ...
. Lord Cowley died on 15 July 1884 at Albemarle Street, London. He succeeded in his titles by his eldest son,
William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...
. In 1863 Cowley inherited the former Long family estate of
Draycot Cerne Draycot Cerne (Draycott) is a small village and former civil parish in Wiltshire, England, about north of Chippenham. History The parish was referred to as ''Draicote'' (Medieval Latin) in the ancient Domesday hundred of Startley when Geoff ...
in
Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...
from his kinsman the
5th Earl of Mornington Fifth is the Ordinal number (linguistics), ordinal form of the number 5, five. Fifth or The Fifth may refer to: * Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as in the expression "pleading the Fifth" * Fifth column, a political term * Fifth ...
, and he retired four years later. Through his youngest son, he was a grandfather of Sir Victor Wellesley.


Further reading

*''Hand of Fate: The History of the Longs, Wellesleys and the Draycot Estate in Wiltshire''. Tim Couzens 2001


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cowley, Henry Wellesley, 1st Earl 1804 births 1884 deaths Alumni of Brasenose College, Oxford Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to France Diplomatic peers Eldest sons of British hereditary barons Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Knights of the Garter Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom People educated at Eton College English people of Irish descent H Peers of the United Kingdom created by Queen Victoria