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 between 1852 and 1867.
Background and education
Wellesley was born in 1804 in
Cheshunt, Hertfordshire, the eldest son of
Henry Wellesley, 1st Baron Cowley, and Lady
Charlotte, daughter of
Charles Cadogan, 1st Earl Cadogan. He was a nephew of the
1st Duke of Wellington and the
1st Marquess Wellesley. He was educated at
Eton and
Brasenose College, Oxford
Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, 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 l ...
.
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. This was followed in June 1851 by his appointment as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the reinstated diet of the
German Confederation, a position which he only held for a short time, as he was chosen in 1852 to succeed
Lord Normanby 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, he conducted the delicate negotiations between the two countries during the time of those eastern complications which preceded and followed the
Crimean War, and also during the excitement and unrest produced by the attempt made in 1858 by
Felice Orsini to assassinate the emperor of the French; while his diplomatic skill was no less in evidence during the
war between France and
Austria
Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
and the subsequent course of events in
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
.
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. Having assisted
Richard Cobden 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, daughter of the
20th Baroness de Ros and
Lord Henry 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 in 1874.
* Lady Sophia Georgiana Robertina (1840–1923), who married
Charles Philip Yorke, 5th Earl of Hardwicke in 1863.
* Hon. Cecil Charles Foley (1842–1916), who served in the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
and died unmarried.
* Col. Hon. Frederick Arthur (1844–1931), who married Emma Anne Caroline Bloomfield Loftus, daughter of
Lord Augustus Loftus, in 1873; they divorced after his affair with actress
Kate Vaughan, whom he married in 1884 and divorced in 1897. He married thirdly ''Evelyn'' Katrine Gwenfra Wellesley, Dowager Duchess of Wellington ( Williams), in 1904; she was a daughter of
Thomas Peers Williams, MP, and widow of
Henry Wellesley, 3rd Duke of Wellington.
Lord Cowley died on 15 July 1884 at Albemarle Street, London. He succeeded in his titles by his eldest son,
William
William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...
. In 1863 Cowley inherited the former Long family estate of
Draycot Cerne in
Wiltshire from his kinsman the
5th Earl of Mornington, and he retired four years later. Through his youngest son, he was a grandfather of
Sir Victor Wellesley.
He owned almost 6,000 acres.
The great landowners of Great Britain and Ireland
/ref>
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
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
Wellesley family
Peers of the United Kingdom created by Queen Victoria