Charles Wellesley, 9th Duke of Wellington
The Duke of Wellington OBE DL | |
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| Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal | |
| Assumed office 16 September 2015 Hereditary Peerage | |
| Preceded by | The 3rd Lord Luke |
| Member of the European Parliament for Surrey West | |
| In office 1984–1989 | |
| Preceded by | Constituency created |
| Succeeded by | Tom Spencer |
| Member of the European Parliament for Surrey | |
| In office 1979–1984 | |
| Preceded by | Constituency created |
| Succeeded by | Constituency abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Arthur Charles Valerian Wellesley 19 August 1945 Princess Christian Nursing Home, Windsor, Berkshire, England |
| Spouse(s) | |
| Children | Arthur Wellesley, Earl of Mornington Lady Honor Montagu Lady Mary Wellesley Lady Charlotte Wellesley Lord Frederick Wellesley |
| Parents | Valerian Wellesley, 8th Duke of Wellington Diana McConnel |
| Education | Eton College |
| Alma mater | Christ Church, Oxford |
Arthur Charles Valerian Wellesley, 9th Duke of Wellington, 9th Prince of Waterloo, 10th Duke of Ciudad Rodrigo, 9th Duke of Victoria, OBE, DL (born 19 August 1945), styled Earl of Mornington between 1945 and 1972 and Marquess of Douro between 1972 and 2014, is a British aristocrat and politician. He served as Conservative Member of the European Parliament for Surrey (1979–1984) and Surrey West (1984–1989) and sits as a hereditary peer in the House of Lords.
Early life[]
Wellington was born in 1945 at Princess Christian Nursing Home, Windsor, Berkshire, the eldest son of Valerian Wellesley, 8th Duke of Wellington, and the former Diana McConnel. He was educated at Eton College and Christ Church, Oxford.[1]
Politics[]
Wellington stood as Conservative candidate for Islington North in 1974, finishing in second place. He was a member of Basingstoke Borough Council from 1978 to 1979. He subsequently served as Conservative MEP for Surrey from 1979 to 1984, and as Conservative MEP Surrey West from 1984 to 1989.
In September 2015, he was elected to a seat in the House of Lords as a Conservative in a by-election following the retirement of Lord Luke.[2] On 4 September 2019, he quit the Conservative Party, and now sits as a "non-affiliated" member of the House of Lords.[3]
Charity[]
Wellington has worked for a number of non-profit or charitable organisations. He was a patron of British Art at the Tate Gallery (1987–90), a member of the Royal College of Art between (1992–97), Chair of British-Spanish Tertulias (1993–98) and Trustee of the Phoenix Trust from 1996 to 2001). He was appointed OBE in 1999 for services to British-Spanish business relations. He was appointed a Deputy Lord-Lieutenant of Hampshire in 1999. In 2003 he was given a four-year appointment as a Commissioner for English Heritage.
On 1 October 2007, he became Chairman of the Governing Council of King's College London, an institution of which his wife Princess Antonia is an alumna, and of which his ancestor Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, was instrumental in the foundation.
Marriage[]
He married Princess Antonia of Prussia on 3 February 1977 at St. Paul's Church, Knightsbridge, London.
They have five children:
- Arthur Wellesley, Earl of Mornington (born 31 January 1978); married (4 June 2005) to former model, now make-up artist Jemma Kidd (born 20 September 1974), fashion stylist and great-granddaughter of Max Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook.
- Lady Honor Victoria Wellesley (born 25 October 1979); married 3 July 2004 (as his second wife) the Honourable Orlando Montagu, younger son of the John Montagu, 11th Earl of Sandwich, and had issue.
- Lady Mary Louise Wellesley (born 16 December 1986).[4]
- Lady Charlotte Anne Wellesley (born 8 October 1990); who attended Oxford University reading archaeology and anthropology. Her day job is at photographer Mario Testino's studio in London, where she is a producer. On 15 July 2015 her engagement was announced to Colombian billionaire Alejandro Santo Domingo, uncle of Tatiana Santo Domingo, wife of Andrea Casiraghi. They married in the duke's family estate Dehesa Baja in Spain, on 28 May 2016, after the ceremony in at the sixteenth-century Church of the Incarnation in Illora, near Granada.[5][6]
- Lord Frederick Charles Wellesley (born 30 September 1992); who attended Eton College. Gained a commission into the Household Cavalry (Blues and Royals) from The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in December 2016. His engagement to Katherine Lambert was announced on 25 February 2021.[7]
Titles and styles[]
Apart from his British titles, the Duke of Wellington also holds the hereditary titles of 9th Prince of Waterloo (Prins van Waterloo) of both the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Kingdom of Belgium, and Duke of Victoria (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).
Wellington is also the 10th Duke of Ciudad Rodrigo (Duque de Ciudad Rodrigo) of the Kingdom of Spain, which on 10 March 2010 was ceded to him by his father. In accordance with Spanish procedure, Wellington (then styled as the Marquess of Douro) made a formal claim to the title with the Spanish Ministry of Justice.[8] King Juan Carlos of Spain, through his minister, granted the succession to the Dukedom of Ciudad Rodrigo to Wellington in May 2010.[9]
References[]
- ^ ‘WELLINGTON’, Who's Who 2017, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 2017
- ^ Conservative hereditary peers’by-election, September 2015:result
- ^ "The Duke of Wellington". UK Parliament. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
- ^ Maung, Carole Aye (5 September 1997). "Our Auntie Diana". The Mirror. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
- ^ "Behind-the-scenes at Lady Charlotte Wellesley and Alejandro Santo Domingo wedding". HELLO!. 31 May 2016.
- ^ Odiamar, Danielle (29 May 2016). "Lady Charlotte Wellesley Marries Alejandro Santo Domingo Surrounded by Royal Guests". Harper's BAZAAR.
- ^ "Capt F.C. Wellesley and Capt K.E. Lambert". Telegraph. 25 February 2021.
- ^ "Anuncio de la Subsecretaría (División de Tramitación de Derechos de Gracia y otros Derechos), sobre solicitud de sucesión por cesión en el título de Duque de Ciudad Rodrigo, con Grandeza de España". www.boe.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 2 November 2018.
- ^ "Orden JUS/1527/2010, de 21 de mayo, por la que se manda expedir, sin perjuicio de tercero de mejor derecho, Real Carta de Sucesión en el título de Duque de Ciudad Rodrigo, con Grandeza de España, a favor de Lord Charles Wellesley". www.boe.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 2 November 2018.
External links[]
- Profile at the Parliament of the United Kingdom
- Current session contributions in Parliament at Hansard
- Voting record at PublicWhip.org
- Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou.com
- Duke of Wellington's Regiment – West Riding
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