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Henry Wellesley, 3rd Duke of Wellington

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British peer and politician (1846–1900) For other uses, see Henry Wellesley.

His GraceThe Duke of Wellington
The Duke of Wellington, c. 1890s
Member of the House of Lords
Lord Temporal
In office
13 August 1884 – 8 June 1900
Hereditary Peerage
Preceded byThe 2nd Duke of Wellington
Succeeded byThe 4th Duke of Wellington
Member of Parliament
for Andover
In office
31 January 1874 – 24 March 1880
Preceded byHon. Dudley Fortescue
Succeeded byFrancis Buxton
Personal details
Born(1846-04-05)5 April 1846
Apsley House, London
Died8 June 1900(1900-06-08) (aged 54)
Stratfield Saye, Hampshire
Political partyConservative
Spouse Evelyn Williams ​(m. 1882)​
Parent(s)Lord Charles Wellesley
Lady Augusta Pierrepont

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 title but inherited the dukedom when in 1884 his uncle died childless.

Between 1859 and 1865 he attended Eton.

Career

The Duke of Wellington by Carlo Pellegrini, 1885

He joined the 2nd Battalion, Grenadier Guards as an ensign on 16 May 1865, was promoted to major on 1 July 1881, and retired from the service on 28 June 1882. He unsuccessfully contested the Parliamentary constituency of Andover in 1868. He won the seat in 1874 and held it until the next election, 1880.

He succeeded his uncle as Duke of Wellington on 13 August 1884. Subsequently, his sisters Victoria and Mary were granted the rank of daughters of a Duke. He was appointed honorary colonel of the Hampshire Artillery on 22 November 1884, and the 6th West York Militia on 10 April 1886. He held both honours until his death. He was special ambassador to Spain for the funeral of Alfonso XII in 1885, and chairman of the Society for the Suppression of Mendicity.

Personal life

Evelyn, Duchess of Wellington

On 7 March 1882, Wellesley married Evelyn Katrine Gwenfra Williams (1855–1939), a daughter of Thomas Peers Williams, MP for Great Harlow, and sister of Owen Williams, MP, Hwfa Williams, and Edith Peers-William (wife of the 7th Earl of Aylesford) among others.

Wellington died at the family home of Strathfield Saye in 1900 and was buried there. As Evelyn and Henry had no issue, he was succeeded by his brother, Arthur Charles. His widow, who remarried to a Wellesley cousin Hon. Frederick Arthur Wellesley (son of Henry Wellesley, 1st Earl Cowley), died on 11 March 1939.

In popular culture

In her memoirs, Lady Angela Forbes comments that "The Duke was the fattest man I have ever seen, and went by the nickname of "Spurgeon".

References

  1. Fox-Davies, Arthur Charles (1910). Armorial Families: A Directory of Gentlemen of Coat-armour. T.C. & E.C. Jack. pp. 706–707.
  2. Mosley, Charles, editor. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes. Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003, volume 1, page 936.
  3. Lady Angela Forbes, Memories and Base Details (1921), p. 96

External links

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded byDudley Fortescue Member of Parliament for Andover
1874–1880 		Succeeded byFrancis Buxton
Peerage of the United Kingdom
Preceded byArthur Richard Wellesley Duke of Wellington
1884–1900 		Succeeded byArthur Charles Wellesley
Dutch nobility
Preceded byArthur Richard Wellesley Prince of Waterloo
1884–1900 		Succeeded byArthur Charles Wellesley
Spanish nobility
Preceded byArthur Richard Wellesley Duque de Ciudad Rodrigo
1884–1900 		Succeeded byArthur Charles Wellesley
Portuguese nobility
Preceded byArthur Richard Wellesley Duque da Vitória
1884–1900 		Succeeded byArthur Charles Wellesley
Dukes of Wellington
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