Arthur Wellesley, 2nd Duke of Wellington

His Grace The Duke of Wellington KG PC
The Duke of Wellington, c. 1870
Master of the Horse
In office 21 January 1853 – 21 February 1858
Monarch	Queen Victoria
Prime Minister	The Earl of Aberdeen The Viscount Palmerston
Preceded by	The Earl of Jersey
Succeeded by	The Duke of Beaufort
Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal
In office 14 September 1852 – 13 August 1884 Hereditary Peerage
Preceded by	The 1st Duke of Wellington
Succeeded by	The 3rd Duke of Wellington
Member of Parliament for Norwich
In office 24 July 1837 – 7 July 1852
Preceded by	William Murray
Succeeded by	Edward Warner
Member of Parliament for Aldeburgh
In office May 1829 – 8 December 1832
Preceded by	Wyndham Lewis
Succeeded by	Constituency abolished
Personal details
Born	(1807-02-03)3 February 1807 Harley Street, Soho, London, England
Died	13 August 1884(1884-08-13) (aged 77) Brighton railway station, Brighton, Sussex
Spouse(s)	Lady Elizabeth Hay (1820–1904)
Parent(s)	Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington Hon. Catherine Pakenham
Alma mater	Christ Church, Oxford Trinity College, Cambridge

Lieutenant-General Arthur Richard Wellesley, 2nd Duke of Wellington, KG, PC (3 February 1807 – 13 August 1884), styled Lord Douro between 1812 and 1814 and Marquess of Douro between 1814 and 1852, was a British soldier and politician. The eldest son of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, victor of Waterloo and Prime Minister, he succeeded his father in the dukedom in 1852 and held minor political office as Master of the Horse from 1853 to 1858. In 1858, he was made a Knight of the Garter.

Wellesley was born at Harley Street, Marylebone, London, the eldest son of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, and the Honourable Catherine Sarah Dorothea "Kitty" Pakenham, daughter of Edward Pakenham, 2nd Baron Longford. Lord Charles Wellesley was his younger brother and Lord Wellesley, Lord Mornington and Lord Cowley his uncles. He was educated at Temple Grove School, Eton College, Christ Church, Oxford, and Trinity College, Cambridge.^[1] He became known by the courtesy title Lord Douro when his father was created Earl of Wellington in 1812 and as Marquess of Douro in 1814 after his father was elevated to a dukedom.

Lord Douro became an ensign in the 81st Regiment of Foot in 1823^[2] and in the 71st (Highland) Regiment of Foot in 1825,^[3] a cornet in the Royal Horse Guards in 1825,^[4] a lieutenant in the Royal Horse Guards in 1827,^[5] a captain in the Royal Horse Guards in 1828 and in the King's Royal Rifle Corps the same year,^[6] a major in the King's Royal Rifle Corps in 1830 and in the Rifle Brigade in 1831,^[7] a lieutenant-colonel on the unattached list in 1834,^[8] a brevet colonel in 1846,^[9] a lieutenant-colonel in the Victoria (Middlesex) Rifle Volunteer Corps in 1853 and a major-general in 1854.^[10]

Lord Douro was elected to parliament for the rotten borough of Aldeburgh in 1829, a seat he held until its abolition by the Reform Act of 1832.^[11] He was out of parliament until 1837, when he was returned for Norwich.^[12] In 1852 he succeeded his father in the dukedom and entered the House of Lords. In early 1853 he was sworn of the Privy Council^[13] and appointed Master of the Horse in Lord Aberdeen's coalition government,^[14] a post he retained when Lord Palmerston became prime minister in 1855. He resigned along with the rest of the Palmerston government in 1858. The latter year he was made a Knight of the Garter.^[15]

In 1863, Wellington inherited the earldom of Mornington on the death of his cousin William Pole-Tylney-Long-Wellesley, 5th Earl of Mornington. From 1868 to 1884 he was Lord-Lieutenant of Middlesex.

Wellington married Lady Elizabeth Hay, daughter of Field Marshal George Hay, 8th Marquess of Tweeddale, in 1839. They had no children. The marriage was not a happy one although Lady Elizabeth was a great favourite with her father-in-law.^[16] On succeeding his illustrious father he was said to have remarked: "Imagine what it will be when the Duke of Wellington is announced, and only I walk in the room."^{[This quote needs a citation]} The relationship between father and son is often described as the classic case of the son of a famous father who cannot match such fame.^[17] Wellington died at Brighton railway station, Brighton, Sussex, in August 1884, aged 77, and was buried at the family seat Stratfield Saye House, Hampshire. His probate was resworn six years later at £171,356 (equivalent to about £22,600,000 in 2023).^[18] He was succeeded by his nephew, Henry. The Duchess died at Bearhill (Burhill) Park (House), Hersham, Surrey, in August 1904, aged 83, and was buried at Stratfield Saye. Her probate left assets of £13,997.^[18]

He owned 19,000 acres of these 15,000 acres in Hampshire.^[19]

The Brontë family portrayed the first Duke of Wellington and his two sons in their imaginary games about the colonisation of Africa. They wrote many stories about Arthur, with Charlotte assuming the character of Charles as the "author" of these stories. As Charlotte and Branwell moved into their teenage years and used Lord Byron's writings as inspiration, they focused on Arthur as a romantic, heroic figure. He was known to them as the Duke of Zamorna, and later as Emperor Adrian of Angria. Elements of his character formed the basis for Edward Rochester in Jane Eyre.^{[20][21][22][23]}

Thomas Raikes ("the Younger"), a British merchant banker, dandy and diarist, was a close childhood friend, travelling and gambling companion of Arthur Wellesley, 2nd Duke of Wellington. His journals Two volumes of Private Correspondence with the 2nd Duke of Wellington and other Distinguished Contemporaries were published in 1861.^{[citation needed]}

• 3 February 1807 – 26 August 1809: Arthur Richard Wellesley, Esq.
• 26 August 1809 – 28 February 1812: Hon. Arthur Richard Wellesley, Esq.
• 28 February 1812 – 3 May 1814: Lord Douro
• 3 May 1814 – 14 September 1852: Marquess of Douro
• 14 September 1852 – 7 February 1853: His Grace The Duke of Wellington
• 7 February 1853 – 25 March 1858: His Grace The Duke of Wellington PC
• 25 March 1858 – 13 August 1884: His Grace The Duke of Wellington KG, PC

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Arthur Wellesley, 2nd Duke of Wellington