The Duke of Wellington | |
|---|---|
| Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal | |
| In office 18 June 1934 – 11 December 1941 Hereditary Peerage | |
| Preceded by | The 4th Duke of Wellington |
| Succeeded by | The 6th Duke of Wellington |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1876-06-09)9 June 1876 |
| Died | 11 December 1941(1941-12-11) (aged 65) |
| Spouse | The Hon. Lilian Maud Glen Coats |
| Children | Lady Anne Wellesley Henry Wellesley, 6th Duke of Wellington |
| Parent(s) | Arthur Wellesley, 4th Duke of Wellington Kathleen Bulkeley Williams |
Arthur Charles Wellesley, 5th Duke of Wellington,JP (9 June 1876 – 11 December 1941), known asArthur Wellesley from 1876 to 1900, and styled asMarquess of Douro from 1900 to 1934, was a British nobleman and landowner.
Wellesley was born in 1876 toArthur Charles Wellesley (youngest son ofLord Charles Wellesley) and his wife, Kathleen Bulkeley Williams. Wellesley's father inherited the ducal title and vast Wellington estates uponhis elder brother's death in 1900, and became the 4thDuke of Wellington.
Wellesley attendedEton between 1890 and 1895, and later attendedTrinity College atCambridge. He was commissioned as alieutenant in the 4th (Militia) battalion of theLincolnshire Regiment on 7 July 1897, and served asAide-de-camp to theEarl of Ranfurly,Governor of New Zealand.[1] After the outbreak of theSecond Boer War in late 1899, he joined the regular army as asecond lieutenant in theGrenadier Guards on 17 January 1900,[2] and was part of a detachment sent to South Africa in March 1900 to reinforce the 3rd battalion fighting in the war.[3] He served with his regiment there until July 1902, when he returned home after the war ended the previous month.[4] He resigned his commission in 1903. He returned to active service as a temporary reserve second lieutenant in 1915, duringWorld War I, and relinquished his commission in 1919, still a second lieutenant.
In 1934, he succeeded to the dukedom. He was also ajustice of the peace.
The duke was a supporter of severalfar right-wing causes. He was a member of theAnglo-German Fellowship from 1935 and served as President of theLiberty Restoration League, which was described by Inspector Pavey (an ex-Scotland Yard detective employed by theBoard of Deputies of British Jews to infiltrate the far right) as beingantisemitic. WhenArchibald Maule Ramsay formed the 'Right Club' in 1939, Wellington chaired its early meetings. Ramsay, describing the Right Club, boasted that "The main objective was to oppose and expose the activities of organised Jewry."[5] On the day that World War II broke out, the Duke of Wellington was quoted as blaming the conflict on "anti-appeasers and the fucking Jews". He died of pneumonia in 1941.[6]
Lord Douro (as he was then known) married the heiress Lilian Maud Glen Coats on 23 March 1909 atSt George's, Hanover Square.[7] Lilian Coats was the elder daughter ofGeorge Coats (who later became the 1stBaron Glentanar in 1916). The wedding reception was hosted by Lilian's parents at their London townhouse, 11Hill Street, Mayfair. The marriage attracted international attention, and contemporary newspaper articles reported that Coats had provided Lilian with a marriage settlement worth more than £10,000 annually.[8] George Coats was a self-made millionaire; when he died in 1919 his estate was valued at over £4 million.[9]
The couple had two children:
He died at 20 Devonshire Place, London. His probate was sworn the next year at £134,262.[a]
| Peerage of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Duke of Wellington 1934–1941 | Succeeded by |
| Dutch nobility | ||
| Preceded by | Prince of Waterloo 1934–1941 | Succeeded by |
| Spanish nobility | ||
| Preceded by | Duke of Ciudad Rodrigo 1934–1941 | Succeeded by |
| Portuguese nobility | ||
| Preceded by | Duke of Victoria 1934–1941 | Succeeded by |
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| International | |
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| National | |
