Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS (c. 1 May 1769–14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and statesman and one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century. His military career culminated at the Battle of Waterloo, where, along with Blücher, he defeated the forces of Napoleon Bonaparte. He was also twice Tory Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. During his life, Wellington received numerous honours, titles and awards throughout his career as a statesman and soldier. These include awards, statues and monuments, as well as buildings and places named after him.
At his funeral Wellesley's style was proclaimed (laid out in the following order and format in the London Gazette):
Wellington's arms were given an Augmentation of Honour of the union badge of the United Kingdom to commemorate his services. He bore, Quarterly, I and IV gules, a cross argent, in each quarter five plates of the same; II and III, Or, a lion rampant gules, armed and langued azure. For augmentation, an inescutcheon charged with the crosses of St. George, St. Andrew, and St. Patrick combined, being the union badge of the United Kingdom.
Baron Douro of Wellesley in the County of Somerset – 26 August 1809
Viscount Wellington of Talavera, and of Wellington in the County of Somerset – 26 August 1809
Earl of Wellington – 28 February 1812
Marquess of Wellington – 18 August 1812
Marquess Douro – 3 May 1814
Duke of Wellington – 3 May 1814
His brother William selected the name Wellington for its similarity to the family surname of Wellesley, which derives from the village of Wellesley in Somerset, not far from that of Wellington.
Since he did not return to England until the Peninsular War was over, he was awarded all his patents of nobility in a single day.
British and Irish honours
Knight of the Bath – 1804
Privy Counsellor of Ireland – 28 April 1807
Privy Counsellor of the United Kingdom – 1812
Knight of the Garter – 4 March 1813
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath – 1815
Peninsular Cross with nine bars for all campaigns – the only one so issued. Displayed at Apsley House along with a Waterloo Medal.
Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire – 1820
Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports – 1829
Chancellor of the University of Oxford – 1834–52
Honorary Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers – 1842
Fellow of the Royal Society – 1847
The Duke of Wellington stood as godfather to Queen Victoria's seventh child, Prince Arthur, in 1850. Prince Arthur was also born on the first of May; and as a toddler, young Arthur was encouraged to remind people that the Duke of Wellington was his godfather.
Portugal: Count of Vimeira (18 October 1811)
Spain: Duke of Ciudad Rodrigo, Grandee of the First Class (January 1812)
Portugal: Marquess of Torres Vedras (August 1812)
Portugal: Duke of Victoria (18 December 1812)
Netherlands: Prince of Waterloo (18 July 1815)
Austrian Empire: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Maria Theresa (4 March 1814)
Bavaria: Knight Grand Cross of the Military Order of Max Joseph
Denmark: Knight of the Order of the Elephant
France: Knight of the Order of the Holy Spirit (November 1815)
Hanover: Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Hanoverian Guelphic Order (1816)
Netherlands: Knight Grand Cross of the Military William Order (18 July 1815)
Portugal: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Tower and Sword (26 October 1811)
Prussia: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Black Eagle (1814)
Prussia: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Red Eagle
Russian Empire: Knight of the Order of St Alexander Nevsky
Russian Empire: Knight of the Order of St Andrew
Russian Empire: Grand Cross of the Order of St George (28 April 1814)
Sardinia: Knight of the Order of the Annunciation
Spain: Knight of the Golden Fleece (January 1812)
Spain: Knight Grand Cross of the Military Order of Saint Ferdinand (1812)
Spain: Knight Grand Cross of the Military Order of Saint Hermenegild (1814)
Sweden: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Sword (26 February 1814).
Two Sicilies: Knight of the Order of St Januarius
Two Sicilies: Knight of the Order of Saint Ferdinand and of Merit
Württemberg: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Military Merit
The nations of Austria, Hanover, the Netherlands, Portugal, Prussian, Russia and Spain gave him their highest military rank:
Field Marshal of the Austrian Army
Field Marshal of the Hanoverian Army
Field Marshal of the Army of the Netherlands
Marshal-General of the Portuguese Army
Field Marshal of the Prussian Army
Field Marshal of the Russian Army
Captain-General of the Spanish Army
Each nation presented him with a baton as a symbol of his rank (see Batons of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington)
In the United Kingdom
The Hon Arthur Wesley (birth–1 May 1769)
Ensign The Hon Arthur Wesley (7 March–25 December 1787)
Lt The Hon Arthur Wesley (25 December 1787 – 30 June 1791)
Capt The Hon Arthur Wesley (30 June 1791 – 30 April 1793)
Maj The Hon Arthur Wesley (30 April–30 September 1793)
Lt-Col The Hon Arthur Wesley (30 September 1793 – 3 May 1796)
Col The Hon Arthur Wesley (3 May 1796 – 19 May 1798)
Col The Hon Arthur Wellesley (19 May 1798 – 29 April 1802)
Maj-Gen The Hon Arthur Wellesley (29 April 1802 – 1 September 1804)
Maj-Gen The Hon Sir Arthur Wellesley KB (1 September 1804 – 8 April 1807)
Maj-Gen The Rt Hon Sir Arthur Wellesley KB (8 April 1807 – 25 April 1808)
Lt-Gen The Rt Hon Sir Arthur Wellesley KB (25 April 1808 – 4 September 1809)
Lt-Gen The Rt Hon The Viscount Wellington KB (4 September 1809–May 1811)
Gen The Rt Hon The Viscount Wellington KB (May 1811–28 February 1812)
Gen The Rt Hon The Earl of Wellington KB (28 February–3 October 1812)
Gen The Most Hon The Marquess of Wellington KB (3 October 1812 – 4 March 1813)
Gen The Most Hon The Marquess of Wellington KG (4 March–21 June 1813)
FM The Most Hon The Marquess of Wellington KG (21 June 1813 – 11 May 1814)
FM His Grace The Duke of Wellington KG (11 May 1814 – 2 January 1815)
FM His Grace The Duke of Wellington KG GCB (2 January 1815 – 14 September 1852)
FM His Grace The Duke of Wellington KG GCB GCH (1816–14 September 1852)
FM His Grace The Duke of Wellington KG GCB GCH FRS (1847–14 September 1852)
In the Netherlands
Zijne Doorluchtigheid de Prins van Waterloo (18 July 1815 – 14 September 1852)
In Spain
Su Excelencia Duque de Ciudad Rodrigo, Grande de España, Caballero de la Orden del Toisón de Oro (January 1812–14 September 1852)
In Portugal
Sua Excelência Duque da Vitória (18 December 1812 – 14 September 1852)
Ranks up to Lieutenant Colonel were obtained by purchasing commissions, subject to minimum service periods. The army did not allow ranks from Colonel and above to be purchased, so they were obtained through promotion only.
Commissions purchased
Gazetted an Ensign – 7 March 1787
Lieutenant – 25 December 1787
Captain – 30 June 1791
Major – 30 April 1793
Lieutenant-Colonel – 30 September 1793
Promotions
Colonel – 3 May 1796Local Brigadier-General in Egypt (never activated; 17 July 1801)
Major-General – 29 April 1802
Lieutenant-General – 25 April 1808
Local brevet General, in Spain and Portugal only – 6 August 1811
Field Marshal – 21 June 1813
Statues, monuments and places
Great Britain
A statue of Wellington by the sculptor Carlo Marochetti stands in Woodhouse Moor park in Leeds, England. His boots have been painted red, presumably by local students.
Royal Exchange Square, Queen Street in Glasgow, Scotland, has a statue of Wellington astride a horse, outside the Gallery of Modern Art. The statue does not feature the bicorne cocked hat associated with him - it is often "defaced" by the placing of a traffic cone on Wellington's head.
In 1838 a proposal to build a statue of Wellington resulted in the building of a giant statue of him on his horse Copenhagen, placed above the Wellington Arch at Constitution Hill in London directly outside Apsley House, his former London home. Completed in 1846, the enormous scale of the 40 ton, 30 feet (9 m) high monument resulted in its removal in 1883, and the following year it was transported to Aldershot where it still stands near the Royal Garrison Church.
Wellington College, Berkshire, a senior boarding- and day-school in England, was built in memory of the Duke, under the orders of Queen Victoria. To this day, all the boarding houses are named after the generals who fought alongside him at Battle of Waterloo, including Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher, Viscount Beresford, Sir Thomas Picton, Baron Lynedoch, and The Prince of Orange. The Queen laid the foundation stone in 1856 and inaugurated the School's opening on 29 January 1859. On 4 May 2007, the school held a memorial service for the Iron Duke at St Paul's Cathedral, London, to commemorate his birthday.
A monument in St Paul's Cathedral, London where he is buried.
Wellington Arch on Hyde Park Corner, London.
Royal Exchange, London; this equestrian statue has "Erected June 16, 1844" inscribed into its plinth.
A statue in the Great Hall of the Guildhall, London.
Wellington Monument, London, at Hyde Park Corner, a colossal statue of Achilles by Richard Westmacott.
Wellington Monument, in the Blackdown Hills, near Wellington, Somerset.
Wellington Monument, Woodhall Spa, Lincolnshire.
Wellington Monument, Baslow, Derbyshire.
Wellington Statue, East End of Princes Street, Edinburgh.
Wellington's Column in Liverpool.
Duke of Wellington Commemorative Column, outside Stratfield Saye House, the Duke's Hampshire residence.
Wellington College, in Crowthorne, Berkshire, the UK national monument to Wellington.
A statue in Piccadilly Gardens, Manchester.
Hong Kong
Wellington Barracks
Wellington Street
Ireland
The Wellington Testimonial was erected in the Phoenix Park, Dublin, from public subscriptions; As of 2015 it is the tallest stone obelisk in Europe.
A monument in his birthplace in Trim, County Meath, Ireland.
Wellington Road in the Ballsbridge area of Dublin.
Wellington Road on the North side of Cork city.
Wellington College Belfast in Northern Ireland, a Co-Educational Grammar School in Belfast, was named after Wellington. Wellington is also a Senior Boys' house at the Duke of York's Royal Military School, where, like Welbeck College, all houses are named after prominent military figures.
Wellington Park in central Belfast. Running parallel to this street is Wellesley Avenue.
Australia
Mount Wellington, which overlooks Hobart, the capital of the state of Tasmania, Australia, is named after Wellesley. Additionally, Hobart also has Salamanca Place, a row of convict built warehouses which dominate the wharf area of the city, named after the Battle of Salamanca (also known as the Battle of Aripiles) which took place in July 1812. Behind Salamanca Place, which is now an arts, restaurant hub, plus the home of the Salamanca Market, is the riverside suburb of Battery Point. A walk through the area will see streets and crescents named after Napoleon, Waterloo and Arthur's Circus where colonial cottages front a small roundabout. And to add to the links, on Macquarie St sits the Duke of Wellington Hotel with imposing signage of the Iron Duke himself gazing down on all who pass beneath.
Wellington Square in the Adelaide suburb of North Adelaide, South Australia, named for Wellington because he is credited with securing the passage of the South Australia Foundation Act through the British House of Lords.
The former County of Douro in Victoria, Gipps District, was named in Wellington's honour and was bordered to the west by the County of Mornington. The former County of Douro was found on Victorian maps from 1845 and last appeared on a Victorian map in 1864. Further references to Wellington can be found locally in the naming of Waterloo Bay and Cape Wellington and Lake Wellington. The county was incorporated into the new County of Buln Buln in 1871. The County of Mornington proclaimed in 1849, is incidentally named after the title of Garret Wesley, 1st Earl of Mornington, Arthur Wellesley's father.
New Zealand
The capital city of New Zealand, Wellington, forms part of the Wellington Region, formerly part of Wellington Province. Greater Wellington has a private primary school named Wellesley College, and the central city has a private club, the Wellesley Club.
The city of Auckland has a central-city road named Wellesley Street. A volcanic cone and its associated suburb in the city bear the name Mount Wellington.
Canada
Wellington County, Ontario, the county surrounding the city of Guelph.
The village of Wellington, a community located in Prince Edward County, Ontario.
The town of Wellington on Vancouver Island, now a neighbourhood of Nanaimo, British Columbia, as well as Mount Wellington which is located about 70 miles (113 km) north of the town.
Wellington Street in Ottawa, the street upon which the Parliament Buildings, Canada's seat of government are located.
Both Wellington Street and Wellesley Street are principal downtown streets in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Wellesley subway station takes its name from the street.
Wellington railway station in Nanaimo, British Columbia
Wellington Dyke, a large agricultural dyke across the Canard River in Kings County, Nova Scotia
Wellington Gate and Wellington Barracks at CFB Halifax
India
The town of Wellington in the Nilgiri Hills district of Tamil Nadu, is the home of the Wellington Cantonment, a prestigious Indian military establishment, and college. It is near Coonoor on the Nilgiri Mountain Railway.
Wellington died in 1852 and in the following year Queen Victoria, in recognition of the 33rd foot regiment's long ties to him, ordered that the 33rd foot regiment's title be changed to The Duke of Wellington's Regiment.
HMS Duke of Wellington, a 131 gun first-rate ship of the line was named after the first Duke of Wellington. HMS Iron Duke, named after Wellington, was the flagship of Admiral Sir John Jellicoe at the Battle of Jutland in World War I, one of three so named in the Royal Navy.
Wellington is the only person to have the honour of having not one but two Royal Air Force bombers named for him - the Vickers Wellesley and the Vickers Wellington, and at a time when the convention was for British bombers to be named after landlocked cities.
Great Western Railways "Iron Duke" Class locomotives were named after Wellington, including one of the 1847 originals which was named "Iron Duke" and lent its name to the class. It was withdrawn in 1871, and a replica built in 1985 for the National Railway Museum to exhibit.
The Duke of Wellington's picture featured on the reverse of Series D (Pictoral Series) £5 banknotes issued by the Bank of England (11 November 1971 – 29 November 1991), along with a scene from the Battle of Waterloo.
Food and drink
Beef Wellington gets its name from the general and prime minister. Ironically, his favourite meat was mutton.
Wellington's likeness appears on the beer labels of the beer brewed by Wellington Brewery in Guelph, Ontario, and the beer "Iron Duke Strong Ale" was named in his honour.
British Empire
1815: London
1827: York
