Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
(1769-1852), Field Marshal and Prime MinisterRegency Portraits Catalogue Entry
Sitter associated with 640 portraits
The most famous soldier and statesman of his day, Wellington's early victories were in India and the Spanish Peninsula. In 1815, he was hailed as the man who achieved peace in Europe when he led the campaign to defeat Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo. He later became leader of the Tory party and, as Prime Minister, from 1828-1830, he carried an important, if controversial, act that allowed Catholic emancipation in Britain. However, he was vigorously opposed to the recasting of electoral boroughs that led to the reform of the House of Commons and the slow spread of democracy. This resistance ended in the fall of the Tories and made way for Earl Grey's Whig government that eventually passed the Reform Bill in 1832.
More on Wellington: Curator Paul Cox on Wellington |https://www.npg.org.uk/whatson/exhibitions/2015/wellington-triumphs-politics-and-passions#audio | Timeline | Did you know?
Related People
- Mary Sarah (née Wellesley), Countess Cadogan (niece)
- Henry Richard Charles Wellesley, 1st Earl Cowley (nephew)
- Hyacinthe Mary Littleton (née Wellesley), Lady Hatherton (niece)
- Anne Wellesley (née Hill), Countess of Mornington (mother)
- William Wellesley-Pole, 3rd Earl of Mornington (brother)
- William Pole-Tylney-Long-Wellesley, 4th Earl of Mornington (nephew)
- Richard Colley Wesley (Wellesley), 1st Baron Mornington (grandfather)
- Lady Mary Angela Scott (née Wellesley) (granddaughter)
- Richard Colley Wellesley, Marquess Wellesley (brother)
- Hon. Gerald Valerian Wellesley (nephew)
- Henry Wellesley (nephew)
- Richard Wellesley (nephew)
- Arthur Richard Wellesley, 2nd Duke of Wellington (son)
- Henry Wellesley, 3rd Duke of Wellington (grandson)
- Arthur Charles Wellesley, 4th Duke of Wellington (grandson)
- Priscilla Anne Fane (née Wellesley-Pole), Countess of Westmorland (niece)
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