Valerian Wellesley, 8th Duke of Wellington

Brigadier Arthur Valerian Wellesley, 8th Duke of Wellington, (2 July 1915 – 31 December 2014), styled Marquess of Douro between 1943 and 1972, was a senior British peer and a brigadier in the British Army.

His main residence was Stratfield Saye House in Hampshire.

Wellington was born in Rome, Italy, on 2 July 1915, the son of Lord Gerald Wellesley, future 7th Duke of Wellington, by his wife Dorothy Violet, daughter of Robert Ashton.

He had one younger sister, the socialite Lady Elizabeth Clyde, whose son is the actor and musician Jeremy Clyde.

At the time of Wellington's birth, his father Gerald was the third son of the 4th Duke of Wellington, with little prospect of succeeding to the family's estates and titles.

Wellington was 28 when his first cousin Henry, the 6th Duke, was killed in action aged 31 while serving in Italy during the Second World War.

Wellington was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Territorial Army in 1936, and was commissioned with the same rank (on probation) in the British Army Reserve in 1939.

In 1940, he was given a full commission as a second lieutenant in the Royal Horse Guards Regiment, with the service number 68268.

He served in the Second World War with the 1st Household Cavalry Regiment in the Middle East and Italy, during which time he was awarded the Military Cross, and promoted to the war substantive rank of captain.

On 26 December 1941, as Second Lieutenant Wellesley, Wellesley was awarded the Military Cross "in recognition of distinguished services in the Middle East (including Egypt, East Africa, The Western Desert, The Sudan, Greece, Crete, Syria and Tobruk) during the period February, 1941, to July, 1941."

Wellington's father then became the 7th Duke, and Wellington himself came to be known by the courtesy title Marquess of Douro. He was thus named between 1943 and 1972, when he became 8th Duke upon the death of his father.

Wellington attended Eton before going up to New College, Oxford.

On 28 January 1944 he married Diana Ruth McConnel (1922–2010), only daughter of Major-General Douglas McConnel, of Knockdolian, Colmonell, Ayr, at St. George's Cathedral, Jerusalem.

With Diana, he had five children:

Following the war, the 1st Household Cavalry Regiment disbanded, and he returned to Royal Horse Guards, where he was promoted to lieutenant in 1946, and advanced to the rank of captain later that year.

He received successive promotions to major in 1951, and to lieutenant colonel in 1954, rising to command of his regiment.

Wellington was appointed a Member (Fourth Class) of the Royal Victorian Order (MVO) on 15 March 1952.

Seeing service in Cyprus between 1956 and 1958, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1958.

He was made an Officer (Military) of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) on 7 February 1958 "in recognition of distinguished services in Cyprus for the period 1st July to 31st December, 1957".

in 1959 he became Silver Stick-in-Waiting and Lieutenant Colonel Commanding the Household Cavalry.

Promoted to colonel in 1960, he commanded the 22nd Armoured Brigade (1960–1961), served as Commander, Royal Armoured Corps in the I(BR) Corps of the British Army of the Rhine, and became defence attaché to Spain in 1964.

Wellington was involved in business as a Director of Massey Ferguson Holdings Ltd from 1967 to 1989 and of Motor Iberica SA (Spain) from 1967 to 1999.

He retired from the Army in 1968 and was granted the honorary rank of brigadier.

He was a member of the House of Lords from 1972 until 1999, losing his seat by the House of Lords Act.

Wellington was appointed the Colonel-in-Chief of the Duke of Wellington's Regiment in 1974, making him the only non-royal Colonel-in-Chief.

After its absorption into the Yorkshire Regiment, he was appointed Deputy Colonel-in-Chief of the new regiment.

He was also Deputy Colonel of The Blues and Royals and an Honorary Colonel of the 2nd Battalion, Wessex Regiment.

He was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant of Hampshire on 18 April 1975.

Membership (Fourth Class) was redesignated Lieutenant in 1984, thus adjusting his post-nominal letters to LVO.

In April 1990, he was further honoured by the Queen as a Knight Companion of the Garter.

His foreign honours include appointments as Officer of the Légion d'honneur, Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St. Michael of the Wing of Portugal and Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Isabel La Catolica of Spain.

Wellington was also an Officer of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem (OStJ).

Wellesley was elected a Fellow of King's College London (FKC).

He was the 9th Duke of Ciudad Rodrigo (Duque de Ciudad Rodrigo) of the Kingdom of Spain, but on 10 March 2010, he ceded the Spanish Dukedom to his eldest child, Charles Wellesley, Marquess of Douro.

In accordance with Spanish procedure, Lord Douro petitioned a formal claim to the title with the Spanish authorities.

King Juan Carlos of Spain, through his Minister, granted the succession of the dukedom to Douro on 21 May 2010.

Through his final years, the Duke continued to conduct public engagements, most recently at the Order of the Garter investiture, 16 June 2014.

Wellington died peacefully at his home, Stratfield Saye Estate, near Basingstoke, on New Year's Eve, 2014, six months before the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo, and six months before his 100th birthday.

Wellington was twice engaged to Lady Rose Paget, the daughter of Charles Paget, 6th Marquess of Anglesey, who eventually married the Hon. John Francis McLaren.