Henry Wellesley, 1st Baron Cowley
Henry Wellesley | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 1st Baron Cowley | |
| Born | 20 January 1773 |
| Died | 27 April 1847 |
| Spouse(s) | Lady Charlotte Cadogan Lady Georgiana Cecil |
| Issue | Henry Wellesley, 1st Earl Cowley Captain Hon. William Henry George Wellesley Gerald Wellesley |
| Father | Garret Wesley, 1st Earl of Mornington |
| Mother | Anne Hill-Trevor |
Henry Wellesley, 1st Baron Cowley
His career was closely connected with that of his elder brothers Arthur and Richard Wellesley, who served as Foreign Secretary between 1809 and 1812. He became embroiled in a public scandal in 1809 when his wife Charlotte eloped with Henry Paget who as Lord Uxbridge was later to serve as cavalry commander under his brother at the Battle of Waterloo.
Background and education
Wellesley was the fifth and youngest son of
Diplomatic career
Wellesley's diplomatic career began in 1791 when he was appointed attaché to the British embassy at The Hague. The next year, he became Secretary of Legation in Stockholm. In 1791, he exchanged into the 1st Foot Guards and in 1793, he purchased a Lieutenancy. In 1794, while on a trip home from Lisbon with his sister Anne, he was captured by the French, and remained in prison during the height of the terror, escaping only in 1795. Later that year, he sat for the Trim constituency in the Irish House of Commons.
At the 1807 general election he was elected to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom as a Member of Parliament both for the Athlone constituency[1] in Ireland, and for Eye constituency in England.[2] He chose to sit for Eye, and held the seat until his
In 1797, Wellesley accompanied
In 1802 he returned to Europe, and the next year married Lady Charlotte Cadogan, by whom he had three sons and a daughter before she abandoned him in 1809, running off with Lord Paget, a talented cavalry officer. They divorced in 1810. Although, at first, Paget's career was badly affected by the affair, as he was later unable to serve under Wellesley's brother Wellington in the Peninsular Campaign due to the bad blood, Paget later distinguished himself under Wellington at Waterloo.[citation needed]
In 1809, Wellesley became the British envoy to Spain – his eldest brother, by now Marquess Wellesley, was now Foreign Secretary, while his brother Arthur (now Viscount Wellington) was the commander of the Anglo-Portuguese forces in the Iberian Peninsula. Together, the three brothers helped to make the Peninsular campaign a success, and in 1812 Wellesley was knighted. He remained Ambassador to Spain until 1821, but found time to marry again, this time to Lady Georgiana Cecil, daughter of the Marquess of Salisbury. [citation needed]
In 1823, Wellesley became Ambassador to Austria, where he remained until 1831. Although he was close acquaintances with Foreign Secretary George Canning, who had asked Wellesley to serve as his second in his duel with Lord Castlereagh, Wellesley felt that Canning did not appreciate his services, feeling him to be too conciliatory.[citation needed]
In January 1828, Wellesley was created Baron Cowley, of Wellesley in the County of Somerset, due to his brother Wellington's influence with the prime minister, Lord Goderich. His final diplomatic service was in Paris, where he served as British ambassador to France during Robert Peel's administrations in 1835 and 1841–46. In 1846, Cowley retired, but remained in Paris, where he died the next year.[citation needed]
Family
 |
Cowley married Lady Charlotte, daughter of Charles Cadogan, 1st Earl Cadogan in 1803, but they divorced in 1810 after she ran away with Henry Paget, later 1st Marquess of Anglesey. He later remarried, to Lady Georgiana Cecil, daughter of the Marquess of Salisbury.
His eldest son,
References
External links
Media related to Henry Wellesley, 1st Baron Cowley at Wikimedia Commons
| Family |
|  |
|---|---|---|
| Battles and wars |
| |
| Homes | ||
| Memorials |
| |
| Statues | ||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
