Duke of Wellington (title)

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Dukedom of Wellington
Quarterly 1st & 4th: Gules, a cross argent in each quarter five plates in saltire (Wellesley); 2nd & 3rd: Or, a lion rampant gules ducally collared gold (Colley) over-all in the centre chief point an escutcheon of augmentation charged with the Union badge[1]
Creation date	3 May 1814
Created by	The Prince Regent (acting on behalf of his father, King George III)
Peerage	Peerage of the United Kingdom
First holder	Arthur Wellesley, 1st Marquess of Wellington
Present holder	Charles Wellesley, 9th Duke
Heir apparent	Arthur Wellesley, Earl of Mornington
Remainder to	the 1st Duke's heirs male of the body lawfully begotten
Subsidiary titles	Prince of Waterloo Duke of Ciudad Rodrigo Duke of Victoria Marquess of Wellington Marquess Douro Marquess of Torres Vedras Earl of Mornington Earl of Wellington Count of Vimeiro Viscount Wellesley Viscount Wellington Baron Mornington Baron Douro
Seat(s)	Stratfield Saye House Apsley House
Motto	Virtutis Fortuna Comes (Fortune favours the brave)

Duke of Wellington is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The name derived from Wellington in Somerset. The title was created in 1814 for Arthur Wellesley, 1st Marquess of Wellington (1769–1852; born as The Hon. Arthur Wesley), the Anglo-Irish military commander who is best known for leading the decisive victory with Field Marshal von Blücher over Napoleon's forces at Waterloo in Brabant (now Walloon Brabant, Belgium). Wellesley later served twice as British prime minister. In historical texts, unqualified use of the title typically refers to the 1st Duke.

The first Duke's father, Garret Wesley, had been granted the title of Earl of Mornington in 1760. His male-line ancestors were wealthy agricultural and urban landowners in both countries, among the Anglo-Irish Protestant Ascendancy. The dukedom has descended to heirs male of the body, along with eleven other hereditary titles.