Arthur Wellesley , 4th Duke of Wellington Arthur Charles Wellesley , 4th Duke of Wellington , , , , ( 15 March 1849 – 18 June 1934 ) was a member of the well - known Wellesley family . He joined the military and served in the Household Division . Upon his childless brother ' s death in 1900 , he inherited the family title and estates . Early life and career . Wellesley was born in 1849 , the second son of Major - General Lord Charles Wellesley and Augusta Sophia Anne Pierrepont . Wellesley ' s paternal grandparents included the famous Arthur Wellesley , 1st Duke of Wellington , Catherine Pakenham and , on the maternal side , Henry Pierrepont , Lady Sophia Cecil . Between 1861 and 1866 , he was educated at Eton . After graduating , Wellesley joined the military . He served as an officer in the Grenadier Guards , the most senior regiment of the Guards ' division . The Guards formed part of the five - regiment Household Division , the elite of the military that provided security for the monarch . To be selected as a member of the Household Division was a great honor , and consequently recipients received two ranks , one as a member of the Household Division and a second , higher rank , as a member of the armed forces . Wellesley received the rank of Ensign , in his regiment , and Lieutenant , in the British Army , on 13 June 1868 . He would later gain the rank of Lieutenant , in his regiment , and Captain , in the British Army , on 15 February 1871 . On 24 October 1872 , he married Kathleen Emily Bulkeley Williams , daughter of Captain Robert Griffith Williams ( brother of Sir Richard Bulkeley Williams - Bulkeley , 10th Baronet ) and wife Mary Anne Geale ( daughter of Pears Geale , of Dublin ) . Later life and career . Throughout his career Wellesley saw no combat action : his duties were largely ceremonial as part of the Household Guard . He received the rank Captain in his regiment and Lieutenant - Colonel in the British Army on 5 April 1879 . Wellesley received the rank of Major in his regiment and Colonel in the British Army on 1 August 1887 . On 8 June 1900 his childless brother Henry died . Wellesley succeeded to all of his brother ' s titles : Duke of Wellington , Prince of Waterloo , Duke of Ciudad Rodrigo , and Duke of Victoria . He also inherited the London town - house , Apsley House , and the sprawling family estates of Stratfield Saye House , with over of land granted to the first duke by parliamentary purchase for military services . The estate also included four so - called " livings " ; Wellesley had the duty , right , and obligation to fill positions in local parishes . From 1900 until 1934 Wellesley was a member of the House of Lords on the Conservative bench . He was also a member of the Marlborough Club , a gentleman ' s club . He was invested as a Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order on 2 May 1902 and a Knight of the Order of the Garter on 8 August 1902 . Both of these awards were awarded to him by King Edward VII . He was also awarded the Spanish decoration of the Grand Cross of Charles III , and the Portuguese decoration of the Grand Cross of the Tower and Sword . The Duchess died on 24 June 1927 at Apsley House and was interred on 28 June at Stratfield Saye . Wellesley died at Ewhurst Park , Basingstoke , Hampshire , on 18 June ( ironically Waterloo Day ) 1934 , aged eighty - five , and was buried three days later at Stratfield Saye House , Basingstoke , Hampshire , the ancestral home of the Dukes of Wellington . His son , Arthur , succeeded him to the Wellesley family estates and titles . Children . He and his wife had six children :