Arthur Valerian Wellesley , 8th Duke of Wellington Brigadier Sir Arthur Valerian Wellesley , 8th Duke of Wellington , ( born 2 July 1915 ) , styled Marquess of Douro between 1943 and 1972 , is a senior British peer and a retired Brigadier in the British Army . He lost his membership of the House of Lords in the election under the House of Lords Act 1999 . Apart from his British titles , he holds the hereditary titles of 8th Prince of Waterloo ( " Prins van Waterloo " ) of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands , and 8th Duke of the Victory ( " Duque da Vitória " ) of the Kingdom of Portugal with its subsidiary titles Marquis of Torres Vedras ( Marquês de Torres Vedras ) and Count of Vimeiro ( " Conde de Vimeiro " ) . These were granted to the first Duke as victory title s for his distinguished services as victorious commanding general in the Peninsular War ( in Spain and Portugal ) , and at the Battle of Waterloo ( in what is now Belgium ) . The 8th Duke of Wellington was also 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 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 by Royal Decree on 21 May 2010 , reported officially in the Official Bulletin of State for 12 June 2010 . Background and education . Wellington was born in Rome , Italy , the son of Gerald Wellesley , 7th Duke of Wellington , and Dorothy Violet , daughter of Robert Ashton . He was known by the courtesy title " Marquess of Douro " from 1943 when his father succeeded in the dukedom on the death of his nephew . He attended Eton before going up to New College , Oxford . Military career . Wellington was commissioned into the British Army as a Second Lieutenant in 1940 with the service number 68268 . He served in the Second World War with the Royal Horse Guards as a Lieutenant , during which time he was awarded the Military Cross , and received a permanent commission as a Captain in July 1946 . He received successive promotions to Major in July 1951 and to Lieutenant - Colonel in December 1954 , rising to command of that regiment . Seeing service in Cyprus in 1957 , he was appointed an OBE in 1958 . He then moved to the Household Cavalry Regiment , which he began commanding in 1959 . Promoted to Colonel in January 1960 , he commanded the 22nd Armoured Brigade ( 1960 – 1961 ) , served in the British Army of the Rhine , and became defence attaché to Spain in 1964 . He retired from the Army in January 1968 with the honorary rank of Brigadier . Honorary appointments . Wellington is Deputy Colonel - in - Chief ( to HRH The Duke of York ) of the Yorkshire Regiment , Deputy Colonel ( to HRH The Princess Royal ) of The Blues and Royals and an Honorary Colonel of the 2nd Battalion , Wessex Regiment . Later life . Wellington has also been 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 . In 1975 he was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant of Hampshire . The Duke continues to conduct public engagements , most recently at the Order of the Garter investiture , 18 June 2013 . Issue . Wellington was twice engaged to Lady Rose Paget , the daughter of Charles Paget , 6th Marquess of Anglesey , who eventually married the Hon . John McLaren . On 28 January 1944 he married Diana Ruth McConnel ( 1921 – 2010 ) , only daughter of Major - General Douglas Fitzgerald McConnel CB , CBE , of Knockdolian , Colmonell , Ayr , at St . George ' s Cathedral in Jerusalem . With Diana , he has five children : Furthermore , he is the elder brother of the socialite Lady Elizabeth Clyde and the uncle of the actor and musician Jeremy Clyde . Honours and decorations . 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 was appointed a Member ( Fourth Class ) of the Royal Victorian Order ( MVO ) on 15 March 1952 . Membership ( Fourth Class ) was redesignated " Lieutenant " in 1984 , thus adjusting his post - nominal letters to LVO . 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 April 1990 , he was further honoured by HM The Queen as a Knight 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 is also an Officer of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem ( OStJ ) . Wellesley has been elected a Fellow of King ' s College London ( FKC ) .