Arms , titles , honours and styles of Arthur Wellesley , 1st Duke of Wellington Arthur Wellesley , 1st Duke of Wellington KG GCB GCH PC FRS ( – 14 September 1852 ) was an Anglo - Irish soldier and statesman and one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century . His military career culminated at the Battle of Waterloo , where , along with von Blücher , he defeated the forces of Napoleon Bonaparte . He was also twice Tory Prime Minister of the United Kingdom . During his life , Wellington received numerous honours , titles and awards throughout his career as a statesman and soldier . These include awards , statues and monuments , as well as buildings and places named after him . Funeral . At his funeral Wellesley ' s style was proclaimed ( laid out in the following order and format in the " London Gazette " ) : Arms . Wellington ' s arms were given an Augmentation of Honour of the union badge of the United Kingdom to commemorate his services . He bore , " Quarterly , I and IV gules , a cross argent , in each quarter five plates of the same ; II and III , Or , a lion rampant gules , armed and langued azure . For augmentation , an inescutcheon charged with the crosses of St . George , St . Andrew , and St . Patrick combined , being the union badge of the United Kingdom . " Titles , honours and styles . Peerage of the United Kingdom . His brother William selected the name Wellington for its similarity to the family surname of Wellesley , which derives from the village of Wellesley in Somerset , not far from that of Wellington . Since he did not return to England until the Peninsular War was over , he was awarded all his patents of nobility in a unique ceremony lasting a full day . British and Irish honours . The Duke of Wellington stood as godfather to Queen Victoria ' s seventh child , Prince Arthur , in 1850 . Prince Arthur was also born on the first of May ; and as a toddler , young Arthur was encouraged to remind people that the Duke of Wellington was his godfather . International . Military rank . The nations of Austria , Hanover , the Netherlands , Portugal , Prussian , Russia and Spain gave him their highest military rank : Each nation presented him with a baton as a symbol of his rank ( see " Batons of Arthur Wellesley , 1st Duke of Wellington " ) Tributes . Military units . Wellington died in 1852 and in the following year Queen Victoria , in recognition of the 33rd foot regiment ' s long ties to him , ordered that the 33rd foot regiment ' s title be changed to The Duke of Wellington ' s Regiment , now known as 3rd Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment ( Duke of Wellington ' s ) , based in Battlesbury Barracks , Warminster . Ships . HMS Duke of Wellington , a 131 gun first - rate ship of the line was named after the first Duke of Wellington . HMS " Iron Duke " , named after Wellington , was the flagship of Admiral Sir John Jellicoe at the Battle of Jutland in World War I , one of three so named in the Royal Navy . Aircraft . Wellington is the only person to have the honour of having not one but two Royal Air Force bombers named for him - the Vickers Wellesley and the Vickers Wellington , and at a time when the convention was for British bombers to be named after landlocked cities . Locomotives . Great Western Railway s " Iron Duke " Class locomotives were named after Wellington , including one of the 1847 originals which was named " Iron Duke " and lent its name to the class . It was withdrawn in 1871 , and a replica built in 1985 for the National Railway Museum to exhibit . Banknotes . The Duke of Wellington ' s picture featured on the reverse of Series D ( Pictoral Series ) £5 banknotes issued by the Bank of England ( 11 November 1971 – 29 November 1991 ) , along with a scene from the Battle of Waterloo . Food and drink . Beef Wellington gets its name from the general and prime minister . Ironically his favourite meat was mutton . Wellington ' s likeness appears on the beer labels of the beer brewed by Wellington Brewery in Guelph , Ontario , as well as having a beer named " Iron Duke Strong Ale " in his honour .