Arthur Wellesley, Earl of Mornington

Who is Arthur Wellesley, Earl of Mornington?

Arthur Gerald Wellesley, Earl of Mornington, is the son of Charles Wellesley, Marquess of Douro, and, after his father, heir to the Dukedom of Wellington. Through his mother, Princess Antonia of Prussia, he is a descendant of Queen Victoria, a great-great-grandson of Kaiser Wilhelm II, and is in the line of succession to the British Throne. The Wellesleys are an aristocratic Anglo-Irish family.

He was educated at Eton College and subsequently went up to Christ Church, Oxford in 1996. He married make up artist and fashion model Jemma Kidd, great-granddaughter of Lord Beaverbrook, on 4 June 2005 at St James' Church in Barbados. Upon her marriage, Jemma acquired the title of Countess of Mornington. The title refers to Mornington, a village in the east of County Meath in Ireland.

Lord Mornington and his wife announced they were expecting twins, due in January 2010. Lady Mornington gave birth to a girl and a boy, Lady Mae Madeleine and Arthur Darcy, who takes the courtesy title Viscount Wellesley. The twins were born on 4 January 2010. at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital. Lord Mornington and his son have the right to succeed to the Dukedom of Wellington and the title Prince of Waterloo, while he and both his children have the right to succeed to the Dukedom of Ciudad Rodrigo.