Duque de Ciudad Rodrigo
Encyclopedia
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
hereditary ducal
Duke
A duke or duchess is a member of the nobility, historically of highest rank below the monarch, and historically controlling a duchy...
title of Duke of Ciudad Rodrigo (Duque de Ciudad Rodrigo), with accompanying dignity Grandee of Spain 1st Class (Grandeza de España), was conferred on the British General Arthur Wellesley, then 1st Viscount Wellington, later 1st Duke of Wellington
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Irish-born British soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century...
, in January 1812, after his important victory at the Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo
Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo
In the Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo, the Duke of Wellington's Anglo-Portuguese Army seized the city from its French garrison under Brigadier General Baron Barrié on January 20, 1812 after a siege that started on January 7...
that same year, as a victory title
Victory title
A victory title is an honorific title adopted by a successful military commander to commemorate his defeat of an enemy nation. This practice was first used by Ancient Rome and is still most commonly associated with the Romans, but it has also been adopted as a practice by many modern empires,...
.
Historically, this Spanish dukedom is held by the descendants of the 1st Duke of Wellington holding the title of Duke of Wellington. However, until the 2006 Spanish changes to nobility succession, the Spanish title passed to male-preference heirs general, while the British title passed to heirs male. Due to this difference, the titles have separated on one occasion: the Dukedom of Ciudad Rodrigo passed to the 7th Duchess of Ciudad Rodrigo (Anne Maud Rhys) and the Dukedom of Wellington passed to her uncle (Gerald Wellesley, 7th Duke of Wellington). Anne Maud Rhys subsequently ceded her Spanish title to the 7th Duke of Wellington; the result is that the 7th and 8th Dukes of Wellington also held the title of Duke of Ciudad Rodrigo. This changed in 2010 for reasons set out in the following paragraph.
In 2010, the 8th Duke of Wellington & 9th Duke of Ciudad Rodrigo
Arthur Valerian Wellesley, 8th Duke of Wellington
Brigadier Arthur Valerian Wellesley, 8th Duke of Wellington, , styled Marquess Douro between 1943 and 1972, is a senior British peer and a retired Brigadier in the British Army...
ceded the Spanish dukedom to his eldest child, Charles Wellesley, Marquess of Douro, and in accordance with Spanish procedure, the Marquess made formal claim to the title with the Spanish authorities on March 10, 2010. King Juan Carlos of Spain
Juan Carlos I of Spain
Juan Carlos I |Italy]]) is the reigning King of Spain.On 22 November 1975, two days after the death of General Francisco Franco, Juan Carlos was designated king according to the law of succession promulgated by Franco. Spain had no monarch for 38 years in 1969 when Franco named Juan Carlos as the...
, through his minister, granted the succession of the dukedom to the Marquess of Douro by Royal Decree of May 21, 2010 as confirmed by the notice in the Official Bulletin of State
Boletín Oficial del Estado
The Boletín Oficial del Estado , Spanish for Official Bulletin of the State, is the official gazette of the Government of Spain. It publishes the laws of the Cortes Generales and the dispositions of the Autonomous Communities...
dated June 12, 2010. As a result, the Marquess of Douro is now the 10th Duke of Ciudad Rodrigo and also remains the heir apparent to the Duke of Wellington title.
Following the Royal Decree of May 21, 2010, the heir apparent
Heir apparent
An heir apparent or heiress apparent is a person who is first in line of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting, except by a change in the rules of succession....
to the Dukedom of Ciudad Rodrigo is the 10th Duke's eldest child, Arthur Wellesley, Earl of Mornington
Arthur Wellesley, Earl of Mornington
Arthur Gerald Wellesley, Earl of Mornington , is the son of Charles Valerian Wellesley, Marquess of Douro, and after his father heir to the Dukedom of Wellington...
. Lord Mornington has twins: a girl, Lady Mae Madeleine Wellesley, and a boy, Arthur Darcy Wellesley, Viscount Wellesley. The Cortes Generales
Cortes Generales
The Cortes Generales is the legislature of Spain. It is a bicameral parliament, composed of the Congress of Deputies and the Senate . The Cortes has power to enact any law and to amend the constitution...
(Spanish Parliament) passed in 2006 an act which changed the succession from the traditional male-preference cognatic primogeniture to full cognatic primogeniture. As a result, the first born of his twins is Lord Mornington's heir apparent
Heir apparent
An heir apparent or heiress apparent is a person who is first in line of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting, except by a change in the rules of succession....
to the Ciudad Rodrigo title regardless of sex.
Dukes of Ciudad Rodrigo (1812- )
- Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Ciudad RodrigoArthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of WellingtonField Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Irish-born British soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century...
(1769–1852) since 1812 - Arthur Richard Wellesley, 2nd Duke of Ciudad RodrigoArthur Wellesley, 2nd Duke of WellingtonLieutenant-General Arthur Richard Wellesley, 2nd Duke of Wellington KG, PC , styled Lord Douro between 1812 and 1814 and Marquess of Douro between 1814 and 1852, was a British soldier and politician...
(1807–1884) since 1852 - Henry Wellesley, 3rd Duke of Ciudad RodrigoHenry Wellesley, 3rd Duke of WellingtonHenry Wellesley, 3rd Duke of Wellington was the son of Lord Charles Wellesley and grandson of the 1st Duke of Wellington....
(1846–1900) since 1884 - Arthur Charles Wellesley, 4th Duke of Ciudad RodrigoArthur Wellesley, 4th Duke of WellingtonArthur Charles Wellesley, 4th Duke of Wellington, KG, GCVO, GCTE, DL was a member of the well-known Wellesley family. He joined the military and served in the Household Division...
(1849–1934) since 1900 - Arthur Charles Wellesley (Charlie), 5th Duke of Ciudad RodrigoArthur Wellesley, 5th Duke of WellingtonArthur Charles Wellesley, 5th Duke of Wellington was the son of Arthur Charles Wellesley, 4th Duke of Wellington, and Kathleen Bulkeley Williams....
(1876–1941) since 1934 - Henry Valerian George Wellesley(Morney), 6th Duke of Ciudad RodrigoHenry Wellesley, 6th Duke of WellingtonHenry Valerian George Wellesley, 6th Duke of Wellington was the son of Arthur Charles Wellesley, 5th Duke of Wellington and the Hon. Lilian Maud Glean Coats, daughter of Lord Glentaner. He was styled the Earl of Mornington between 1912 and 1934 and Marquess of Douro between 1934 and 1941...
(1912–1943) since 1941 - Anne Maud Rhys, 7th Duchess of Ciudad Rodrigo (1910–1998) since 1943, ceded the title to her uncle in 1949
- Gerald Wellesley (Gerry), 8th Duke of Ciudad RodrigoGerald Wellesley, 7th Duke of WellingtonGerald Wellesley, 7th Duke of Wellington, KG , styled Lord Gerald Wellesley between 1900 and 1943, was a British diplomat, soldier, and architect....
(1885–1972) since 1949, ceded the title to his son 1968 - Arthur Valerian Wellesley, 9th Duke of Ciudad Rodrigo (b. 1915) since 1972, ceded the title to his son 2010
- Arthur Charles Valerian Wellesley, 10th Duke of Ciudad Rodrigo (b. 1945) since 2010
See also
- Duke of WellingtonDuke of WellingtonThe Dukedom of Wellington, derived from Wellington in Somerset, is a hereditary title in the senior rank of the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The first holder of the title was Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington , the noted Irish-born career British Army officer and statesman, and...
- Prins van Waterloo
- Duque da VitóriaDuque da VitóriaDuque da Vitória is a Portuguese title of nobility retained by the Duke of Wellington.The title was created by Prince Regent John of Portugal on 18 December 1812 to honour the British General Arthur Wellesley, who was the general commander of the armies that eventually defeated the troops of...