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Prince of Waterloo
Prince of Waterloo
Prince of Waterloo
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Prince of Waterloo (Dutch: Prins van Waterloo, French: Prince de Waterloo) is a title in the Dutch and Belgian nobility, held by the Duke of Wellington. The title was created by King William I of the Netherlands for Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington as a victory title in recognition of defeating Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. The Duke of Wellington and all his descendants along the male line belong to Dutch and Belgian nobility, in which all the descendant dukes carry the title of "Prince of Waterloo" with the style "Serene Highness" (Dutch: Doorluchtigheid). The rest of his family retain the Dutch honorific Jonkheer or Jonkvrouw.

Key Information

Estate of the prince

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In addition to this title, the Dutch king also granted Wellington 1,050 hectares (2,600 acres) of land and a yearly endowment of 20,000 guilders. To this day the Dukes of Wellington retain the title Prince of Waterloo,[1] and enjoy an annual income of around £100,000 from the longstanding tenants occupying the land.

Owing to the establishment of the separate Kingdom of Belgium in 1831, the title (being Dutch) and the land (located in Belgium) became separated.[vague] After the Belgian independence the endowment was by the Treaty of London included in the public debt to be assumed by the new Kingdom of Belgium.

The land held by the Prince of Waterloo came under pressure from retired Belgian senator Jean-Emile Humblet in 2001.[2] In 1817, the government in what is now Belgium struck a deal to pay the duke £1,600 a year in return for the proceeds of sales of timber which the duke wanted to clear from the forested land. Until 1988, successive dukes enjoyed this annual payment, but the then Prince of Waterloo, Valerian Wellesley, 8th Duke of Wellington, agreed to forgo the payment in exchange for outright ownership of 24 ha (60 acres) of the 1,050 ha (2,600 acres) to which he has rights. But some Belgian taxpayers, led by Humblet, claimed the deal did not reflect the value of the land and drew attention to the wider issues surrounding the original agreement, contending that Belgium was effectively coerced into accepting the terms of the original agreement, because it could not afford to offend Britain.[3][4]

In 2009 a Member of Parliament from Vlaams Belang questioned the Minister of Finance, Didier Reynders about the grant. Reynders replied that this grant is part of the international obligations of Belgium under the Treaty of London and that he had no intention of reneging on the obligation, as all the Dukes have faithfully fulfilled their obligations.[5]

List of princes of Waterloo (1815–present)

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The heir apparent is the present holder's son Jonkheer Arthur Gerald Wellesley (b. 1978).

Family tree

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References

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See also

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Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Prince of Waterloo

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The is a of the Dutch and , held in by the senior male-line descendant of Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, and styled with the predicate of . The title originates from the decisive British military victory at the on 18 June 1815, which ended the and led to the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy in . Created on 16 October 1815 by King William I of the Netherlands, the title was granted to the 1st Duke of Wellington as a mark of profound gratitude for his command of the Anglo-allied army that secured the coalition's triumph over Napoleon Bonaparte's forces. This foreign honor complements the Duke's British peerages, including the dukedom bestowed by the Prince Regent (later George IV) shortly after the battle, underscoring Wellington's pivotal role in European geopolitics and the redrawing of continental boundaries at the Congress of Vienna. The title descends by primogeniture, ensuring its continuity within the Wellesley family, whose estates include Stratfield Saye House in England and holdings in the Netherlands associated with the Waterloo endowment. The current holder is Arthur Charles Valerian Wellesley, 9th Duke of Wellington, who succeeded as 9th Prince of Waterloo upon the death of his father in 2014. Born on 19 August 1945, the 9th Duke has served in the , held military commissions, and maintained the family's legacy through involvement in heritage preservation and public service, including patronage of archaeological projects at the Waterloo battlefield. As of 2025, the to the title is his eldest son, Arthur Gerald Wellesley, Earl of Mornington.

Origins and Historical Context

Creation of the Title

The title of Prince of Waterloo was created on 8 July 1815 by King William I of the Netherlands as a victory honor for Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, commander of the Anglo-Allied army that defeated Napoleon Bonaparte at the on 18 June 1815. This grant occurred amid the formation of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, established by the in 1815, which elevated William from sovereign prince to king and integrated territories including the site of the battle near present-day . The title recognized Wellington's decisive leadership over multinational forces, including significant Dutch-Belgian contingents under the Prince of Orange (the future William II), whose troops suffered heavy casualties at Quatre Bras and Waterloo. Hereditary by male , the title was explicitly transmissible to Wellington's eldest male heirs, distinguishing it from personal honors and embedding it within alongside British peerages. Accompanied by estates in the as an endowment, the creation reflected William I's intent to bind allied commanders to the new kingdom's legitimacy post-Napoleonic upheaval, though Wellington rarely invoked the foreign princely style in Britain, prioritizing his domestic dukedom. The grant's timing—mere weeks after the battle—underscored its role as immediate recompense for military service on soil pivotal to Dutch sovereignty.

Significance in Post-Waterloo Europe

The title of Prince of Waterloo was created on 18 July 1815 by King William I of the , mere weeks after the on 18 June 1815, as a direct reward to Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, for his command of allied forces that defeated Napoleon Bonaparte and secured the restoration of monarchical order in Europe. This grant reflected the nascent ' dependence on British military support, as the victory at Waterloo not only ended French domination of the but also enabled the Congress of Vienna's territorial rearrangements, including the elevation of the House of Orange to kingship over a enlarged state incorporating modern . The title, hereditary in the male line with remainder to Wellington's heirs, symbolized enduring Dutch gratitude and intertwined British martial achievement with continental legitimacy, at a time when the emphasized coalition bonds to suppress revolutionary threats. In the aristocratic landscape of post-Napoleonic , the princely dignity—accompanied by the style "His " (Zijne Doorluchtigheid)—elevated Wellington's status among sovereign houses, aligning him with ranks typically reserved for German or Italian principalities and facilitating diplomatic interactions in a era of restored absolutism. Unlike transient military honors, its heritability embedded the 1815 triumph within transgenerational nobility, granting subsequent Dukes of precedence in Dutch court protocol and underscoring cross-border elite networks that stabilized the settlement against liberal upheavals, such as those in 1830. Following Belgian independence in 1830, the title retained validity in both successor states' nobilities, preserving its utility for familial estates and alliances amid the fragmentation of the United Netherlands. This dual recognition exemplified how post-Waterloo honors perpetuated anti-revolutionary solidarity, with the Wellesley line serving as a living emblem of coalition victory in aristocratic . The associated majorate—an entailed domain exceeding 1,000 hectares in Limburg province, initially granted to support the title's prestige—was largely commuted to monetary compensation by in , prioritizing liquidity over landed obligations while retaining the core. This pragmatic adjustment mirrored broader 19th-century shifts in noble but did not diminish the title's role in affirming Anglo-Dutch ties, as evidenced by its invocation in later Wellesley diplomatic endeavors and marriages, which reinforced conservative European networks into the . Overall, the Prince of Waterloo embodied the causal link between battlefield success and institutional continuity, privileging empirical alliance outcomes over ideological abstraction in the reconfiguration of post-1815 power structures.

Title Characteristics and Privileges

Style, Precedence, and Heraldic Elements

The Prince of Waterloo is formally styled "His Serene Highness" (Dutch: Zijne Doorluchtige Hoogheid), a predicate granted by King William I of the Netherlands upon the title's creation on July 8, 1815, and required to precede the title in official usage. This style distinguishes the holder within Dutch and Belgian nobility, where it is legally protected and enforced, as affirmed in Belgian parliamentary documents from 1984 stipulating its mandatory prefix to avoid penalties. In terms of precedence, the title ranks as a princely dignity (vorstelijke titel) in the Dutch nobility system, placing it among the highest non-royal ranks recognized by the High Council of Nobility (Hoge Raad van Adel). Historically tied to a majorat estate, it conferred feudal privileges until the 19th-century reforms, but today retains no substantive legal precedence or privileges beyond the right to use recognized titles and heraldic bearings. The heraldic elements associated with the title incorporate the augmented arms of the House of Wellesley, originally those of the Wesley family adapted for Arthur Wellesley, featuring a silver cross on a field with lions passant guardant, augmented in the chief with a scroll bearing the inscription "Waterloo" in gold letters to commemorate the 1815 battle. These arms, granted via British in 1814 and used consistently for the Dutch title, include supporters of lions and a crest with a , symbolizing the family's martial heritage. The full achievement is employed in both British and Dutch contexts without differencing for the principality.

Relation to British and Dutch Nobility

The title of Prince of Waterloo (Dutch: Prins van Waterloo) was conferred on 18 July 1815 by King William I of the Netherlands upon Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, as a hereditary honor for his decisive victory at the on 18 June 1815. This Dutch creation established a unique linkage between British and Dutch aristocratic lineages, as the title devolves in the same male-line as the British Dukedom of Wellington, ensuring its perpetual association with the Wellesley family. In , the Prince of Waterloo functions as a subsidiary foreign dignity held by the premier Duke of , who takes precedence among British peers by virtue of the 1814-1815 creations but does not invoke the princely style domestically, adhering instead to the conventions of the . The title's foreign origin precludes its integration into British parliamentary or ceremonial hierarchies, yet it symbolizes the international acclaim bestowed upon , paralleling other Continental honors like the Spanish Dukedom of granted in 1812. Within Dutch and , the title retains formal recognition as a princely rank in the historic of Brabant—part of the erstwhile —elevating the holder to Zijne Doorluchtige Hoogheid (), a style uncommon in modern Dutch . Following in , the title and its accompanying majorat (entailed estate known as the endowment) were preserved under as the sole such inheritance from the Dutch era, though neither nor attaches legal privileges to noble titles today. The , as a non-resident foreigner, does not participate in the advisory bodies of Dutch or , underscoring the title's ceremonial rather than participatory role in ' circles.

Hereditary Succession

List of Princes of Waterloo

The title of Prince of Waterloo was created on 8 July 1815 by Royal Decree of King William I of the United Netherlands, granted to Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, and his heirs male lawfully begotten, in recognition of his victory at the . The succession follows in the male line, aligning with the Dukedom of Wellington created in the in 1814.
No.NameLifespanTenure as Prince
1stArthur Wellesley1769–18521815–1852
2ndArthur Richard Wellesley1807–18841852–1884
3rdHenry Wellesley1846–19001884–1900
4thArthur Charles Wellesley1849–19341900–1934
5thArthur Charles Wellesley1876–19411934–1941
6thHenry Valerian George Wellesley1912–19431941–1943
7thGerald Wellesley1885–19721943–1972
8thArthur Valerian Wellesley1915–20141972–2014
9thArthur Charles Valerian Wellesleyb. 19452014–present
The title remains recognized in the nobility of the and , though associated financial endowments were abolished in Belgium in 1925 and adjusted in the Netherlands thereafter.

Current and Heir Apparent

The current Prince of Waterloo is Arthur Charles Valerian Wellesley, 9th Duke of Wellington (born 19 August 1945), who acceded to the title upon the death of his father, Arthur Valerian Wellesley, 8th Duke of Wellington, on 31 December 2014 at . As the hereditary head of the British Wellesley line, he holds the Dutch and Belgian princely title with the style (Zijne Doorluchtige Hoogheid) in those jurisdictions, reflecting its origins in the Kingdom of the United Netherlands. The is the Duke's eldest son, Arthur Gerald Wellesley, (born 31 January 1978), who married model in 2010 and serves as the direct successor to both the British dukedom and the associated foreign titles under male-preference . The maintains the family estates and participates in commemorative events tied to the legacy.

Associated Assets and Legacy

Estates and Properties

The title of is attached to a majorat, known as the Wellington Endowment, comprising inalienable lands and revenues established by decree of King William I of the on 29 September 1815. This endowment, the only such hereditary estate in inherited from the United Netherlands period, was formed from confiscated religious repurposed to provide to the title holder, following a model inspired by Napoleonic systems of primogeniture-tied assets. Originally encompassing 1,083 hectares of state woodland located between and Les Quatre-Bras, south of , the endowment generated revenue through timber and agricultural leases. By , full ownership was reduced to 25 hectares, with the remainder managed under rights yielding annual income, such as approximately €125,000 from 83 tenant farms as of recent assessments. The properties' current market value exceeds €120 million, though tied to the title's male-line succession and reverting to the Belgian state upon its extinction. No other estates are directly entailed to the Dutch-Belgian princely title beyond this endowment.

Enduring Symbolism and Modern Relevance

The title of Prince of Waterloo symbolizes the decisive Allied coalition victory against Napoleon Bonaparte at the on June 18, 1815, embodying Dutch royal gratitude for Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of 's, command of British, Dutch, and other forces that halted French expansion and facilitated the restoration of European stability via the . Created on July 8, 1815, by King William I of the as a hereditary honor for Wellington and his male heirs, it underscores the pivotal Anglo-Dutch military partnership in defeating revolutionary upheaval, with the "Waterloo" designation directly evoking the battlefield near present-day where the engagement unfolded. This symbolism persists in heraldic and noble contexts, linking the Wellesley lineage to the campaign's tactical acumen, including Wellington's defensive positioning and coordination with Prussian reinforcements under . In contemporary terms, the title retains legal and cultural pertinence as the only surviving majorat—an entailed inheritance—from the period under Belgian law, tied to the endowment that preserves associated patrimonial rights. Held by Charles Wellesley, 9th Duke of (born August 19, 1945), who styles himself His Serene Highness in Dutch-Belgian nobility, it manifests in his patronage of Waterloo Uncovered, a veteran-led archaeological initiative excavating the since 2015 to recover balls, buttons, and human remains, thereby connecting modern scholarship to the event's empirical realities. The 9th Prince's election to the British in September 2015 further integrates the title into ongoing political discourse, where it evokes Wellingtonian legacies of strategic leadership amid debates on defense and European relations.

Genealogy

Wellesley Family Lineage

The Wellesley family originated as the Colley family, an Anglo-Irish Protestant landowning dynasty established in Ireland by the late , with estates centered in Counties Kildare and Meath totaling over 13,700 acres by 1641. The Colleys descended from English settlers, likely from or , who acquired Irish lands during the Tudor plantations and held positions such as of Kildare as early as 1368 under the variant name Wellesley. In 1728, Richard Colley (c. 1690–1758), son of Henry Colley of Castle Carbery, inherited the estates of his cousin Robert Wesley of Dangan, , and adopted the surname Wesley along with the family's arms, becoming in 1746. His son, Garret Wesley (1735–1781), succeeded as 2nd Baron and was created 1st in 1760; Garret married Anne Hill, daughter of Arthur Hill, 1st Viscount Dungannon, in 1759, producing five sons who elevated the family's prominence. The eldest son, Richard Colley Wesley (1760–1842), from 1797 to 1805, petitioned to revert the surname to Wellesley in 1799 upon his elevation to Marquess Wellesley, reflecting the ancient spelling linked to their Norman-era forebears. The third surviving son, Arthur Wellesley (1769–1852), born Arthur Wesley in , adopted Wellesley following his brother's change and was granted the Dukedom of Wellington in 1814 for his military victories, including Waterloo; he married Catherine Pakenham in 1806, with their heir Arthur Richard Wellesley (1807–1884) becoming the 2nd Duke. Subsequent Dukes maintained the patrilineal descent: the 2nd Duke's son Henry (1823–1900) as 3rd Duke; (1846–1908) as 4th; (1849–1934) as 5th; (1876–1941) as 6th; (1885–1970) as 7th; (1915–2014) as 8th; and (b. 1945) as 9th Duke, ensuring continuity of the lineage tied to the Prince of Waterloo title granted to the Duke's heirs. The family's Anglo-Irish roots, blending English settler heritage with Irish estates, underscore their role in British imperial administration and leadership.

Interconnections with European Royalty

The title of Prince of Waterloo originated from a grant by William I of the Netherlands to Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, on 8 July 1815, recognizing his decisive role in the Battle of Waterloo earlier that year; this established a formal, hereditary connection to the House of Orange-Nassau, as the title persists as a subsidiary honor under Dutch law, with incumbents accorded the style His Serene Highness by courtesy of the Dutch monarchy. The linkage underscores the family's ongoing nominal ties to the Dutch royal house, distinct from British peerages, though the title's use remains primarily ceremonial and integrated into the Wellesley succession without direct governance or estate implications in the Netherlands. A more recent marital alliance further intertwined the Wellesley lineage with continental European royalty when Charles Wellesley, Marquess of Douro (later 9th Duke of Wellington), wed Princess Antonia of Prussia on 3 February 1977 at St. Paul's Church, . Princess Antonia (born 28 April 1955), daughter of Prince Friedrich Georg of Prussia (1911–1966) and , traces her paternal descent to the ; her grandfather, Prince Heinrich of Prussia (1862–1929), was a younger brother of Kaiser Wilhelm II (1859–1941), embedding Prussian imperial lineage into the family. This union produced five children, including the current Prince of Waterloo, Arthur Gerald Wellesley, Marquess of Douro (born 31 January 1978), who thus inherits Hohenzollern ancestry matrilineally alongside the Dutch-derived princely title patrilineally. No other documented marriages or successions in the direct male line of Princes of Waterloo have linked the family to reigning or former European royal houses beyond these instances.

References

  1. http://www.thepeerage.com/p10256.htm
  2. https://www.napoleon.org/en/history-of-the-two-empires/articles/talking-point-with-christian-christoff-the-wellington-endowment/
  3. https://www.tatler.com/gallery/the-family-history-of-the-wellingtons-wellesleys
  4. https://www.waterloouncovered.com/about-waterloo-uncovered/patron/
  5. https://www.uu.nl/sites/default/files/jeroen_koch_-_the_king_as_father_orangism_and_the_uses.pdf
  6. https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2001/jun/07/andrewosborn
  7. https://ia904602.us.archive.org/3/items/nobilitiesofeuro01ruviuoft/nobilitiesofeuro01ruviuoft.pdf
  8. https://www.encyclo.nl/begrip/erkentelijkheid
  9. https://www.lachambre.be/qrva/pdf/39/39-1965-66-22.pdf
  10. https://www.adelinnederland.nl/getrouwd-wellesley-santo-domingo/
  11. https://www.senate.be/lexdocs/S0618/S06182392.pdf
  12. https://monarchies.fandom.com/wiki/Dutch_nobility
  13. https://military-history.fandom.com/wiki/Arms%2C_titles%2C_honours_and_styles_of_Arthur_Wellesley%2C_1st_Duke_of_Wellington
  14. http://samsflags.blogspot.com/2013/05/duke-of-wellington-coat-of-arms.html
  15. https://www.college-of-arms.gov.uk/news-grants/news/item/113-waterloo-and-wellington
  16. https://www.historyextra.com/period/georgian/duke-wellington-who-life-career-death/
  17. https://www.gov.uk/government/history/past-prime-ministers/arthur-wellesley-1st-duke-of-wellington
  18. https://diplomatie.belgium.be/en/protocol/nobility-and-honorary-distinctions/nobility/faq-about-nobility
  19. https://www.stradalex.com/nl/sl_src_publ_div_be_chambre/document/SVbkv_49-B092-11-0249-1996199701618
  20. http://www.cracroftspeerage.co.uk/wellington1814.htm
  21. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-hampshire-30643582
  22. https://royalwatcherblog.com/2025/08/19/duke-of-wellington/
  23. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2892544/The-Duke-Wellington-99-dies-months-200th-anniversary-Waterloo-Jemma-Kidd-s-husband-heir-title.html
  24. https://www.tatler.com/article/arthur-wellesley-baby-duke-of-wellington
  25. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/sep/16/ninth-duke-wellington-elected-house-of-lords
  26. https://www.dib.ie/biography/wellesley-wesley-arthur-a8961
  27. https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Dictionary_of_National_Biography%2C_1885-1900/Wellesley%2C_Richard_Colley_%281690%253F-1758%29
  28. http://lordbelmontinnorthernireland.blogspot.com/2014/04/house-of-wellesley.html
  29. https://www.libraryireland.com/Pedigrees2/colley-1.php
  30. https://www.wellingtoncollection.co.uk/wellington-stories/the-1st-duke-of-wellington/
  31. https://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1754-1790/member/wellesley-richard-colley-1760-1842
  32. https://www.almanachdegotha.org/id183.html
  33. https://aorireland.substack.com/p/arthur-wellesley-1st-duke-of-wellington
  34. https://www.tatler.com/article/who-is-duchess-of-wellingtons-tiara-elegant-aristocrat
  35. https://royalwatcherblog.com/2021/02/03/wedding-of-the-marquess-of-douro-and-princess-antonia-of-prussia-1977/
  36. https://honey.nine.com.au/royals/princess-antonia-duchess-of-wellington-who-is-she/c46a1ecd-f47f-46aa-bb2a-c7dfc15887b5
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