Soldiers Wife: Wellingtons Marriage

Hero of Waterloo, soldier statesman, the life of Arthur Wellesley, First Duke of Wellington, has been the inspiration for many books. But one aspect of his life has been strangely neglected - his marriage. In 1806, after a protracted and secret courtship, Wellesley married the love of his youth, Kitty Pakenham. It was to be an ill-starred union.Joan Wilson, archivist to the 8th Duke of Wellington at Stratfield Saye House, Hampshire, has drawn upon numerous letters and diaries - many of them previously unpublished - to reveal the true story behind the marriage. It begins with Arthur and Kitty's courtship in Dublin in the 1790s, against a turbulent background of rebellion in Ireland and wars in Spain and Portugal, his rejection by the Longford family and subsequent departure to Flanders and India in search of military and financial success, and his return twelve years later 'for one purpose only' - to marry Kitty.The wedding finally took place in April 1806, and Arthur and Kitty were united at last. But their happiness was short-lived, as it soon became apparent that they were both much changed since the early days of their romance and had widely differing expectations of married life. Within three years the marriage had practically disintegrated.