Catherine Pakenham
| Catherine Wellesley | |
|---|---|
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Her Grace Duchess of Wellington |
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Engraving by J R Swinton, made in 1850 from an 1810 sketch
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| Title held | 3 May 1814 – 24 April 1831 |
| Successor | Lady Elizabeth Hay |
| Spouse(s) | 1st Duke of Wellington |
| Issue | |
| Father | 2nd Baron Longford |
| Mother | Catherine Rowley |
| Born |
14 January 1773 Dublin, Ireland |
| Died | 24 April 1831 (aged 58) Stratfield Saye, England |
Catherine Sarah Dorothea Wellesley, Duchess of Wellington (née Pakenham; 14 January 1773 – 24 April 1831) was the wife of the 1st Duke of Wellington. She is commonly known as Kitty Pakenham.
The daughter of Edward Pakenham, 2nd Baron Longford and the former Catherine Rowley, she was born Catherine Pakenham on 14 January 1773 in Dublin, Ireland. She became "The Honourable Catherine Pakenham" when her father succeeded as the 2nd Baron Longford in 1776. She had met Wellesley in Ireland when they were both young, and Wellesley, after numerous visits to the Longford's Dublin home, made his feelings towards her clear. At the time her family disapproved of the match: Wellesley was the third son of a large family and looked to have little in the way of prospects. After the rejection by the Pakenhams, Wellesley became serious about his military career, was posted to the Netherlands and India, enjoyed a spectacular rise, and seemingly forgot Kitty. Although she remained hopeful that they would be reunited, she admitted to a friend, Olivia Sparrow, after many years that she thought the "business over". She became engaged to Galbraith Lowry Cole, the second son of the Earl of Enniskillen, but Sparrow, who was in contact with him, revealed that Wellesley still considered himself attached to her. After much soul-searching, Pakenham broke off the engagement to Cole, although she believed the stress of the affair damaged her health.
Pakenham had been a pretty, vivacious girl when Wellesley had met her ten years before, but she was thin, pale and in poor health by the time he informed their mutual friend Olivia Sparrow that he was returning to England and that she should "renew the proposition he had made some years ago" on his behalf. Pakenham feared that Wellesley felt bound by promises he had made ten years earlier and was in two minds as to whether to accept the proposal. Despite his more formal proposal after he had obtained her brother's permission, she insisted that he should see her in person before committing himself. Wellesley travelled to Ireland to meet her, and although he was obviously disappointed in the change in her (he said to his brother "She has grown ugly, by Jove!"), went ahead with the marriage. The couple were married on 10 April 1806, by Wellesley's clergyman brother Gerald, and after a brief honeymoon, Wellesley returned to England. Kitty followed him and after a stay with his brother while Wellesley continued to inhabit his bachelor's lodging, they set up home together in Harley Street.
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