Duke of Ciudad Rodrigo () is a hereditary title in the Peerage of Spain, accompanied by the dignity of

Grandee Grandee (; , ) is an official royal and noble ranks, aristocratic title conferred on some Spanish nobility. Holders of this dignity enjoyed similar privileges to those of the peerage of France during the , though in neither country did they ha ...

. It was conferred by King

Ferdinand VII Ferdinand VII (; 14 October 1784 – 29 September 1833) was King of Spain during the early 19th century. He reigned briefly in 1808 and then again from 1813 to his death in 1833. Before 1813 he was known as ''el Deseado'' (the Desired), and af ...

on the British General Arthur Wellesley, then 1st Viscount Wellington, later 1st

Duke of Wellington Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they ar ...

, in 1812, after his important victory at the Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo that same year, as a

victory title A victory title is an honorific title adopted by a successful military commander to commemorate his defeat of an enemy nation. The practice is first known in Ancient Rome and is still most commonly associated with the Romans, but it was also adop ...

. As all dukedoms but one in the peerage of Spain, it has Grandeeship attached.

History

Historically, this Spanish dukedom is held by the successors of the 1st Duke of Wellington holding the title of

, although this has not always been the case because of different succession laws. Traditionally, when titles were created, the first holder could determine how their title would pass: in the United Kingdom, almost all ducal titles were created with agnatic primogeniture, while Spanish titles usually passed either by male primogeniture or by agnatic primogeniture. This changed with the 2006 reform to Spanish nobility succession, which enforced succession by absolute primogeniture to all titles. In 1943, Anne Rhys (''née'' Wellesley), the only daughter and eldest child of Arthur Wellesley, 5th Duke of Wellington, inherited the Spanish dukedom but not the British titles of her family, which passed to her uncle Gerald Wellesley, 7th Duke of Wellington after her younger brother was killed in action during the Second World War. In 1949 Anne renounced the title in favour of her uncle. In 2010, The 8th Duke of Wellington & 9th Duke of Ciudad Rodrigo ceded the Spanish dukedom to his eldest child, Charles Wellesley, Marquess of Douro, who, in accordance with Spanish procedure, made formal claim to the title with the Spanish authorities on 10 March 2010. King Juan Carlos of Spain, through his minister, granted the succession of the dukedom to the Marquess of Douro by Royal Decree of 21 May 2010. The new Duke of Ciudad Rodrigo succeeded his father as Duke of Wellington in 2014.

Dukes of Ciudad Rodrigo since 1812

Order of succession

the

heir apparent An heir apparent is a person who is first in the order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person. A person who is first in the current order of succession but could be displaced by the birth of a more e ...

to the Dukedom of Ciudad Rodrigo is the 10th Duke's eldest child, Arthur Wellesley, Earl of Mornington. Lord Mornington has fraternal twins, a first-born daughter, Lady Mae Madeleine Wellesley, and a second-born son, Arthur Darcy Wellesley, Viscount Wellesley. Lady Mae Madeleine is Lord Mornington's

to the Spanish dukedom as the eldest child, while Viscount Wellesley is the heir to the British dukedom as the eldest male, which could lead to another separation of these titles.

Family tree

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ciudad Rodrigo, Duke of Dukedoms of Spain * Grandees of Spain Noble titles created in 1812 Peerages created for UK MPs

History

Dukes of Ciudad Rodrigo since 1812

Order of succession

Family tree

See also

Notes