George Wellesley had been under his command at the time, ran aground at Pearl Rock off Gibraltar in July 1871. He was appointed First Naval Lord in November 1877 and in that capacity he secured a considerable increase in naval construction, for example on the Colossus class battleships, although some of these ships were of doubtful quality. Born the son of Gerald Valerian Wellesley (brother of the Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington) and Lady Emily Mary (daughter of Charles Cadogan, 1st Earl Cadogan), Wellesley joined the Royal Navy in 1828. After initial training at the Royal Navy College at Portsmouth and
Arthur Wellesley, 4th Duke of Wellington member of the Marlborough Club, a gentleman's club. The Duchess died on 24 June 1927 at Apsley House and was interred on 28 June at Stratfield Saye. Wellesley died at Ewhurst Park, Basingstoke, Hampshire, on 18 June (Waterloo Day) 1934, aged eighty-five, and was buried three days later at Stratfield Saye House, Basingstoke, Hampshire, the ancestral home of the Dukes of Wellington. His son, Arthur, succeeded him to the Wellesley family estates and titles. The Duke received the Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (GCVO) on 1 May 1902. He was appointed a Knight of the Order of