Duke of Ciudad Rodrigo

Duke of Ciudad Rodrigo
Duque de Ciudad Rodrigo
Arms of the Dukes of Wellington as Duke of Ciudad Rodrigo.
Creation date 30 januari 1812
Monarch Ferdinand VII
Peerage Peerage of Spain
First holder Arthur Wellesley, 1st Viscount Wellington
Present holder Charles Wellesley, 9th Duke of Wellington
Heir apparent Arthur Wellesley, Earl of Mornington
Subsidiary titles Duke of Wellington
Armorial motto Virtutis Fortuna Comes

The Duke of Ciudad Rodrigo (Duque de Ciudad Rodrigo), with accompanying dignity Grandee of Spain 1st Class (Grandeza de España), is a Spanish hereditary ducal title. It was conferred on the British General Arthur Wellesley, then 1st Viscount Wellington, later 1st Duke of Wellington in 1812, after his important victory at the Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo that same year, as a victory title.

Historically, this Spanish dukedom is held by the successors of the 1st Duke of Wellington holding the title of Duke of Wellington. Although, this has not always been the case because of different succession laws. Traditionally, when titles are created, the first holder can regulate how their title will pass: in the United Kingdom 99% of ducal titles were created with agnatic primogeniture rules; while Spanish titles were split with most allowing female succession if there were no male siblings (male-preference primogeniture), but many titles forbade women to succeed even if there were no male successors (agnatic primogeniture), this changed with the 2006 reforms to Spanish nobility succession that enforced succession by absolute primogeniture (this is, regardless of gender) 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 while having no rights to the British title of her family which passed to her uncle, after her younger brother was killed in action during the Second World War. In 1949 Anne renounced to the title in favor of her uncle Gerald Wellesley, 7th Duke of Wellington.

In 2010, His Grace The 8th Duke of Wellington & 9th Duke of Ciudad Rodrigo ceded the Spanish dukedom to his eldest child, Charles Wellesley, Marquess of Douro, and in accordance with Spanish procedure, the Marquess made formal claim to the title with the Spanish authorities on 10 March 2010.[1] 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, as confirmed by the notice in the Official State Gazette of 12 June 2010.[2] The new Duke of Ciudad Rodrigo succeeded his father as Duke of Wellington in 2014.

The heir apparent to the Dukedom of Ciudad Rodrigo is the 10th Duke's eldest child, Arthur Wellesley, Marquess of Douro. Lord Douro has fraternal twins: the firstborn —and a girl— Lady Mae Madeleine Wellesley, and the secondborn —and a boy— Arthur Darcy Wellesley, Earl of Mornington. The firstborn of the twins, is Lord Douro's heir apparent to the Spanish dukedom while the secondborn is the heir to the British dukedom, what could lead to a separation of these titles.

Dukes of Ciudad Rodrigo (1812–present)

Notes

See also

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