Redemption Final: Arthur Wellesley vs Juliette Récamier
Arthur Wellesley
Juliette Récamier
Propaganda under the cut
Arthur Wellesley:
Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington:
a. "So, I saw that you had no propaganda for the Iron Duke himself and thought that should be corrected, because I cannot let this man go unloved.
He is the ultimate sexyman. I don't really get that title or the requirements but I do know this man and he is the ultimate in Regency-era sexiness.
Field Marshal Sir Arthur Wellesley, First Duke of Wellington, whose full list of titles merits its own Wikipedia page, he had so many (including Prince of Waterloo of the Kingdom of the Netherlands), was so well known for his debonairness that he was often called "the Beau" or Beau Wellesley.
Our dear Duke with his eyes of "a brilliant light blue," is quite the underdog made good. The fourth son of an Anglo-Irish aristocratic family, he was a bit of a loner as a child, whose star was eclipsed by the academic success of his older and younger brothers. Yet he had a remarkable talent for the violin, which as we know from Mrs. Jefferson is quite a good quality for a man to have. As a young man he was considered extremely good humored and drew "much attention" from female society. The Napiers of Celbridge thought he was a "saucy stripling" and he was also considered quite mischievous. Yet he also had a rich inner life, reading and contemplating the great philosophers of the day.
Yes, we know about his military victories in the Peninsula (the position of Field Marshal of the British Army and the accompanying baton were created for him) and his success at Waterloo, but he was also both romantic and a ladies' man. (I could go on about the military success but that's not really what this is about, is it?)
Want the romantic side? He fell in love with Kitty Pakenham while a lowly aide-de-camp in Dublin but, with no real position or prospects, was laughed away by her brother when he sought to marry her. In a fit of pique he destroyed his violin and turned firmly toward progressing his career. Over a decade later, after he had made something of himself in India, he learned she hadn't married, supposedly because she was still pining for him. Reader, he married her, despite thinking she'd grown ugly, and got two children from her in less than two years. I'm not kidding, this man was virile. They married in April of 1806, their first son was born in February, 1807, and their second son was born in January 1808. Although he wasn't sexual faithful to her, Wellington wore an amulet she gave him for over twenty years, and was still wearing it when he sat with her on her deathbed. When she was surprised he still wore it, he told her if she'd just bothered to check in the last twenty years, she'd have found it. Despite surviving her by twenty years, the Duke never remarried.
Now, please don't think badly of him for the lack of sexual fidelity. It was the Georgian era. Sexual fidelity was not a part of marriage in high society. Men didn't sleep only with their wives and some wives could be quite happy with that (for one, it's much easier not to have one pregnancy after another when your husband is sleeping with someone else). Not that women weren't also sleeping around. Which brings me to one of Wellington's more… interesting conquests: Lady Caroline Lamb, wife of William Lamb (the future Second Viscount Melbourne and Prime Minister). Why do I know that name, you ask? The OG pixie manic dream girl, Caro's much more notably known for her affair with Lord Byron. After that particular bit of nonsense, she was in Brussels with the rest of the English aristocracy during the 100 Days/post Waterloo. She and the Duke supposedly slept together and she took his cloak away as a souvenir.
Who else did the Duke liaise with? Well, there were the usual flings with actresses and singers, such as La Grassini. As previously noted in another post on this tumblr, he was noted as a stronger, better lover than Napoleon by another of their mutual lovers. Wellington also was a client of Harriette Wilson. He visited her when she was in Paris after the Duke of Beaufort bought her off, though this was before Beaufort stopped paying her, prompting her to publish her memoirs. She canvassed her old lovers, including Wellington, to see if they'd pay her not to be in them. Wellington send her a note in return saying "Publish and be Damned." Something about his succinct dismissal of her is just so hot.
Oh, want a bit more of Wellington being a bad boy? In 1829, while Prime Minister, he got into a duel that still is commemorated almost two hundred years later. King's College, London, was set up while Wellington was also advocating for Catholic Emancipation and this led to Lord Winchilsea publicly insulting Wellington's honor to the point that the Duke (who'd never dueled before or supported dueling generally) called him out. They went to Battersea Fields and settled the matter with pistols. Wellington won and Winchelsea apologized. King's College celebrates "Duel Day" every March.
b.
Wellington was a good man. A complicated one, certainly, and he had his faults, but by and large I think he was a good man at heart. Wellington may not have had the charisma of Napoleon or Blücher, but he inspired confidence in his men. According to a veteran who served under him, the sight of his long nose among them was worth 10,000 men any day of the week. He took personal command and went all over the battlefield to ensure things went well. At Waterloo, he was riding continuously up and down the line, seemingly oblivious to the storm of shot, injecting his young, exhausted soldiers with courage.
Much as the troops believed in him, Wellington also believed in them. He’s known to have said that he’d be confident attacking Napoleon without the Prussians if only he had the army he crossed the Pyrenees with, and even without them, he thought he could win so long as he had enough British infantry. Wellington was also much better than Napoleon about keeping his men alive. Further, it was Welington’s idea to issue the Waterloo medal to all ranks who fought in the battle; the first such generally issued to the British Army.
Wellington cared, deeply. After Waterloo he gave orders for one of his aides who had been wounded to be placed in his own bed. Despite being known for his stoicism, he’s also known to have cried over the loss of so many men at Waterloo. Additionally, he was incredibly kind to Lord Fitzroy Somerset. Lord Fitzroy, who was one of Wellington’s favorite aides, (and his nephew-in-law), lost his arm at Waterloo. After the battle, Wellington temporary replaced him with another one-armed officer as an assurance to him that his disability would not prevent him from returning as principal aide-de-camp once he was recovered.
Despite having a temper that led him to be somewhat scathing with a pen, he wasn’t a violent man, and he did his best to restrain his impulses, even when dealing with people he didn’t personally like. One thing I never see Wellington get enough credit for is his attempt to keep his troops from pillaging. He didn’t always succeed, but he did try. Despite the attitudes of the Allies, and even his own government, Wellington insisted on moderation where France was concerned. He didn’t allow France to be ravaged, as some might have wished, both during the Peninsular conflict (he sent Spanish soldiers back to Spain for not following this instruction) and after Waterloo. He even posted a British sentry at the Pont de Iena so that Blücher wouldn’t blow it up. And he refused to execute Napoleon, insisting that if the sovereigns wanted it, they should appoint someone else as executioner.
Wellington was also great with children. In the lead up to Waterloo he spent a great deal of time with the Duke of Richmond’s family, and the children “seemed to look up to him as to one on whom they might depend for amusement” according to their tutor.
In a time known for its elegance and decadence, Wellington was known both for dressing well, and for the relative simplicity of his attitude to food and his sleeping arrangements. He often breakfasted simply on tea and toast or cold beef and tea, and was noted in later life to be quite content dining on a joint and half pint of sherry at one of the military clubs. He also wasn’t above getting some rest amongst his troops, wrapped in his cloak, with his hat or newspaper shading his face.
I’m still not entirely sure what criteria other tumblr users use to evaluate who should win this contest, but I think Wellington deserves to win, for these and all the other reasons given. Yes, he’s incredibly sexy, but there’s so much more to him than that.
Juliette Récamier:
a. “Her skill at posing on couches was such that she's given her name to the recamier style of chaise longue.”
