Henry Wellesley, 1st Baron Cowley GCB (20 January 1773 – 27 April 1847) was the youngest brother of the Duke of Wellington, and became a notable diplomat in his own right.
Educated at Eton College and at the court of the Duke of Brunswick, Wellesley purchased an Ensigncy in the 40th Foot in 1790. In 1791, his diplomatic career began, when he was appointed attaché to the British embassy at The Hague. The next year, he became Secretary of Legation ...
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Henry Wellesley, 1st Baron Cowley GCB (20 January 1773 – 27 April 1847) was the youngest brother of the Duke of Wellington, and became a notable diplomat in his own right.
Educated at Eton College and at the court of the Duke of Brunswick, Wellesley purchased an Ensigncy in the 40th Foot in 1790. In 1791, his diplomatic career began, when he was appointed attaché to the British embassy at The Hague. The next year, he became Secretary of Legation in Stockholm. In 1791 he exchanged into the 1st Foot Guards and in 1793 he purchased a Lieutenantcy. In 1794, while on a trip home from Lisbon with his sister Anne, he was captured by the French, and remained in prison during the height of the terror, escaping only in 1795. In the latter year he sat for Trim in the Irish House of Commons.
In 1797 Wellesley accompanied Lord Malmesbury as secretary on his unsuccessful mission to negotiate peace with the French at Lille. Later that year, he travelled to India, where he became private secretary to...
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