Not so celebrated, but far more poignant was the fate of the equally military Sixth Duke, whose full dress uniform, among other effects, will be put up for sale at Duke’s of Dorchester on September 26.
He was killed in action in Italy in 1943, two years after succeeding to the title.
Duke’s have already sold Philip Alexius De Laszlo’s 1935 portrait of the future Sixth Duke, which made just under £20,000 at their rooms in February. Now, alongside the uniform they will offer a collection of letters from the Duke, when still Earl of Mornington, to his mother in 1936-37. They detail military life, including trench digging, as well as social comment and references to Royalty and well-known figures of the age.
But perhaps the most sought-after lot will be the 1943 flag rent. The First Duke was given the family’s Stratfield Saye estate by the King in thanks for the victory at Waterloo. The symbolic rent for the estate is paid to the monarch each Waterloo Day and takes the form of a flag – a tradition that continues to this day. The King returned the 1943 flag following the death in action of the Sixth Duke, whose mother was a close friend of Queen Mary, the King’s mother, and it is this flag which will be included in the sale.
Wellington’s other heroic duke who gave his life in battle…
THE heroic exploits of the first Duke of Wellington in defeating Napoleon at Waterloo must be among the best recorded events in British military history.
