Gerald Wellesley, 7th Duke of Wellington

Gerald Wellesley, 7th Duke of Wellington, styled Lord Gerald Wellesley between 1900 and 1943, was an Anglo-Irish diplomat, soldier, and architect. Wellesley served as a diplomat in the Diplomatic Corps in 1908. He held the office of Third Secretary of the Diplomatic Service between 1910–17, and the office of Second Secretary of the Diplomatic Service between 1917–19. He was invested as a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1921, and as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts in 1935, and was Surveyor of the King's Works of Art, 1936–43. He gained the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel in 1939 in the service of the Grenadier Guards. He fought in the Second World War between 1939 and 1945. His diplomatic skills proved invaluable in dealing with the Allies.