The first earl was the eldest son of
Richard Wesley, the first Baron Mornington. Richard Wesley, born Richard Colley, was elevated to the Peerage of Ireland as
Baron Mornington, of Mornington, in 1746. He had inherited the
Dangan and
Mornington estates in
County Meath on the death of his first cousin Garret Wesley in 1728. In the same year he was granted by Royal licence the new surname of Wesley (see below for earlier history of the family). His son, the second Baron, was made the first Earl of Mornington in 1760, and at the same time also became
Viscount Wellesley, of
Dangan Castle in the County of Meath, also in the Peerage of Ireland. Four of the first earl's sons gained distinction. The third son was
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, who defeated
Napoleon Bonaparte at the
Battle of Waterloo in 1815 (see
Duke of Wellington), while the fifth was the diplomat
Henry Wellesley, 1st Baron Cowley (see
Earl Cowley). '' by
Thomas Lawrence, 1813 The first earl was succeeded by his eldest son,
Richard, the second earl. He used the original family surname of Wellesley in lieu of Wesley. He was a prominent soldier, diplomat and politician. In 1797 he was created
Baron Wellesley, of Wellesley in the County of Somerset, in the
Peerage of Great Britain, which entitled him to a seat in the British
House of Lords. In 1799 he was further honoured when he was made
Marquess Wellesley, of Norragh, in the Peerage of Ireland. However, he was said to be bitterly disappointed at not receiving a dukedom or at least an English peerage of high rank. He referred to his Irish marquessate as a "double-gilt potato". Lord Wellesley had several children by his French mistress,
Hyacinthe-Gabrielle Roland (they were married in 1794 after the birth of their children). One of them, Anne, married as her second husband
Lord Charles Bentinck. They were great-great-grandparents of
Queen Elizabeth II. As Lord Wellesley had no legitimate children, the English barony of 1797 and the marquessate became extinct on his death in 1842. He was succeeded in the other titles by his younger brother
William Wellesley-Pole, 1st Baron Maryborough, who became the third Earl of Mornington. He was also a politician and notably served as
Chief Secretary for Ireland between 1809 and 1812 and as
Chancellor of the Irish Exchequer between 1811 and 1812. Born William Wesley, he assumed by Royal licence in 1781 the additional surname of Pole on succeeding to the estates of his cousin, William Pole. In 1798 he assumed by Royal licence the surname of Wellesley-Pole in lieu of Wesley-Pole. In 1821 he was raised to the
Peerage of the United Kingdom as
Baron Maryborough, of Maryborough in the Queen's County. He was succeeded by his son, the
fourth Earl. He married
Catherine, daughter and coheir of
Sir James Tylney-Long, 7th Baronet (see
Tylney-Long Baronets). She was known in London society as "The Wiltshire heiress" and was believed to be the richest commoner in England. On his marriage he assumed by Royal licence the additional surnames of Tylney and Long. Lord Mornington is chiefly remembered for his dissipated lifestyle which brought about the destruction of the Tylney family estate of
Wanstead House. He was succeeded by his eldest and only surviving son, the fifth Earl. He had been the subject of a bitter custody battle between his father and his two maternal aunts (who had wanted him to be placed under the guardianship of his great-uncle the Duke of Wellington) and later fought a legal battle with his father over the sale of contents of the family seat Draycot House. Lord Mornington died unmarried in 1863 when the barony of Maryborough became extinct. He left all his landed property to his father's cousin
Henry Wellesley, 1st Earl Cowley. He was succeeded in his Irish titles by his first cousin once removed,
Arthur Wellesley, 2nd Duke of Wellington. The title Earl of Mornington is now used as a
courtesy title by the
heir apparent to the Marquess of Douro, himself the heir apparent to the Duke of Wellington. As of 2015, the title is held by courtesy by Arthur Wellesley, Earl of Mornington, son of
Arthur Wellesley, Marquess of Douro and grandson of
Charles Wellesley, 9th Duke of Wellington. The Wesley or Wellesley family descended from Sir Richard de Wellesley (15th century). His grandson Sir William Wellesley (died 1602) lived at
Dangan Castle,
County Meath. The family estates passed down the male lines. One of Wellesley's daughters, Alison, married John Cusack. Their son Sir
Thomas Cusack served as
Lord Chancellor of Ireland between 1551 and 1554. His daughter, Katherine, married Sir Henry Colley (or Cowley) (16th century), of Castle Carbery,
County Kildare. Their grandson Sir Henry Colley represented
County Monaghan in the Irish Parliament. One of Sir Henry's sons, Dudley Colley (or Cowley), was a member of the Irish Parliament for
Philipstown. His son Henry Colley (or Cowley) was the father of Henry Cowley, who represented
Strabane in the
Irish House of Commons, and of Garret Wesley, 1st Baron Mornington. The aforementioned Garret Wesley (died 1728) was a descendant of Sir William Wellesley (died 1602) as well as the son of Elizabeth, daughter of the aforementioned Dudley Colley, also the paternal grandfather of the first Baron Mornington. The country seat of the Wellesley family was
Dangan Castle, near
Summerhill, County Meath. The
Dublin residence of the family was
Mornington House,
Merrion Street. ==Barons Mornington (1746)==