Catherine Wellesley, Duchess of Wellington - Early Life

Early Life

The daughter of Edward Pakenham, 2nd Baron Longford and the former Catherine Rowley, she was born Catherine Pakenham on 14 January 1773 in Dublin, Ireland. She became "The Honourable Catherine Pakenham" when her father succeeded as the 2nd Baron Longford in 1776. She had met Wellesley in Ireland when they were both young, and Wellesley, after numerous visits to the Longford's Dublin home, made his feelings towards her clear. At the time her family disapproved of the match: Wellesley was the third son of a large family and looked to have little in the way of prospects. After the rejection by the Pakenhams, Wellesley became serious about his military career, was posted to the Netherlands and India, enjoyed a spectacular rise, and seemingly forgot Kitty. Although she remained hopeful that they would be reunited, she admitted to a friend, Olivia Sparrow, after many years that she thought the "business over". She became engaged to Galbraith Lowry Cole, the second son of the Earl of Enniskillen, but Sparrow, who was in contact with him, revealed that Wellesley still considered himself attached to her. After much soul-searching, Pakenham broke off the engagement to Cole, although she believed the stress of the affair damaged her health.