Wellington, Toryism and the Nation

One hundred and fifty years ago, on  November 18th, 1852, an estimated 1.5 million people in London witnessed the memorable spectacle of the public funeral of the First Duke of Wellington, the ‘Iron Duke’ (1769-1852). His funeral carriage, a lavishly ornamented bronze structure weighing twelve tons and drawn by twelve horses, followed a three-mile route between the Horse Guards and St Paul’s Cathedral. It was accompanied by a vast procession including infantry and cavalry units, military bands, deputations from the East India Company and other public bodies, senior politicians, judges and churchmen, and Prince Albert. At St Paul’s, the coffin was interred alongside that of Britain’s great naval hero,  Nelson, and the ceremony ended with the tremendous boom of guns being fired from the Tower of London.