Who is the Duchess of Wellington? Lesser known royal, 69, turns heads at State Opening of Parliament with her regal tiara and extravagant brooch

The Duchess of Wellington caused quite a stir in the House of Lords at the ceremonial State Opening of Parliament today.

King Charles may have delivered a historic speech but the elegant tiara and brooch worn by the Duchess – officially known as Princess Antonia Elizabeth Brigid Louise Mansfeld of Prussia – also garnered much attention. 

The historic headpiece was, according to Tatler magazine, first worn by Lady Elisabeth Hay, the 2nd Duchess of Wellington, who was Queen Victoria’s Mistress of the Dress and the daughter-in-law of the 1st Duke of Wellington.

Today, the 69-year-old minor royal, who was dressed in a sophisticated white lace dress with pristine cream gloves, looked every inch a Duchess, finishing the look with a pair of large drop pearl earrings.

But many may wonder who this mysterious royal is and her link to The Firm. 

Close connections: The Duchess of Wellington guided King Charles, then the Prince of Wales, on a visit tp The Royal Ballet School White Lodge campus in Richmond Park in 2016

The Duchess of Wellington is the great-great-great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria through her father, Prince Friedrich of Prussia. 

Antonia’s mother, Lady Brigid Guinness, is also the daughter of 2nd Earl of Iveagh, Rupert Guinness.

During the Second World War, Lady Brigid worked as a nursing assistant and tended to Prince Friedrich, who was hurt in a tractor accident. 

The couple fell in love and married just a couple of years later in 1945 in in Little Hadham in Hertfordshire.

Prince Friedrich renounced his German nationality to become a British citizen under the name von Preussen. They had Antonia in April 1955, along with her twin brother Rupert. 

Her father died in mysterious circumstances when the twins were just 10 years old, after he was found drowned in the River Rhine while staying at his Reinhartshausen castle in Erbach, Germany.

The Duchess of Wellington studied at Cobham Hall School, an all-girls private school in Kent, and attended King’s College shortly after and got a degree in English.  

On 3 February 1977, she married Charles Wellesley, now the Duke of Wellington, at St Paul’s Church in Knightsbridge, London. He is the eldest son of the 8th Duke of Wellington and is both a businessman and also sits in the House of Lords.

The lavish nuptials were attended by the then Prince Charles, Queen Mother and Princess Margaret.

Princess Antonia and Charles went on to have five children, Arthur Wellesley, Earl of Mornington, Lady Honor Victoria Wellesley, Lady Mary Luise Wellesley, Lady Charlotte Wellesley and Lord Frederick Wellesley. 

Antonia and the late Princes Diana are seen pictured at a Guinness Trust Project in Manchester in 1991

The Duke and Duchess of Wellington pictured at the wedding of their daughter, Lady Charlotte Wellesley, in 2016 – the couple have five children together 

The then Prince Charles and then Duchess Camilla are shown around by the Duke and Duchess of Wellington during a visit of the Battlefield and the Lion’s Mound in Belgium in 2015

In 2008, Antonia was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire and then went on to be elected as a Fellow of Eton College.

Their aristocracy and status are not to be underestimated, as she has remained close with members of The Firm.

There are pictures of Princess Antonia at a Guinness Trust Project in Manchester alongside the late Princess Diana in 1991. 

The Duchess became Chairwoman of the Royal Ballet School in 2009, serving until December 2019. 

She took the pleasure of showing the the Prince Charles around the Royal Ballet School, White Lodge campus in Richmond Park in 2016. 

And the Duke and Duchess of Wellington attended King Charles and Queen Camilla’s Coronation on 6 May last year and were given the role of carrying Queen Mary’s crown during the regalia procession of the Queen.

In 2023, the couple were also invited to be by Charles and Camilla’s side at the first day of Ascot, signifying their importance to the Monarch.