Why did Arthur Wellesley marry Kitty Pakenham in 1806?

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Arthur Wellesley, 1st duke of Wellington Arthur Wellesley, 1st duke of Wellington, oil on canvas by Sir Thomas Lawrence.

Arthur Wellesley married Catherine (Kitty) Pakenham in 1806 primarily out of a sense of duty.

Although Wellesley had proposed to Pakenham years earlier when he was 24, he was rejected at that time. After returning to England from his military service in India in 1805, he felt compelled to fulfill this earlier commitment, viewing the marriage as a duty he was required to perform.1