When we spent time in London a couple of weeks ago this was the first sight we saw upon arriving at the RAF club -- the sun setting through the fog behind the Duke of Wellington's arch.
We decided to learn a bit more about the Duke by touring his house--Apsley House--which is just down the street on the corner of Hyde Park. Here's what I learned:
1) To be a Duke you have to do something really memorable: Welly beat Napoleon, so I guess that qualifies.
2) To be a Duke you have to never ever get over the really memorable thing you did: Welly's house is filled with statues of himself and of Napoleon, including a giant one at the base of the stairs which depicts victory turning her back on the French. Dude! Get over it!
3) Being a Duke means you have a simple address: Welly's house postal address was "#1, London"
4) No matter how good a Duke you are, your place is never going to be as cool as Blenheim's place in the country, so don't bankrupt yourself trying.
The most interesting thing about the whole tour is that the highlight of the Duke's extensive "I beat Napoleon" souveneir collection is the "Wellington Shield," a giant gold disk commemerating Wellington's great victory over Napoleon. It depicts all the great battles of the campaign -- with the one exception of Waterloo, which hadn't happened when the victory shield was cast! Goes to show the dangers I guess of declaring victory too soon!
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