ABSTRACT
When the Duke of Wellington sailed for England at the end of 1818 he was standing at the very top of his shining hour. The conqueror of Napoleon, a duke in his own and three other countries, Prince of Waterloo in the Netherlands, field marshal or its equivalent in every major army and the holder of more than a score of knighthoods, he was the most renowned and glittering figure in Europe. As supreme commander of the allied army of occupation and British ambassador to France in the last three years he had added to his renown by the masterful and judicious manner in which he had superintended the imposition of peace terms on the country that had kept the continent in disarray for a generation. The crowned heads of state accepted him practically as an equal and his headquarters in Paris was the focus of attention for them and their ministers as they continued to seek the advice of the saviour and very symbol of their order.
