Quote:
Originally Posted by Pete Hill
To Russ
thanks for the mention of the Waterloo book. Have you read "Wellington's Smallest Victory" which is about Siborne's building of the large diorama of the battle some years after it took place. The book presents the Duke in not-so-favourable light as it alleges he pressured Siborne to alter the model to downplay the role of the Prussians and thus preserve all the credit and glory for Wellington himself. If it is true, I did not know Wellington had such a vain, petty side to his personality. Siborne must also shoulder some of the blame for the twisted, incomplete version of the battle of Waterloo that has been passed down to us as he also under-valued or even ignored the role played by the non-English units of Wellington's 'infamous' army.
regards Pete
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Post Waterloo, Wellington became a much derided, even hated figure in Great Britain. His opposition to extensions of suffrage made him a highly unpopuar figure in English politics. He was also disliked by the liberal Kiing William IV and Queen Victoria also. Though an arch-conservative and a protestant supremacist, Wellington was forced to extend civil rights to Catholics, after a Catholic Irish politician was voted to the House of Commons and was unable to take his seat because of laws preventing Catholic representation. This also made him unpopular with some of his protestant constituency.
Wellington was reported to be a very vain man as well as being highly Anglo-centric. The account that he sought to slant the account of Waterloo in his favour seems to be in character I think.