Lady Caroline Jane Wellesley (born 6 July 1951) is a British television producer and writer. She is the daughter of Valerian, 8th Duke of Wellington.
Early life edit
Wellesley was born on 6 July 1951, she is the third child and only daughter of Valerian, Marquess of Douro, later 8th Duke of Wellington, and Diana McConnel. Through her father, she is a direct descendant of the 1st Duke of Wellington.[1] She was raised in London and at Stratfield Saye House, the family's seat in Hampshire.[2]
In her youth, she dated the Prince of Wales (later King Charles III) in the early 1970s.[3][4]
Career edit
Wellesley began her career working for Apollo magazine and P. & D. Colnaghi & Co. In 1975, her television production career began with a position at Radio Times and subsequently the BBC and Granada Studios. She became in independent producer in the 1980s, running Antelope Films and Warner Sisters Film and TV.[5] In 1987, she produced the documentary The Riddle of Midnight with novelist Salman Rushdie.[6] Her other production credits include A Village Affair (1995) and Lady Audley's Secret (2000).[5]
Wellesley was a close friend of American journalist Marie Colvin who was killed in an attack by Syrian government forces while she was covering the siege of Homs for The Sunday Times.[7] In Colvin's honour, she was a co-founder of the Marie Colvin Journalists’ Network.[8][5]
In 2008, Wellesley published her first work on her family history, Wellington: A Journey Through My Family.[9] She updated and released the book in 2015 for the bicentennial of the Battle of Waterloo.[1] In 2023, she published Blue Eyes and a Wild Spirit: A Life of Dorothy Wellesley, a biography of her paternal grandmother, Dorothy, Duchess of Wellington.[10]
Bibliography edit
- Wellington: A Journey Through My Family. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2008. Hardcover: ISBN 9780297852315
- Blue Eyes and a Wild Spirit: A Life of Dorothy Wellesley. Sheffield: Sandstone Press, 2023. Hardcover: ISBN 9781914518232
References edit
- ^ a b Godwin, Richard (1 June 2015). "We Wellingtons — we are very nouveau". The Times. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
- ^ "Family Home of Lady Jane Wellesley". IMS Vintage Photos. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
- ^ "The Man Who Will Be King". TIME. 25 May 1978. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
- ^ Wilson, Christopher (10 November 2013). "Prince Charles and his relationships". The Telegraph. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
- ^ a b c "Jane Wellesley". Peters Fraser + Dunlop. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
- ^ Rushdie, Salman (2012). Joseph Anton: A Memoir. New York: Random House. ISBN 9781448155606. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
- ^ Walters, Joanna (12 March 2012). "Marie Colvin: mourners say farewell to 'talented, compassionate' war reporter". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
- ^ "Resources". Marie Colvin Memorial Foundation. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
- ^ Trippney, Natasha (20 December 2009). "A Journey Through My Family: The Wellington Story by Jane Wellesley". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
- ^ Watling, Sarah (10 June 2023). "Mocked by Woolf, seduced by Vita Sackville-West: who was Dorothy Wellesley?". The Telegraph. Retrieved 11 December 2023.