Diana Ruth Wellesley, Duchess of Wellington, (née McConnel; 14 January 1922 – 1 November 2010) was the wife of Valerian Wellesley, 8th Duke of Wellington, and a British intelligence officer during World War II. Family and early life Born in Woolwich, she was the only daughter of Major-General Douglas McConnel, an instructor at the Royal Military Academy, and his wife, Ruth Mary (née Garnett-Botfield). Her only brother died soon after birth, and she had no other siblings. She resolved not to marry a military man after living apart from her father, though she did live happily with her parents in India for two years. On her return to Britain she was educated at Benenden School, where she enjoyed painting and music and proved proficient at maths. Her decision to learn typing instead of cooking would serve her well in the war, which broke out shortly before she left school. She was only seventeen, not yet finished school, when the Second World War broke out. She lived in Jerusalem when her father was stationed there. She worked as a secretary for the military in the King David Hotel and served often as her father's aide-de-camp. Her work included passing top secret documents, such as plans for a British invasion of Iraq in 1941 to nullify Arab nationalists who believed that the Nazis could help their cause. Marriage and family It was there that she met Valerian Wellesley, who in 1943 became Marquess of Douro when his father, then Lord Gerald Wellesley, inherited the Dukedom of Wellington from his nephew. They were married on 28 January 1944. The Marquess and Marchioness of Douro would have five children: Arthur Charles Valerian Wellesley, 9th Duke of Wellington, 10th Duke of Ciudad Rodrigo (b. 19 August 1945), married HRH Princess Antonia of Prussia, a great-granddaughter of Wilhelm II, German Emperor, with five children; Lord Richard Wellesley, (b. 20 June 1949), married Joanna Sumner, with two daughters; Lady (Caroline) Jane Wellesley (b. 6 July 1951), Television producer; she was courted at one time by Charles, Prince of Wales; Lord John Wellesley (b. 20 April 1954), married Corinne Vaes, with two children; Lord James Wellesley (b. 16 December 1956), married Laura Wedge, with one daughter, divorced; married Emma Nethercott. During the course of her regular work Diana discovered a plot by the Stern Gang to bomb St. George's Cathedral, Jerusalem on her wedding day. The bomb was