This design for a ceremonial collar for the Duke of Wellington was prepared under the direction of Garter King of Arms, Sir George Nayler, at the request of King George IV. It was first commissioned when the King was Prince Regent, according to Nayler's later account, in 1814. Ten battles in which he led the army were commemorated on ten 'Union Badges' as they were termed, although as one is Waterloo the design must only have been completed after June 1815. The names of four more battles are engraved on the cross pendant from the collar. A letter written by Nayler some time after 1820 (when the Prince Regent had inherited the throne and reigned as King George IV) describes how, having had the collar made, the King could not decide how best to present it to Wellington without offending other commanders who might feel slighted at not having also received a similar honour, and still at the time of writing had not actually given it to the Duke. It was presented in around 1825 and is now on display at Apsley House, formerly 'No. 1, London'.
For more examples of College of Arms records relating to Waterloo and to Wellington, see our online exhibition here.