I have seen their backs before, madam.
• Variant: 'Tis of no matter, your Highness, I have seen their backs before." - Meaning and context.">
QuotesCosmos
This is attributed to Wellington as a statement to an unidentified woman at a reception in Vienna, who had apologized for the rudeness of some French officers who had turned their backs on him when he entered, as quoted in The Guinness Book of Military Anecdotes (1992), by Geoffrey Regan, page 27
 • This is attributed to Wellington as a statement to King Louis XVIII at a ball in the spring of 1814, as quoted in "Anecdotes of Wellington" at The Wellington Society of Madrid
“

I have seen their backs before, madam.
• Variant: 'Tis of no matter, your Highness, I have seen their backs before.

— Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "I have seen their backs before, madam.
• Variant: 'Tis of no matter, your Highness, I have seen their backs before." in the context of "This is attributed to Wellington as a statement to an unidentified woman at a reception in Vienna, who had apologized for the rudeness of some French officers who had turned their backs on him when he entered, as quoted in The Guinness Book of Military Anecdotes (1992), by Geoffrey Regan, page 27
 • This is attributed to Wellington as a statement to King Louis XVIII at a ball in the spring of 1814, as quoted in "Anecdotes of Wellington" at The Wellington Society of Madrid" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Source: Wikiquote: "Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington" (Quotes) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app

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About Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington

Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was a British soldier and statesman. Rising to prominence during the Peninsular War, he became a national hero in Britain after the Napoleonic Wars during which he led the victorious Anglo-Allied forces at the Battle of Waterloo. He later became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on two separate occasions.