Arthur Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington, is famous for defeating Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 and later becoming prime minister.
The Category-A listed statue of the duke on his favourite horse, Copenhagen, was sculpted by Italian artist Carlo Marochetti and erected in 1844 in Glasgow.
However the tradition of his traffic cone is thought to have started by late night revellers in the 1980s.
For years locals battled the council over the placement of the cone.
It said the statue had once been minorly damaged and raised concerns around the potential for injury when attempting to place a cone.
The council also reminded locals that the act was “vandalism” and police warned of criminal charges.
But the prank continued and any attempts to free the duke of his plastic hat have always been quickly thwarted with the cone replaced within days.