Charlotte Canning, Countess Canning

Charlotte Canning, Countess Canning (née Stuart; 31 March 1817 – 18 November 1861) was a British aristocrat, artist and the first Vicereine of India. She was one of India's most prolific women artists – two portfolios in the Victoria and Albert Museum contain some 350 watercolours by her, the result of four major tours in the country. Her husband was Charles Canning, who served as Governor-General of India from 1856 to 1858 and then as Viceroy of India until 1862.

As the elder daughter of the British ambassador to France, she was born and raised in Paris. She moved to England with her family in 1831, marrying Canning four years later. From 1842 to 1855, Lady Canning served as a Lady of the Bedchamber to Queen Victoria and was a favourite of the monarch. She moved to Calcutta in 1856 upon her husband's appointment, and two years later she became India's first vicereine when the British Crown took over India.

As an artist and botanist Lady Canning collected flowers and plants during her frequent trips around India, while drawing the natural scenes around her. She became ill shortly before her scheduled return to England, and died of malaria in Calcutta. Her death was widely reported in England, where she was exemplified as a symbol of feminine virtue in the Victorian era. A type of Indian dessert, ledikeni, is named after her.

Early life and marriage

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Charlotte Stuart with her mother and sister, by George Hayter in 1830

Charlotte Stuart was born on 31 March 1817 at the British embassy in Paris. Her father was the British ambassador, Sir Charles Stuart (later Baron Stuart de Rothesay), a grandson of the 3rd Earl of Bute. Her mother was Lady Elizabeth Yorke, a daughter of Philip Yorke, 3rd Earl of Hardwicke.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

Charlotte's grandmother, the Countess of Hardwicke, was present for the birth; in a letter, she observed that the "first look of the young lady was so strikingly like her father as to make us all laugh".Template:Sfn She was named after her godmother Queen Charlotte.Template:Sfn A year later, Charlotte was joined by a younger sister, Louisa Anne (later Marchioness of Waterford);Template:Sfn the pair were considered beautiful despite the plain looks of their parents.Template:Sfn

Charlotte stayed in Paris with her family, acquiring a fluency in French, until 1831 when her father finished his posting as ambassador. They returned to London where they lived in a newly constructed residence in Carlton House Terrace.Template:Sfn Three years after returning to London, in 1834, Charlotte came out in society. Shortly after doing so, she met the Hon. Charles Canning, only remaining son of the former Prime Minister, George Canning. The younger Canning proposed and Charlotte consented, but her father declined to permit the match due to political disagreements he held with George Canning. Eventually, under family pressure, he agreed to allow the marriage.Template:Sfn

Charlotte married Charles Canning on 5 September 1835 at St Martin-in-the-Fields, London. He was elected to the British Parliament the following year,Template:Sfn and in 1837 succeeded to his mother's title as Viscount Canning, whereupon Charlotte became Viscountess Canning.Template:Sfn In 1859 Charles was raised in the peerage as Earl CanningTemplate:Sfn and Charlotte became Countess Canning.

Lady of the Bedchamber

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Queen Victoria's First Visit to her Wounded Soldiers by Jerry Barrett, 1859, with Lady Canning in attendance

In 1842, Charlotte was appointed as a Lady of the Bedchamber to Queen Victoria, becoming a favourite of both Victoria and her husband Prince Albert. She accepted the offer within a day, writing that serving the queen was a "source of pride and gratification".Template:Sfn She may have consented for financial reasons, as the family, while respectable, was not wealthy.Template:Sfn Her childless marriage to Lord Canning was also not the happiest of unions.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

Charlotte held this position until 1855.Template:Sfn Hubbard notes many traits that likely secured Charlotte her role in the Victorian court. In addition to being well-connected – as the daughter of an ambassador and spouse of a rising politician – Charlotte was of respectable character; she was discreet, intelligent, socially adept, and beautiful. She was also fluent in French, making her useful in certain social situations,Template:Sfn and she was known for her intelligent conversation. Being a Lady of the Bedchamber was largely ceremonial; Charlotte served as a companion of the queen, accompanying her on daily outings and to formal ceremonies. She also entertained visiting royals and dined with the queen when Victoria was not with her family.Template:Sfn

Lady Canning was an adherent of Anglicanism, her religious views tending towards high church traditions, despite Victoria's personal dislike of this perspective. Victoria favoured worship within the Presbyterian tradition found within the Church of Scotland; her ladies-in-waiting were drawn from different wings of the Established Churches.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

Vicereine of India

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Watercolour by Lady Canning, of the Hill Fort of Kangra, Kangra Valley, Himachal Pradesh, 1860

Lord Canning was appointed Governor-General of India, and the couple moved to the country in January 1856. They resided at Government House in Calcutta. She disliked the formality and routine of the residence, writing that "its greatest sin is its intense dullness".Template:Sfn The couple spent their retreats at Barrackpore, a "resonantly Anglicized place" sixteen miles from central Calcutta.Template:Sfn An accomplished botanist,Template:Sfn Canning came to love Barrackpore's "jungly" characteristics,Template:Sfn noting that the "luxuriant growth in the jungly ground outside, of dazzling green during the Rains, is more beautiful than I can describe and I always think of the Palm House at Kew".Template:Sfn

Lady Canning was in the country during the India Mutiny, a rebellion in India against the rule of the British East India Company that ran from May 1857 to July 1859. Her husband was much criticized for his perceived clemency of the rebels, but the Cannings had the firm support of Queen Victoria.Template:Sfn After the end of the Mutiny, rule of India was transferred over to the British Crown. Lord Canning was made its viceroy,Template:Sfn making his wife the country's first vicereine.Template:Sfn Her new position lacked official duties, but she did play a social role and partook in philanthropic efforts.Template:Sfn

• On an elephant, 1858–61
  On an elephant, 1858–61
• At Simla with her husband and Lord Clyde, Commander-in-Chief, 1860
  At Simla with her husband and Lord Clyde, Commander-in-Chief, 1860
• Lady Canning, Major Jones and Lady Campbell, Simla, 1860
  Lady Canning, Major Jones and Lady Campbell, Simla, 1860

Artistry

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Photographed by Henry Hering for a carte de visite around 1860

Owing to her high position in the country, Charlotte once described her situation as being "isolated to a degree I could never have imagined".Template:Sfn She found comfort in her collection and artistic renderings of India's flora, and devoted much of her time to the garden at Barrackpore.Template:Sfn As an amateur artist, Canning favoured watercolours and kept many portfolios of her works.Template:Sfn The historian Eugenia W. Herbert describes Charlotte as the "most memorable and the most accomplished of the women botanical illustrators in India".Template:Sfn Her efforts fill the pages of nineteen volumes, currently being held in Harewood House.Template:Sfn She was also one of India's earliest photographers, taking many photos, and also commissioning and collecting others.Template:Sfn

Also interested in natural history, Charlotte collected samples when travelling with her husband on his tours of India. Her cousin accompanied one of these trips and noted that Charlotte's "genuine love of plants and flowers makes every step in this country of interest to her."Template:Sfn She also travelled without her husband.Template:Sfn She kept a journal and wrote frequently to Queen Victoria,Template:Sfn providing detailed accounts of life in India to the fascinated monarch. She also sent nature samples to Victoria's children.Template:Sfn Victoria, in turn, replied regularly.Template:Sfn Much of their correspondence still remains.Template:Sfn

Death and legacy

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Lady Canning's memorial at St. John's Church, Calcutta

After five years in India, Charlotte looked forward to returning to England and her family, with the intended departure date planned for sometime in January 1862. Queen Victoria had granted her rangership of Greenwich Park. She embarked on one final trip to see the mountains surrounding Darjeeling in October, and continued her trip into the following month by returning to Calcutta.Template:Sfn She became ill during the journeyTemplate:Sfn and died at Government House of malaria, in her husband's arms.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn She was buried on the grounds of Barrackpore, in a small garden her husband described as a "beautiful spot" that looked upon a river she "was so fond of drawing".Template:Sfn News of her demise reached Queen Victoria shortly before the death of her own husband, Prince Albert, in December.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

Lady Canning's death was widely reported in England,Template:Sfn where it "generated an extraordinary, unanimous demonstration of patriotic grief."Template:Sfn She was exemplified as a symbol of feminine virtue across the British Empire,Template:Sfn and her death was said to have "cast a gloom over Calcutta."Template:Sfn Lord Canning grieved heavily and visited her grave daily; known for his reserved demeanour, he broke down into tears when comforted by the Bishop of Calcutta. He sent details of her final days to Queen Victoria, not realising that the monarch was also in mourning for the loss of a spouse.Template:Sfn He did not long outlive his wife, dying the following year of liver disease.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn As a result, it fell to his heir Hubert de Burgh-Canning, to arrange for the construction of her tomb.Template:Sfn By 1913, her grave and memorial were located adjacent to St John's Church in Calcutta, which is now viewable to the public.Template:Sfn

Two portfolios in the Victoria and Albert Museum contain many of her watercolours and drawings.Template:Sfn In India, a sweet dessert called ledikeni (or "Lady Kenny") bears Lady Canning's name. It is very similar to a pantua and is made of chhana and flour, and soaked in sugar syrup. There are several legends behind the dessert's origins; one holds that a confectioner named his concoction after Lady Canning in honour of her birthday, while another says the sweetmeat was prepared to commemorate her visit to India in 1856. It is said that it became more famous because of its name than its taste.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn It became fashionable among the Bengali elite to eat ledikeni in the decades after her death.Template:Sfn

Bibliography

• The story of two noble lives : being memorials of Charlotte, Countess Canning, and Louisa, Marchioness of Waterford (Volume 1) – Hare, Augustus John Cuthbert, 1834–1903
• A Glimpse of the Burning Plain: Leaves from the Indian Journals of Charlotte Canning – Charles Allen (Michael Joseph (October 1987)) Template:ISBN
• Template:Cite Q

References

Works cited

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External links

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