Charlotte Canning, Countess Canning

Charlotte Stuart with her mother, Elizabeth, Lady Stuart de Rothesay, and sister Louisa, later Marchioness of Waterford, painted by George Hayter in 1830

The tomb of Lady Canning in Barrackpore, West Bengal, India

Charlotte Canning (1817–1861), one of the most prolific women artists in India, was the wife of Charles Canning, 1st Earl Canning. Two portfolios in the V&A, contain some three hundred and fifty watercolours, the result of four major tours in India. ^[1]

She was born Charlotte Stuart in Paris, a daughter of the British ambassador, Charles Stuart (later Baron Stuart de Rothesay) and was a Lady of the Bedchamber to Queen Victoria from 1842 to 1855. On 5 September 1835, she married Hon. Charles Canning a son of the ex-British Prime Minister, George Canning and the 1st Viscountess Canning. In 1837, Charles succeeded to his mother's title as Viscount Canning, whereupon Charlotte became Viscountess Canning.

Lady Canning arrived in India in 1856 as a flourishing, healthy woman when her husband was appointed Governor-General of India. She went with him to Calcutta and described her situation as being 'isolated to a degree I could never have imagined'. She kept a journal and wrote frequently to Queen Victoria, at one point describing 'strange and terrible outbreaks' of violence which were the start of the 'Indian Mutiny'. In 1859, Charles was raised in the peerage as Earl Canning and Charlotte became Countess Canning. The Countess began to look emaciated in 1861 and she died of malaria in her husband's arms and was buried in Barrackpore, West Bengal.

Lord Canning did not long outlive her; his letter to Victoria describing her death crossed with the Queen's to him, announcing that Prince Albert had died. Lady Canning's name lives on in Bengal where a type of sweet called ledikeni is named after her.

Lady Canning, by Franz Winterhalter (1849)

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)) ISBN-13: 978-0718126674
• Below the Peacock Fan: First Ladies of the Raj - Marian Fowler

References

1. ^ EXTRACTS FROM THE BOOK “INDIAN LIFE AND LANDSCAPES BY WESTERN ARTISTS" - Chapter Six: The Role Of Amateur Artists

Persondata
Name	Canning, Charlotte Canning, Countess
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1817
Place of birth
Date of death	1861
Place of death

External Links

• Lady Canning Memorial at the St. John's Church Complex, Calcutta