Charles Hardinge, 1st Baron Hardinge of Penshurst
Encyclopedia
Charles Hardinge, 1st Baron Hardinge of Penshurst, (20 June 1858 – 2 August 1944) was a British
diplomat and statesman who served as Viceroy of India
from 1910 to 1916.
, and the grandson of Henry Hardinge, 1st Viscount Hardinge
, a former Governor-General of India. He was educated at Harrow School
and Trinity College, Cambridge
.
in 1898 when he was promoted over the heads of seventeen of his seniors. After a brief stint as Assistant Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs he became Ambassador to Russia in 1904. In 1906 he was promoted to the position of Permanent Under-Secretary at the Foreign Office
, and despite his own conservatism, worked closely with Liberal Foreign Secretary Sir Edward Grey
. In 1907 he declined the post of Ambassador to the United States. In 1910 Hardinge was raised to the peerage as Baron Hardinge of Penshurst
, in the County of Kent
, and appointed by the Asquith
government as Viceroy of India.
His tenure was a memorable one, seeing the visit of King George V
and the Delhi Durbar
of 1911, as well as the move of the capital from Calcutta
to New Delhi
in 1912. Although Hardinge was the target of assassination attempts by Indian nationalists, his tenure generally saw better relations between the British administration and the nationalists, thanks to the implementation of the Morley-Minto reforms of 1909, Hardinge's own admiration for Mohandas Gandhi, and criticism of the South Africa
n government's anti-Indian immigration policies.
Hardinge's efforts paid off in 1914 during the First World War
. Due to improved colonial relationships, Britain was able to deploy nearly all of the British troops in India as well as many native Indian troops to areas outside of India. In particular the British Indian Army
was able to play a significant role in the Mesopotamian campaign
In 1916, Hardinge returned to his former post in England as Permanent Under-Secretary at the Foreign Office, serving with Arthur Balfour
. In 1920 he became ambassador to France
before his retirement in 1922.
(1894–1960), who succeeded him as Baron Hardinge of Penshurst
. Lady Hardinge died on 11 July 1914. Lord Hardinge of Penshurst died in Penshurst, Kent, on 2 August 1944, aged 86.
Lady Hardinge, Winifred Selina Sturt Hardinge (1868-1914), was the first to take initiative for starting a medical college for women in Delhi, when the capital shifted from Calcutta, she laid foundation stone of the college, on 17th March 1914, and to commemorate the visit of Queen Mary
in 1911-12, it was named 'Queen Mary College & Hospital'. Lady Haridinge was actively involved in collecting funds for the institution of princely states and public, unfortunately she died in late 1914. The college was eventually inaugurated on 7 February 1916 by Viceroy Hardinge. On the suggestion of Queen Mary, the college and the hospital was named after Lady Harding, as Lady Hardinge Medical College
.
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
diplomat and statesman who served as Viceroy of India
Governor-General of India
The Governor-General of India was the head of the British administration in India, and later, after Indian independence, the representative of the monarch and de facto head of state. The office was created in 1773, with the title of Governor-General of the Presidency of Fort William...
from 1910 to 1916.
Background and education
Hardinge was the second son of Charles Hardinge, 2nd Viscount HardingeCharles Hardinge, 2nd Viscount Hardinge
Charles Stewart Hardinge, 2nd Viscount Hardinge , was a British Conservative politician.-Background:Hardinge was the son of Field Marshal Henry Hardinge, 1st Viscount Hardinge, and Lady Emily Jane, daughter of Robert Stewart, 1st Marquess of Londonderry.-Political career:Hardinge was elected Member...
, and the grandson of Henry Hardinge, 1st Viscount Hardinge
Henry Hardinge, 1st Viscount Hardinge
Field Marshal Henry Hardinge, 1st Viscount Hardinge, GCB, PC was a British field marshal and Governor-general of India.-Army career:...
, a former Governor-General of India. He was educated at Harrow School
Harrow School
Harrow School, commonly known simply as "Harrow", is an English independent school for boys situated in the town of Harrow, in north-west London.. The school is of worldwide renown. There is some evidence that there has been a school on the site since 1243 but the Harrow School we know today was...
and Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...
.
Career
Hardinge entered the diplomatic service in 1880, was appointed first secretary at Tehran in 1896 and first secretary at Saint PetersburgSaint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
in 1898 when he was promoted over the heads of seventeen of his seniors. After a brief stint as Assistant Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs he became Ambassador to Russia in 1904. In 1906 he was promoted to the position of Permanent Under-Secretary at the Foreign Office
Permanent Under-Secretary at the Foreign Office
This is a list of Permanent Under-Secretaries in the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office since 1790.Not to be confused with Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs...
, and despite his own conservatism, worked closely with Liberal Foreign Secretary Sir Edward Grey
Edward Grey, 1st Viscount Grey of Fallodon
Edward Grey, 1st Viscount Grey of Fallodon KG, PC, FZL, DL , better known as Sir Edward Grey, Bt, was a British Liberal statesman. He served as Foreign Secretary from 1905 to 1916, the longest continuous tenure of any person in that office...
. In 1907 he declined the post of Ambassador to the United States. In 1910 Hardinge was raised to the peerage as Baron Hardinge of Penshurst
Baron Hardinge of Penshurst
Baron Hardinge of Penshurst, in the County of Kent, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1910 for the diplomat the Hon. Sir Charles Hardinge, Viceroy and Governor-General of India from 1910 to 1916. He was the second son of Charles Hardinge, 2nd Viscount Hardinge...
, in the County of Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, and appointed by the Asquith
H. H. Asquith
Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith, KG, PC, KC served as the Liberal Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1908 to 1916...
government as Viceroy of India.
His tenure was a memorable one, seeing the visit of King George V
George V of the United Kingdom
George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....
and the Delhi Durbar
Delhi Durbar
The Delhi Durbar , meaning "Court of Delhi", was a mass assembly at Coronation Park, Delhi, India, to mark the coronation of a King and Queen of the United Kingdom. Also known as the Imperial Durbar, it was held three times, in 1877, 1903, and 1911, at the height of the British Empire. The 1911...
of 1911, as well as the move of the capital from Calcutta
Kolkata
Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
to New Delhi
New Delhi
New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
in 1912. Although Hardinge was the target of assassination attempts by Indian nationalists, his tenure generally saw better relations between the British administration and the nationalists, thanks to the implementation of the Morley-Minto reforms of 1909, Hardinge's own admiration for Mohandas Gandhi, and criticism of the South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n government's anti-Indian immigration policies.
Hardinge's efforts paid off in 1914 during the First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. Due to improved colonial relationships, Britain was able to deploy nearly all of the British troops in India as well as many native Indian troops to areas outside of India. In particular the British Indian Army
British Indian Army
The British Indian Army, officially simply the Indian Army, was the principal army of the British Raj in India before the partition of India in 1947...
was able to play a significant role in the Mesopotamian campaign
Mesopotamian Campaign
The Mesopotamian campaign was a campaign in the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I fought between the Allies represented by the British Empire, mostly troops from the Indian Empire, and the Central Powers, mostly of the Ottoman Empire.- Background :...
In 1916, Hardinge returned to his former post in England as Permanent Under-Secretary at the Foreign Office, serving with Arthur Balfour
Arthur Balfour
Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour, KG, OM, PC, DL was a British Conservative politician and statesman...
. In 1920 he became ambassador to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
before his retirement in 1922.
Personal life
He married his cousin Winifred Selina Sturt CI on 17 Apr 1890, the 2nd daughter of Henry Gerard [Sturt], 1st Baron Alington, by his first wife Lady Augusta Bingham, 1st dau. of George Charles [Bingham], 3rd Earl of Lucan. The couple had a daughter, the Hon Diamond Hardinge and son Alexander HardingeAlexander Hardinge, 2nd Baron Hardinge of Penshurst
Alexander Henry Louis Hardinge, 2nd Baron Hardinge of Penshurst GCB GCVO MC PC was Private Secretary to the Sovereign during the Abdication Crisis of Edward VIII and during most of the Second World War....
(1894–1960), who succeeded him as Baron Hardinge of Penshurst
Baron Hardinge of Penshurst
Baron Hardinge of Penshurst, in the County of Kent, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1910 for the diplomat the Hon. Sir Charles Hardinge, Viceroy and Governor-General of India from 1910 to 1916. He was the second son of Charles Hardinge, 2nd Viscount Hardinge...
. Lady Hardinge died on 11 July 1914. Lord Hardinge of Penshurst died in Penshurst, Kent, on 2 August 1944, aged 86.
Lady Hardinge, Winifred Selina Sturt Hardinge (1868-1914), was the first to take initiative for starting a medical college for women in Delhi, when the capital shifted from Calcutta, she laid foundation stone of the college, on 17th March 1914, and to commemorate the visit of Queen Mary
Mary of Teck
Mary of Teck was the queen consort of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, as the wife of King-Emperor George V....
in 1911-12, it was named 'Queen Mary College & Hospital'. Lady Haridinge was actively involved in collecting funds for the institution of princely states and public, unfortunately she died in late 1914. The college was eventually inaugurated on 7 February 1916 by Viceroy Hardinge. On the suggestion of Queen Mary, the college and the hospital was named after Lady Harding, as Lady Hardinge Medical College
Lady Hardinge Medical College
Lady Hardinge Medical College is a Medical College for women located near Connaught Plane in New Delhi, India. Established in 1916, it became part of the Delhi University, Faculty of Medical Sciences in 1950. For the teaching and training of medical students, it has two hospitals, Smt...
.
Styles
- 1858-1880: Charles Hardinge
- 1880-1895: The HonourableThe HonourableThe prefix The Honourable or The Honorable is a style used before the names of certain classes of persons. It is considered an honorific styling.-International diplomacy:...
Charles Hardinge - 1895-1903: The Honourable Charles Hardinge, CBOrder of the BathThe Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
- 1903-29 March 1904: The Honourable Charles Hardinge, CB, CVORoyal Victorian OrderThe Royal Victorian Order is a dynastic order of knighthood and a house order of chivalry recognising distinguished personal service to the order's Sovereign, the reigning monarch of the Commonwealth realms, any members of her family, or any of her viceroys...
- 29 March-10 May 1904: The Honourable SirSirSir is an honorific used as a title , or as a courtesy title to address a man without using his given or family name in many English speaking cultures...
Charles Hardinge, KCMG, CB, CVO - 10 May 1904-1 January 1905: The Honourable Sir Charles Hardinge, KCMG, KCVORoyal Victorian OrderThe Royal Victorian Order is a dynastic order of knighthood and a house order of chivalry recognising distinguished personal service to the order's Sovereign, the reigning monarch of the Commonwealth realms, any members of her family, or any of her viceroys...
, CB - 1 January-9 November 1905: The Right HonourableThe Right HonourableThe Right Honourable is an honorific prefix that is traditionally applied to certain people in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Anglophone Caribbean and other Commonwealth Realms, and occasionally elsewhere...
Sir Charles Hardinge, GCMG, KCVO, CB - 9 November 1905-1906: The Right Honourable Sir Charles Hardinge, GCMG, GCVO, CB
- 1906-1910: The Right Honourable Sir Charles Hardinge, GCMG, GCVO, CB, ISO
- 1910-1916: His ExcellencyExcellencyExcellency is an honorific style given to certain members of an organization or state.Usually, people styled "Excellency" are heads of state, heads of government, governors, ambassadors, certain ecclesiastics, royalty, aristocracy, and military, and others holding equivalent rank .It is...
The Right Honourable the Lord Hardinge of Penshurst, GCBGCBGCB may stand for:* Gaming Control Board, any governmental body that regulates gambling in its jurisdiction* Generator circuit-breaker, a special circuit breaker in the high-current connection between generator and generator transformer...
, GCSI, GCMG, GCIE, GCVO, ISO - 1916-1944: The Right Honourable the Lord Hardinge of Penshurst, KG, GCB, GCSI, GCMG, GCIE, GCVO, ISO
Further reading
- Lady Hardinge of Penshurst, C.I., vice-reine of India; A tribute to her memory, by Manhar Kuvarbā, Maharani of Panna. Printed by R.W. Simpson & co., ltd., 1916.