Charles Stewart, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry
Encyclopedia
Charles William Vane, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry KG
Order of the Garter
The Most Noble Order of the Garter, founded in 1348, is the highest order of chivalry, or knighthood, existing in England. The order is dedicated to the image and arms of St...

, GCB
Order of the Bath
The 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...

, GCH
Royal Guelphic Order
The Royal Guelphic Order, sometimes also referred to as the Hanoverian Guelphic Order, is a Hanoverian order of chivalry instituted on 28 April 1815 by the Prince Regent . It has not been conferred by the British Crown since the death of King William IV in 1837, when the personal union of the...

, PC (18 May 1778 – 6 March 1854), styled The Honourable Charles Stewart from 1789 until 1813 and The Honourable Sir Charles Stewart from 1813 to 1814 and known as The Lord Stewart from 1814 to 1822, was a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 soldier, politician and nobleman. He was the only son of Robert Stewart, 1st Marquess of Londonderry
Robert Stewart, 1st Marquess of Londonderry
Robert Stewart, 1st Marquess of Londonderry PC , was an Irish politician and landowner, the father of politician Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh.-Early life in Dublin:...

, by his second wife Lady Frances, daughter of Charles Pratt, 1st Earl Camden
Charles Pratt, 1st Earl Camden
Charles Pratt, 1st Earl Camden was an English lawyer, judge and Whig politician who was first to hold the title of Earl of Camden...

. Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh
Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh
Robert Stewart, 2nd Marquess of Londonderry, KG, GCH, PC, PC , usually known as Lord CastlereaghThe name Castlereagh derives from the baronies of Castlereagh and Ards, in which the manors of Newtownards and Comber were located...

, was his half-brother. Through his daughter Lady Frances, Lord Londonderry was the great-grandfather of Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...

.

Political career

Born in Dublin, Charles Stewart (as he then was) was educated at Eton
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....

, and at the age of 16 was commissioned into the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...

 as a Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...

. He saw service in Flanders
Flanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...

 in 1794, and was Lieutenant Colonel
Lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...

 of the 5th Royal Irish Dragoons by the time he helped put down the Irish Rebellion of 1798
Irish Rebellion of 1798
The Irish Rebellion of 1798 , also known as the United Irishmen Rebellion , was an uprising in 1798, lasting several months, against British rule in Ireland...

. Two years later he was elected to the Irish House of Commons
Irish House of Commons
The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland, that existed from 1297 until 1800. The upper house was the House of Lords...

 as Tory
Tory
Toryism is a traditionalist and conservative political philosophy which grew out of the Cavalier faction in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. It is a prominent ideology in the politics of the United Kingdom, but also features in parts of The Commonwealth, particularly in Canada...

 representative for Thomastown
Thomastown (Parliament of Ireland constituency)
Thomastown was a constituency represented in the Irish House of Commons until 1800. Following the Act of Union 1800 the borough was disfranchised.-1692–1801:-See also:*Thomastown, a town in County Kilkenny*Irish House of Commons...

, County Kilkenny
County Kilkenny
County Kilkenny is a county in Ireland. It is part of the South-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the city of Kilkenny. The territory of the county was the core part of the ancient Irish Kingdom of Osraige which in turn was the core of the Diocese of...

, and after only two months exchanged this seat for that of Londonderry County
Londonderry County (Parliament of Ireland constituency)
Londonderry County was a constituency represented in the Irish House of Commons until 1800.-Members of Parliament:*1634: Tristram Beresford*1656–1658: Tristram Beresford*1661–1666: Tristram Beresford -1692–1801:...

. He sat for the latter constituency until the Act of Union in 1801, and represented then Londonderry
Londonderry (UK Parliament constituency)
Londonderry was a Parliamentary Constituency in the House of Commons and also a constituency in elections to various regional bodies. It was replaced in boundary changes in 1983...

 in the British House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...

 until 1814.

'Fighting Charlie'

In 1803 Stewart was appointed aide-de-camp
Aide-de-camp
An aide-de-camp is a personal assistant, secretary, or adjutant to a person of high rank, usually a senior military officer or a head of state...

 to King George III
George III of the United Kingdom
George III was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of these two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death...

, and four years later became Under-Secretary of State for War and the Colonies
Under-Secretary of State for War and the Colonies
The Under-Secretary of State for War and the Colonies was a junior Ministerial post in the United Kingdom government, subordinate to the Secretary of State for War and the Colonies....

. During the Corunna
Battle of Corunna
The Battle of Corunna refers to a battle of the Peninsular War. On January 16, 1809, a French army under Marshal Soult attacked the British under Sir John Moore...

 Campaign of 1808-1809 he commanded a brigade of cavalry, and played a prominent role in the cavalry clash of Benavente
Battle of Benavente
The Battle of Benavente was a cavalry clash in which the British cavalry of Lord Paget defeated the elite Chasseurs à Cheval of the French Imperial Guard during the Corunna Campaign of the Peninsular War. The French chasseurs were broken and forced into the River Esla; their commanding officer,...

. In April 1809 he was made Adjutant General
Adjutant general
An Adjutant General is a military chief administrative officer.-Imperial Russia:In Imperial Russia, the General-Adjutant was a Court officer, who was usually an army general. He served as a personal aide to the Tsar and hence was a member of the H. I. M. Retinue...

 to Sir Arthur Wellesley
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Irish-born British soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century...

 (later the Duke of Wellington) with the British forces fighting in the Peninsular War
Peninsular War
The Peninsular War was a war between France and the allied powers of Spain, the United Kingdom, and Portugal for control of the Iberian Peninsula during the Napoleonic Wars. The war began when French and Spanish armies crossed Spain and invaded Portugal in 1807. Then, in 1808, France turned on its...

, a post in which he distinguished himself, particularly at the battles of Busaco and Talavera. He received the thanks of Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...

 in 1810, and on 20 November 1813 was made Colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...

 of the 25th Light Dragoons, becoming a Knight of the Bath
Order of the Bath
The 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...

 that same year. Until the end of the war he was Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

, and was also Military Commissioner with the allied armies, being wounded at the Battle of Kulm
Battle of Kulm
The Battle of Kulm was a battle near the town Kulm and the village Přestanov in northern Bohemia. It was fought on 29–30 August 1813, during the War of the Sixth Coalition...

.

The recipient of numerous foreign honours, Stewart was also, in 1814, ennobled as Baron Stewart, of Stewart's Court and Ballylawn in the County
Counties of Ireland
The counties of Ireland are sub-national divisions used for the purposes of geographic demarcation and local government. Closely related to the county is the County corporate which covered towns or cities which were deemed to be important enough to be independent from their counties. A county...

 of Donegal
County Donegal
County Donegal is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Ulster. It is named after the town of Donegal. Donegal County Council is the local authority for the county...

. That same year he received honorary degree
Honorary degree
An honorary degree or a degree honoris causa is an academic degree for which a university has waived the usual requirements, such as matriculation, residence, study, and the passing of examinations...

s from Oxford and Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...

, was admitted to the Privy Council
Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, usually known simply as the Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the Sovereign in the United Kingdom...

, and was appointed a Lord of the Bedchamber
Lord of the Bedchamber
A Lord of the Bedchamber, previously known as a Gentleman of the Bedchamber was a courtier in the Royal Household of the King of the United Kingdom and the Prince of Wales. A Lord of the Bedchamber's duties consisted of assisting the King with his dressing, waiting on him when he ate in private,...

 to the King
George III of the United Kingdom
George III was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of these two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death...

. He was also made Ambassador
Ambassador
An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....

 to Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...

, a post he held for nine years, and was at the Congress of Vienna
Congress of Vienna
The Congress of Vienna was a conference of ambassadors of European states chaired by Klemens Wenzel von Metternich, and held in Vienna from September, 1814 to June, 1815. The objective of the Congress was to settle the many issues arising from the French Revolutionary Wars, the Napoleonic Wars,...

 with his half brother Lord Castlereagh as one of the British plenipotentiaries, where, according to the renowned historian Adam Zamoyski
Adam Zamoyski
Count Adam Stefan Zamoyski is a historian and a member of the ancient Zamoyski family of Polish nobility.-Life:Zamoyski was born in New York City, but was raised in England and was educated at Downside School and The Queen's College, Oxford...

 in his book "Rites of Peace: The Fall of Napoleon and the Congress of Vienna", he made a spectacle of himself with his loutish behaviour, being apparently rather often inebriated, frequenting prostitutes quite openly, touching up young women in public, and once even starting a fist fight in the middle of the street with a Viennese coach driver (from whom he had to be rescued by the Austrian constabulary).

He was appointed GCH
Royal Guelphic Order
The Royal Guelphic Order, sometimes also referred to as the Hanoverian Guelphic Order, is a Hanoverian order of chivalry instituted on 28 April 1815 by the Prince Regent . It has not been conferred by the British Crown since the death of King William IV in 1837, when the personal union of the...

 in 1816 and made colonel of the 10th (The Prince of Wales's Own) Regiment of (Light) Dragoons (Hussars) on February 3, 1820.

Marriages and Family

His first wife was Lady Catherine Bligh, daughter of the 3rd Earl of Darnley
John Bligh, 3rd Earl of Darnley
John Bligh, 3rd Earl of Darnley , styled The Honourable Robert Bligh between 1721 and 1747, was a British politician.-Background:Bligh was the son of John Bligh, 1st Earl of Darnley and Theodosia Hyde, Baroness Clifton....

, who he married in 1804; she was three years older than he. She died during the night of 10-11 February 1812, of fever following a minor operation, while her husband was on active service in the Peninsula.

After he married his second wife Lady Frances Anne Vane-Tempest
Frances Anne Vane, Marchioness of Londonderry
Frances Anne Vane, Marchioness of Londonderry was a wealthy English heiress and noblewoman. She was the daughter of Sir Henry Vane-Tempest, 2nd Baronet and the second wife of Charles Vane, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry...

, daughter and heiress of Sir Henry Vane-Tempest
Henry Vane-Tempest
Sir Henry Vane-Tempest, 2nd Baronet was a British politician.Vane-Tempest was the son and heir of Rev. Sir Henry Vane, 1st Baronet and his wife, Frances, née Tempest...

, on 3 April 1819, Lord Londonderry took the surname of Vane, by royal licence, and used his new bride's immense wealth to acquire the Seaham Hall
Seaham Hall
Seaham Hall is now a spa Hotel in County Durham, England. It was once owned by George Henry Robert Charles William Vane-Tempest, 5th Marquess of Londonderry, although for much of his life he lived at Plas Machynlleth, his wife's home in Montgomeryshire....

 estate in County Durham
County Durham
County Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...

 with a view to developing the coal fields there. He also built the harbour at Seaham, to rival nearby Sunderland.

The family also used their new-found wealth to redecorate their main country seat in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

, Mount Stewart
Mount Stewart
Mount Stewart is an 18th-century house and garden in County Down, Northern Ireland, owned by the National Trust. Situated on the east shore of Strangford Lough, a few miles outside the town of Newtownards and near Greyabbey, it was the home of the Vane-Tempest-Stewart family, Marquesses of...

, and bought Holderness House on London's Park Lane
Park Lane (road)
Park Lane is a major road in the City of Westminster, in Central London.-History:Originally a country lane running north-south along what is now the eastern boundary of Hyde Park, it became a fashionable residential address from the eighteenth century onwards, offering both views across Hyde Park...

, which they renamed Londonderry House
Londonderry House
Londonderry House was an aristocratic townhouse situated on Park Lane in the Mayfair district of London, England.The house was the home to the Irish, titled family called the Stewarts who are better known as the Marquesses of Londonderry....

.

Charles Stewart succeeded his half-brother as 3rd Marquess of Londonderry in 1822. The following year he was created Earl Vane and Viscount Seaham, of Seaham
Seaham
Seaham, formerly Seaham Harbour, is a small town in County Durham, situated south of Sunderland and east of Durham. It has a small parish church, St Mary the Virgin, with a late 7th century Anglo Saxon nave resembling the church at Escomb in many respects. St Mary the Virgin is regarded as one of...

 in the County Palatine of Durham
County Durham
County Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...

, with remainder to the heirs male of the body of his second wife.

Governor
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...

 of County Londonderry
County Londonderry
The place name Derry is an anglicisation of the old Irish Daire meaning oak-grove or oak-wood. As with the city, its name is subject to the Derry/Londonderry name dispute, with the form Derry preferred by nationalists and Londonderry preferred by unionists...

 from 1823, Londonderry was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Durham
Lord Lieutenant of Durham
This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Durham.*Henry Neville, 5th Earl of Westmorland 1552–?*Henry Hastings, 3rd Earl of Huntingdon 2 August 1586 – 1595*vacant...

 in 1842 and the following year became Colonel of the 2nd Regiment of Life Guards
Life Guards (British Army)
The Life Guards is the senior regiment of the British Army and with the Blues and Royals, they make up the Household Cavalry.They originated in the four troops of Horse Guards raised by Charles II around the time of his restoration, plus two troops of Horse Grenadier Guards which were raised some...

. He was finally made a Knight of the Garter in 1853, and died a year later at Londonderry House. Scrabo Tower
Scrabo Tower
Scrabo Tower is located to the west of Newtownards in County Down, Northern Ireland.The landmark, which is visible from most of north Down, was built on a volcanic plug above the town in 1857 as a memorial to Charles Stewart, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry who was one of the Duke of Wellington's...

 in Newtownards
Newtownards
Newtownards is a large town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies at the most northern tip of Strangford Lough, 10 miles east of Belfast, on the Ards Peninsula. Newtownards is the largest town in the Borough of Ards. According to the 2001 Census, it has a population of 27,821 people in...

, County Down
County Down
-Cities:*Belfast *Newry -Large towns:*Dundonald*Newtownards*Bangor-Medium towns:...

 was erected in his memory.

He was succeeded as 4th Marquess of Londonderry by his son from his first marriage, and as 2nd Earl Vane by his son from his second marriage.
  • George Henry Robert Charles William Vane-Tempest, 5th Marquess of Londonderry
    George Vane-Tempest, 5th Marquess of Londonderry
    George Henry Robert Charles William Vane-Tempest, 5th Marquess of Londonderry KP , styled Viscount Seaham between 1823 and 1854 and known as The Earl Vane between 1854 and 1872, was an Anglo-Irish aristocrat, businessman, diplomat and Conservative politician.-Background and education:Born George...

     (1821–1884)
  • Lady Frances Anne Emily Vane
    Frances Anne Spencer-Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough
    Frances, Duchess of Marlborough & Marchioness of Blandford , was an Anglo-Irish noblewoman, the wife of British peer and statesman John Spencer-Churchill, 7th Duke of Marlborough. One of her sons, Lord Randolph Churchill was the father of Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill...

     (1822–1899); married John Spencer-Churchill, 7th Duke of Marlborough
    John Spencer-Churchill, 7th Duke of Marlborough
    John Winston Spencer-Churchill, 7th Duke of Marlborough, KG, PC , styled Earl of Sunderland from 1822 to 1840 and Marquess of Blandford from 1840 to 1857, was a British statesman and nobleman...

    .
  • Lady Alexandrina Octavia Maria Vane (1823–1874), godchild of Alexander I of Russia; married Henry Dawson-Damer, 3rd Earl of Portarlington
    Henry Dawson-Damer, 3rd Earl of Portarlington
    Henry John Reuben Dawson-Damer, 3rd Earl of Portarlington KP was an Irish peer. He became Earl of Portarlington in 1845 on the death of his uncle John Dawson, 2nd Earl of Portarlington and was appointed a Knight of the Order of St Patrick on 8 February 1879....

    .
  • Lord Adolphus Frederick Charles William Vane-Tempest
    Lord Adolphus Vane-Tempest
    Lord Adolphus Frederick Charles William Vane-Tempest , known until 1854 as Lord Adolphus Vane, was a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom....

     (1825–1864), politician; became insane, and had to be medically restrained.
  • Lady Adelaide Emelina Caroline Vane (c.1830–1882); disgraced the family by eloping with her brother's tutor, Rev. Frederick Henry Law.
  • Lord Ernest McDonnell Vane-Tempest (1836–1885), fell in with a press-gang and had to be bought a commission in the army, from which he was subsequently cashiered.
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