General
Winifred Selina Hardinge,Baroness Hardinge of Penshurst,CI (néeSturt;17 March 1868 –11 July 1914) was a British aristocrat,courtier and Vicereine of India. [1]
Winifred Selina ("Bena") Sturt was the second daughter of Henry Gerard Sturt,1st Baron Alington,of Crichel,Dorset,and his first wife Lady Augusta Bingham,the first daughter of George Charles Bingham,3rd Earl of Lucan. [2]
Henry Gerard Sturt was a racing magnate and close friend of Edward,Prince of Wales. The Sturt family opposed Winifred's engagement to Charles Hardinge on account of Winifred and Charles' consanguinity (they were first cousins),as well as Hardinge's relative indigence,but the couple married on 17 April 1890. [3]
The couple had three children: [2]
Mrs. Charles Hardinge was a Woman of the Bedchamber to the Princess of Wales from 1893. When Edward VII acceded the throne in 1901,she continued as a Woman of the Bedchamber to the new queen,Alexandra,serving throughout the reign 1901–1910. [4] When her husband was knighted in 1904,she became Lady Hardinge.
After her husband was created Baron Hardinge of Penshurst in 1910,she became The Lady Hardinge of Penshurst,and was appointed an Extra Lady of the Bedchamber to the now Dowager Queen Alexandra.
Charles Hardinge was appointed Viceroy of India in late 1910,and his wife accompanied him to India. The tenure was a memorable one,and included 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 1911.
Lady Hardinge of Penshurst died on 11 July 1914 at the age of 46.
She had an instrumental role in starting the Lady Hardinge Medical College,Delhi - first medical school exclusively for women in India. Initially to be named Queen Mary's College and Hospital,after Lady Hardinge's death in 1914 it was named after her to honour her contribution.
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. His son,the second Baron,served as private secretary to both King Edward VIII and King George VI.
The Imperial Order of the Crown of India is an order in the British honours system. The Order was established by Queen Victoria when she became Empress of India in 1878. The Order was open only to women,and no appointments have been made since the Partition of India in 1947. The Order was limited to British princesses,wives or female relatives of Indian princes and the wife or female relatives of any person who held the office of:
Charles Hardinge,1st Baron Hardinge of Penshurst, was a British diplomat and statesman who served as Viceroy and Governor-General of India from 1910 to 1916.
James Albert Edward Hamilton,3rd Duke of Abercorn,styled Marquess of Hamilton between 1885 and 1913,was a British peer and Unionist politician. He was the first Governor of Northern Ireland,a post he held between 1922 and 1945.
Margaret Russell,Baroness Ampthill,was an English courtier and Red Cross volunteer,known for her long friendship with Queen Mary.
Lady of the Bedchamber is the title of a lady-in-waiting holding the official position of personal attendant on a British queen regnant or queen consort. The position is traditionally held by the wife of a peer. A lady of the bedchamber would give instructions to the women of the bedchamber on what their queen wished them to do,or may carry out those duties herself.
Cynthia Ellinor Beatrix Spencer,Countess Spencer was a British peeress and the paternal grandmother of Diana,Princess of Wales.
Maud Evelyn Petty-Fitzmaurice,Marchioness of Lansdowne,,was a British aristocrat and courtier. She was the wife of Henry Charles Keith Petty-FitzMaurice,5th Marquess of Lansdowne,Governor General of Canada from 1883 to 1888. She was then Vicereine of India from 1888 to 1894 while her husband was Viceroy.
Charles Harbord,5th Baron Suffield,was a British peer,courtier and Liberal politician. A close friend of Edward VII,he served as a Lord of the Bedchamber and Lord-in-waiting to the King. He also held political office as Master of the Buckhounds under William Gladstone between February and July 1886.
Sir James Houssemayne Du Boulay was a British civil servant.
Elizabeth Charlotte Knollys was an English courtier and member of the Knollys family. She was Lady of the Bedchamber,and the first woman private secretary,to Princess Alexandra of Denmark,later Queen Alexandra of the United Kingdom,consort of Edward VII.
Henry Gerard Sturt,1st Baron Alington,was a British peer,Conservative Party politician,and notorious slum landlord in the East End of London.
Louisa Augusta Beatrice Acheson,Countess of Gosford,was the wife of the 4th Earl of Gosford.
Ivy Cavendish-Bentinck,Duchess of Portland GBE was Duchess of Portland from 1943 –1977 and afterwards Dowager Duchess. She initiated the Harley Foundation,"to encourage creativity".
Sarah Lyttelton,Baroness Lyttelton was a British courtier,governess to Edward VII of the United Kingdom,and wife of William Lyttelton,3rd Baron Lyttelton.
Charles Stewart Hardinge,2nd Viscount Hardinge,was a British Conservative politician.
The royal households of the United Kingdom consist of royal officials and the supporting staff of the British royal family,as well as the royal household which supports the sovereign. Each member of the royal family who undertakes public duties has their own separate household.
Ismania Catherine FitzRoy,Baroness Southampton was an Irish aristocrat,the wife of Charles FitzRoy,3rd Baron Southampton. She served as Lady of the Bedchamber to Queen Victoria.
Elizabeth Herbert,Marchioness of Powis,formerly Lady Elizabeth Somerset,was an English court official and noblewoman,the wife of William Herbert,1st Marquess of Powis. She was the daughter of Edward Somerset,2nd Marquess of Worcester,and his wife,the former Elizabeth Dormer.
Lady Emily Marie Kingscote was a British courtier and part of the royal household as a lady-in-waiting to Princess Alexandra of Denmark when she was Princess of Wales and later Queen.