Charles Hardinge, 1st Baron Hardinge of Penshurst, (20 June 1858 – 2 August 1944) was a British diplomat and statesman who served as Viceroy and Governor-General of India from 1910 to 1916.

Background and education

Hardinge was the second son of Charles Hardinge, 2nd Viscount Hardinge, and the grandson of Henry Hardinge, 1st Viscount Hardinge, a former

Governor-General of India The governor-general of India (1833 to 1950, from 1858 to 1947 the viceroy and governor-general of India, commonly shortened to viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom in their capacity as the emperor o ...

. He was educated Cheam School,

Harrow School Harrow School () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English boarding school for boys) in Harrow on the Hill, Greater London, England. The school was founded in 1572 by John Lyon (school founder), John Lyon, a local landowner an ...

and at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

Career

An assassination attempt on Lord Charles Hardinge

Hardinge entered the diplomatic service in 1880, and was attached to the embassy in

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

, where he was private secretary to the ambassador Lord Dufferin. Afterwards he transferred successively to

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, Washington (where he was acting chargé d′affairs) for a time),

Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...

and Constantinople again. As chargé d′affairs in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

he was involved in negotiating a treaty and a trade marks convention between the United Kingdom and the

Kingdom of Romania The Kingdom of Romania () was a constitutional monarchy that existed from with the crowning of prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen as King of Romania, King Carol I of Romania, Carol I (thus beginning the Romanian royal family), until 1947 wit ...

. In 1893 he transferred to Paris, and in 1895 he was appointed a Companion of the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...

(CB). He was appointed the first secretary at Tehran in 1896, and the first secretary at

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

in 1898, when he was promoted over the heads of seventeen of his seniors. While in the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

, he acted several times as

chargé d'affaires A (), plural ''chargés d'affaires'', often shortened to ''chargé'' (French) and sometimes in colloquial English to ''charge-D'', is a diplomat who serves as an embassy's chief of mission in the absence of the ambassador. The term is Frenc ...

in the ambassador's absence (including in late 1902). In early 1903, he was called back home and appointed Assistant Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs at the

Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * United ...

. He was appointed Ambassador to Russia in March 1904. In 1906 Hardinge was again recalled and promoted to the position of Permanent Under-Secretary at the Foreign Office, where despite his own

conservatism Conservatism is a Philosophy of culture, cultural, Social philosophy, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, Convention (norm), customs, and Value (ethics and social science ...

, he 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 Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

, and appointed by the Asquith government as

Viceroy of India The governor-general of India (1833 to 1950, from 1858 to 1947 the viceroy and governor-general of India, commonly shortened to viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom in their capacity as the Emperor of ...

. His tenure was a memorable one and included the visit of

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. George was born during the reign of his pa ...

and the Delhi Durbar of 1911, as well as the move of the capital from

Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

in 1911. Although Hardinge was the target of assassination attempts with bomb attack by the Indian nationalists Rash Behari Bose and Sachin Sanyal, his tenure included an improvement of relations between the British administration and the nationalists, as a consequence of the implementation of the Morley-Minto reforms of 1909, and of Hardinge's own admiration for

Mohandas Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful campaign for India's independence from British ...

and criticism of the

Union of South Africa The Union of South Africa (; , ) was the historical predecessor to the present-day South Africa, Republic of South Africa. It came into existence on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the British Cape Colony, Cape, Colony of Natal, Natal, Tra ...

's anti-Indian immigration policies.. Hardinge founded the Dhamrai Hardinge High School and College in 1914. The Hardinge Railway Bridge, now in

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

, was constructed and inaugurated (1915) in his tenure. It has continued to serve a crucial a role in the country's railway network. Hardinge's efforts paid off in 1914 during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Improved colonial relationships allowed Britain to deploy nearly all of the British troops in India as well as many native Indian troops to areas outside India. In particular, the

British Indian Army The Indian Army was the force of British Raj, British India, until Indian Independence Act 1947, national independence in 1947. Formed in 1895 by uniting the three Presidency armies, it was responsible for the defence of both British India and ...

played a significant (though initially mismanaged) 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 Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour (; 25 July 184819 March 1930) was a British statesman and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1902 to 1905. As Foreign Secretary ...

. At the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, he served as the British Empire Delegation's Administrative Director Charged with the Internal Organization of the Missions Composing the Delegation. In 1920, he became ambassador to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

before his retirement in 1922.

Honours

As well as the distinction of being awarded six British knighthoods, he also gained foreign awards: * Knight of Grace of Order of St. John of Jerusalem in England. * Grand officer in the Legion of Honour, from France. * Grand cross of the Crown of Italy. * Order of the Immaculate Conception of Vila Viçosa, from Portugal. *

Order of the Redeemer The Order of the Redeemer (), also known as the Order of the Saviour, is an order of merit of Greece. The Order of the Redeemer is the oldest and highest decoration awarded by the modern Greek state. Establishment The establishment of the Orde ...

, from Greece. *

Order of Charles III The Royal and Distinguished Spanish Order of Charles III, originally Royal and Much Distinguished Order of Charles III (, originally ; Abbreviation, Abbr.: OC3) is a knighthood and one of the three preeminent Order of merit, orders of merit bes ...

, from Spain. * Order of St. Olav, from Norway. * Order of Alexander Nevsky, from Russia. *

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog () is a Denmark, Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V of Denmark, Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the Order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single cla ...

, from Denmark. *

Order of Vasa The Royal Order of Vasa () is a Swedish order of chivalry founded on 29 May 1772 by Gustav III, King Gustav III. It is awarded to Swedish citizens for service to state and society especially in the fields of agriculture, mining and commerce. His ...

, from Sweden.

Personal life

He married his first cousin Winifred Selina Sturt on 17 April 1890, over the objections of her family, due to the couple's consanguinity and Hardinge's financial status. She was the second daughter of Henry Gerard Sturt, first Baron Alington, by his first wife Lady Augusta Bingham, who was the first daughter of George Charles Bingham, third Earl of Lucan. The couple had a daughter, Diamond Hardinge (1900–1927), and two sons, Edward and

Alexander Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here ar ...

(1894–1960), who succeeded him as Baron Hardinge of Penshurst. The first Baron Hardinge of Penshurst is commemorated at St John the Baptist, Penshurst. His eldest son, The Hon. Edward Hardinge, died 18 December 1914, aged 22, from wounds while serving as a Lieutenant with the 15th (The King's) Hussars in France. He was also the godson of

Alexandra of Denmark Alexandra of Denmark (Alexandra Caroline Marie Charlotte Louise Julia; 1 December 1844 – 20 November 1925) was List of British royal consorts, queen-consort of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, from 22 Januar ...

. Diamond Hardinge was a bridesmaid at the wedding of Prince Albert, Duke of York, and Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon on 3 May 1923.

Styles and honours

Hardinge had the unusual distinction of being a non-royal recipient of six British knighthoods. *June 1858 – July 1895: ''

The Honourable ''The Honourable'' (Commonwealth English) or ''The Honorable'' (American English; American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific Style ...

'' Charles Hardinge *July 1895 – April 1903: ''The Honourable'' Charles Hardinge *April 1903 – 7 March 1904: ''The Honourable'' Charles Hardinge *7–26 March 1904: ''

The Right Honourable ''The Right Honourable'' (abbreviation: The Rt Hon. or variations) is an honorific Style (form of address), style traditionally applied to certain persons and collective bodies in the United Kingdom, the former British Empire, and the Commonwealt ...

'' Charles Hardinge *26 March – 28 April 1904: ''The Right Honourable'' Sir Charles Hardinge *28 April – 10 May 1904: ''

His Excellency Excellency is an honorific style (manner of address), style given to certain high-level officers of a sovereign state, officials of an international organization, or members of an aristocracy. Once entitled to the title "Excellency", the holder ...

The Right Honourable'' Sir Charles Hardinge *10 May 1904 – 2 January 1905: ''His Excellency The Right Honourable'' Sir Charles Hardinge *2 January – 9 November 1905: ''His Excellency The Right Honourable'' Sir Charles Hardinge *9 November 1905 – June 1906: ''The Right Honourable'' Sir Charles Hardinge *June 1906 – 23 June 1910: ''The Right Honourable'' Sir Charles Hardinge *23 June – 2 August 1910: ''The Right Honourable'' Sir Charles Hardinge *2 August – 23 November 1910: ''The Right Honourable'' The Lord Hardinge of Penshurst *23 November 1910 – 24 March 1916: ''His Excellency The Right Honourable'' The Lord Hardinge of Penshurst Viceroy & Governor-General of India *24 March – 4 April 1916: His Excellency ''The Right Honourable'' The Lord Hardinge of Penshurst Viceroy & Governor-General of India *4 April 1916 – 27 November 1920: ''The Right Honourable'' The Lord Hardinge of Penshurst *27 November 1920 – 1 February 1923: ''His Excellency The Right Honourable'' the Lord Hardinge of Penshurst HM Ambassador Extraordinary & Plenipotentiary to the French Republic *1 February 1923 – 2 August 1944: ''The Right Honourable'' The Lord Hardinge of Penshurst

Books written

* Old Diplomacy * My Indian Years covers (1910–16)

References

Sources

* * *

Articles

External links

Hardinge of Penshurst, Baron (UK, 1910), genealogy
* * * Hardinge's entry at ''

Who's Who A Who's Who (or Who Is Who) is a reference work consisting of biographical entries of notable people in a particular field. The oldest and best-known is the annual publication ''Who's Who (UK), Who's Who'', a reference work on contemporary promin ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Hardinge Of Penshurst, Charles Hardinge, 1st Baron Viceroys of India 1910s in British India Members of HM Diplomatic Service 1858 births 1944 deaths Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge 1 Companions of the Imperial Service Order Deputy lieutenants of Kent Diplomatic peers

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...

Knights of the Garter Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Younger sons of viscounts Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to the Russian Empire Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to France Permanent Under-Secretaries of State for Foreign Affairs People from Penshurst Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Barons created by George V 19th-century British diplomats 20th-century British diplomats People educated at Harrow School