Major-General Charles Stanhope, 4th Earl of Harrington (8 April 17803 March 1851), styled Viscount Petersham until 1829, was an English peer and man of fashion. Petersham, the 3rd Earl of Harrington's eldest son, was a

Regency era The Regency era of British history is commonly understood as the years between and 1837, although the official regency for which it is named only spanned the years 1811 to 1820. King George III first suffered debilitating illness in the lat ...

buck. He was educated at Eton from 1793 until 1795 on 7 December of that year, on 10 March 1812, he was appointed a

Gentleman of the Bedchamber Gentleman of the Bedchamber was a title in the Royal Household of the Kingdom of England from the 11th century, later used also in the Kingdom of Great Britain. A Lord of the Bedchamber was a courtier in the Royal Households of the United Kingdo ...

King George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...

. He continued to serve in that post under

King George IV George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 29 January 1820 until his death in 1830. At the time of his accession to the throne, h ...

until 1820. The family home in London was Harrington House. Viscount Petersham's manners were affected and he spoke with a kind of

lisp Lisp (historically LISP, an abbreviation of "list processing") is a family of programming languages with a long history and a distinctive, fully parenthesized Polish notation#Explanation, prefix notation. Originally specified in the late 1950s, ...

. Never seen in public before 6:00 pm, 'Beau' Petersham was a trendsetter. He attracted the attention and friendship of the then

Prince regent A prince regent or princess regent is a prince or princess who, due to their position in the line of succession, rules a monarchy as regent in the stead of a monarch, e.g., as a result of the sovereign's incapacity (minority or illness) or ab ...

who emulated his clothes, his tea drinking and his addiction to snuff. Lord Petersham's

sitting room In Western architecture, a living room, also called a lounge room (Australian English), lounge (British English), sitting room (British English), or drawing room, is a room for relaxing and socializing in a residential house or apartment. Su ...

contained canisters of tea in great variety and an equally wide range of snuff. He owned 365

snuff box A decorative box is a form of packaging that is generally more than just functional, but also intended to be decorative and artistic. Many such boxes are used for promotional packaging, both commercially and privately. Historical objects are u ...

es and used a different one on each day of the year. Tall and handsome, Lord Petersham was said to resemble Henry IV; he emphasised the likeness by growing a small pointed beard and dressing like Henry. He designed many of his own clothes and his fashions were quickly copied. He gave his name to the Harrington hat and Petersham overcoat. The Prince Regent ordered an overcoat in the Petersham style for each day of the week. Viscount Petersham was famous for the brown colour of his coach, clothing, and his servant's

livery A livery is an identifying design, such as a uniform, ornament, symbol, or insignia that designates ownership or affiliation, often found on an individual or vehicle. Livery often includes elements of the heraldry relating to the individual or ...

. Petersham was almost fifty when he acceded to the Stanhope family title. He finally married, in 1831,

Maria Foote Maria Stanhope, Countess of Harrington (24 July 1797? - 27 December 1867), better known as Maria Foote, was a British actress and peeress in the nineteenth century. Early life Foote was born 24 July 1797(?) at Plymouth. Her father, Samuel T. Fo ...

, the

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist sit ...

actress, seventeen years his junior. Their affair had met with the old Earl's disapproval and had been the gossip of London and

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...

for several years. The 4th Earl of Harrington had William Barron landscape the park at Elvaston Castle, his father's Gothic confection by

James Wyatt James Wyatt (3 August 1746 – 4 September 1813) was an English architect, a rival of Robert Adam in the Neoclassicism, neoclassical and neo-Gothic styles. He was elected to the Royal Academy of Arts in 1785 and was its president from 1805 to ...

. Lewis Cottingham redecorated Wyatt's original entrance hall. Renamed the ''Hall of the Fair Star'' it was dedicated to the chivalrous pursuit of love. The new Countess was in her element in this make-believe world of chivalry. The 4th Earl and Maria had two children: *Charles Stanhope, Viscount Petersham (13 December 18318 April 1836) *Lady Jane St. Maur Blanche Stanhope (14 May 183328 November 1907), married George Conyngham, 3rd Marquess Conyngham Upon his death, the earl was succeeded by his brother, Leicester Stanhope, 5th Earl of Harrington. Australian tea company The Devotea has offered a tea named after him since 2010. 'Lord Petersham' is their biggest selling blend in North America. They also named one after his sister Anna Russell, the Duchess of Bedford. Image:Earl of Harrington COA.svg, Coat of Arms of the Earls of Harrington File:Illustration facing page 22, Devonshire Characters and Strange Events.png,

, afterwards Countess of Harrington; From an engraved portrait in the collection of A. M. Broadley, Esq.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Harrington, Charles Stanhope, 4th Earl Of 1780 births 1851 deaths 10th Royal Hussars officers Coldstream Guards officers 4 People educated at Eton College

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 ''* ...

West India Regiment officers