Charlotte Percy, Duchess Of Northumberland
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Charlotte Florentia Percy, Duchess of Northumberland (''née'' Hon. Charlotte Florentia Clive; 12 September 1787 – 27 July 1866), was governess of the future
Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...
.


Family

Charlotte Florentia Clive was born in
Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...
, the younger daughter and third child of the politician Lord Clive, and the mineral collector Henrietta Clive (née Herbert). Through her father, she was the granddaughter of Major-General
Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive, (29 September 1725 – 22 November 1774), also known as Clive of India, was the first British Governor of the Bengal Presidency. Clive has been widely credited for laying the foundation of the British East ...
and, through her mother,
Henry Herbert, 1st Earl of Powis Henry Arthur Herbert, 1st Earl of Powis His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, PC (before 9 April 1703Baptism date. – 10 September 1772), known as Henry Herbert until 1743 and as The Lord Herbert of Chirbury between 1743 and 1748, was a ...
. Her father was created the
Earl of Powis Earl of Powis (Powys) is a title that has been created three times. The first creation came in the Peerage of England in 1674 in favour of William Herbert, 3rd Baron Powis, a descendant of William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke (c. 1501–15 ...
in 1804 after the title of his brother-in-law George Herbert, 2nd Earl of Powis became extinct upon the latter's death in 1801. Lady Charlotte married Hugh Percy, Earl Percy, son of General
Hugh Percy, 2nd Duke of Northumberland Lieutenant-general (United Kingdom), Lieutenant General Hugh Percy, 2nd Duke of Northumberland (14 August 174210 July 1817) was an officer in the British army and later a British peer. He participated in the Battles of Lexington and Concord an ...
, on 29 April 1817. On 10 July the same year, her father-in-law died and her husband succeeded to the dukedom.


Roles

In 1825, the Duke and Duchess of Northumberland attended the coronation of King Charles X of France in
Reims Reims ( ; ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French Departments of France, department of Marne (department), Marne, and the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 12th most populous city in Fran ...
as representatives of King
George IV of the United Kingdom 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, ...
. The Duchess accompanied her husband to
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
during his time as
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (), or more formally Lieutenant General and General Governor of Ireland, was the title of the chief governor of Ireland from the Williamite Wars of 1690 until the Partition of Ireland in 1922. This spanned the K ...
from 1829 to 1830. In 1831, being a friend of
King William IV William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded hi ...
, she was appointed governess of his niece and
heir presumptive An heir presumptive is the person entitled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of a person with a better claim to the position in question. This is in contrast to an heir app ...
,
Princess Victoria of Kent Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days, which was longer than tho ...
, who ascended the British throne in 1837. The role was mostly ceremonial, and Victoria continued to rely mostly on Baroness
Louise Lehzen Johanna Clara Louise, Baroness von Lehzen (3 October 17849 September 1870) was the governess and later companion to Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. Lehzen was born to a Lutheran pastor Joachim Friedrich Lehzen (1735-1800) and his wife, Ma ...
. The Duchess was dismissed in 1837 by the Princess's mother, the
Duchess of Kent Duchess of Kent is the principal Courtesy titles in the United Kingdom, courtesy title used by the wife of the Duke of Kent. There have been four titles referring to Kent since the 18th century. The current duchess is Katharine, Duchess of Kent ...
, for attempting to become more influential in the girl's education and refusing to submit to the Duchess of Kent's
comptroller A comptroller (pronounced either the same as ''controller'' or as ) is a management-level position responsible for supervising the quality of accountancy, accounting and financial reporting of an organization. A financial comptroller is a senior- ...
, Sir
John Conroy Sir John Ponsonby Conroy, 1st Baronet, KCH (21 October 1786 – 2 March 1854) was a British military officer best known for serving as comptroller to the Duchess of Kent and her young daughter, the future Queen Victoria. Born in Wales to Iri ...
. She had earlier opposed the harshness of the Kensington System, designed by Conroy and the Duchess of Kent, and wrote to
Princess Feodora of Leiningen Princess Feodora of Leiningen (Anna Feodora Auguste Charlotte Wilhelmine; 7 December 1807 – 23 September 1872) was the only daughter of Emich Carl, Prince of Leiningen and Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, future Duchess of Kent. Fe ...
(the Duchess of Kent's daughter and Princess Victoria's elder half-sister) to ask her to tell the King to intervene. Feodora and the Duchess of Northumberland were also determined to protect Baroness Lehzen from the hostility of Conroy and his friend, Lady Flora Hastings.


Death and legacy

The childless marriage of the Duke and Duchess of Northumberland ended with the Duke's death on 11 February 1847. The Duchess died in
Twickenham Twickenham ( ) is a suburban district of London, England, on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historic counties of England, Historically in Middlesex, since 1965 it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, who ...
on 27 July 1866. As a Duchess of Northumberland, she is buried in
Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...
. The Duchess was born into a plant-loving family and was an avid plant enthusiast herself. She was the first person in Great Britain to cultivate and bring to flowerClivias
Southern African plants belonging to the genus ''
Clivia ''Clivia'' is a genus of monocot flowering plants native to southern Africa. They are from the family Amaryllidaceae, subfamily Amaryllidoideae. Common names are Natal lily or bush lily. They are herbaceous or evergreen perennial plants, with ...
'', named in her honour by the Kew botanist
John Lindley John Lindley Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS (5 February 1799 – 1 November 1865) was an English botanist, gardener and orchidology, orchidologist. Early years Born in Old Catton, Catton, near Norwich, England, John Lindley was one of four c ...
in 1828.


References


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External links

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Charlotte Florentia Percy (née Clive), Duchess of Northumberland (1787–1866), Wife of Hugh Percy, 3rd Duke of Northumberland
{{DEFAULTSORT:Northumberland, Charlotte Percy, Duchess of 1787 births 1866 deaths Charlotte Daughters of British earls English governesses Wives of knights Queen Victoria Charlotte Burials at Westminster Abbey People from Florence