Charles Stanhope, 3rd Earl of Harrington

General Charles Stanhope, 3rd Earl of Harrington GCH PC PC (Ire) (17 March 1753 – 5 September 1829), styled Viscount Petersham until 1779, was a British soldier.

Early life

Stanhope was the son of William Stanhope, 2nd Earl of Harrington, and Lady Caroline Fitzroy, daughter of Charles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Grafton, and Lady Henrietta Somerset, daughter of Charles Somerset, Marquess of Worcester, and Rebecca Child. He was educated at Eton.

Military career

Stanhope was commissioned into the Coldstream Guards in 1769. During the Saratoga campaign of the American Revolutionary War as Viscount Petersham, he commanded the 29th Regiment of Foot's Grenadier company and was an aide-de-camp to General John Burgoyne.

He was Colonel of the 85th Regiment of Foot (1778–1783), the 65th Regiment of Foot (1783–1788) and the 29th Regiment of Foot (1788–1792). He was finally Colonel of the 1st Life Guards from 1792 to his death. He was promoted full general in 1803 and made GCH in 1821.

Viscount Petersham can be seen in the famous painting "The Burial of General Fraser at Saratoga" standing above Simon Fraser.

Parliamentary career

He was briefly elected to serve as Member of Parliament for Thetford in 1774 and then sat from 1776 to 1779 as one of the members for Westminster.

Titles and styles

• 17 March 1753 – 8 December 1756: The Honourable Charles Stanhope
• 8 December 1756 – 1774: Viscount Petersham
• 1774: Viscount Petersham MP
• 1774–1776: Viscount Petersham
• 1776 – 1 April 1779: Viscount Petersham MP
• 1 April 1779 – 1798: The Right Honourable The Earl of Harrington
• 1798–1806: The Right Honourable The Earl of Harrington PC
• 1806–1816: The Right Honourable The Earl of Harrington PC PC (I)
• 1816 – 5 September 1829: The Right Honourable The Earl of Harrington GCH PC PC (I)

Family

Lord Harrington was married to Jane Fleming, daughter of Sir John Fleming, 1st Baronet. She was a Lady of the Bedchamber to Queen Charlotte. Lord and Lady Harrington had eleven children:

• Charles Stanhope, 4th Earl of Harrington (8 April 1780 – 3 March 1851). He was married to Maria Foote, daughter of Samuel Foote.
• Maj-Gen. Hon. Lincoln Edwin Robert Stanhope (26 November 1781 – 29 February 1840).
• Anna Maria Stanhope, Duchess of Bedford (3 September 1783 – 3 July 1857). She was married to Francis Russell, 7th Duke of Bedford.
• Leicester FitzGerald Charles Stanhope, 5th Earl of Harrington (2 September 1784 – 7 September 1862). He married Elizabeth Green, daughter of William Green and Ann Rose Hall.
• Hon. William Sefton George Stanhope (29 December 1785 – February 1786)
• Rev. Hon. FitzRoy Henry Richard Stanhope (24 April 1787 – 11 April 1864). Dean of St Buryan, Cornwall and rector of Catton and of Wressle in Yorkshire. He married Caroline Wyndham, illegitimate daughter of the Hon. Charles Wyndham. They were parents of Charles Wyndham Stanhope, 7th Earl of Harrington, his younger brother Percy Stanhope and of several other children.
• Maj. Hon. Sir Francis Charles Stanhope (29 September 1788 – 9 October 1862). He had three children by Hannah Wilson, daughter of James Wilson of Parsonstown Manor, County Meath.
• Rev. Hon. Henry William Stanhope (2 August 1790 – 21 June 1872). Rector of Gawsworth.
• Lady Caroline Anne Stanhope (20 November 1791 – 25 November 1853), married Edward Ayshford Sanford on 21 June 1841.
• Lady Charlotte Augusta Stanhope (15 February 1793 – 15 February 1859), married Augustus Frederick FitzGerald, 3rd Duke of Leinster on 16 June 1818. They were parents to Charles William FitzGerald, 4th Duke of Leinster and another three children.
• Hon. Augustus Henry Edward Stanhope (25 March 1794 – 8 December 1831). On 8 May 1813, he married Jane Baldwin in the Parish Church of St John, Hampstead, under the name "Edward Stanhope" and disguised as a groom or labourer. The marriage was annulled in 1822 by reason of undue publication of banns (26 Geo. 2 c.33).