Leicester Stanhope, 5th Earl of Harrington

Who was Leicester Stanhope, 5th Earl of Harrington?

Leicester FitzGerald Charles Stanhope, 5th Earl of Harrington CB, styled The Honourable Leicester Stanhope until 1851, was an English peer and soldier.

He was born in Dublin in 1784, the third son of Charles Stanhope, 3rd Earl of Harrington, and Jane Stanhope, Countess of Harrington. On 1 October 1799, he became a Cornet and Sublieutenant in the 1st Regiment of Life Guards, and was promoted lieutenant on 20 October 1802. He exchanged into the 9th Regiment of Foot on 19 March 1803, and on 2 April 1803 purchased a captaincy in the 10th Regiment of Dragoons. On 9 November 1803, he exchanged into the Carabiniers, and on 27 January 1813, into the 17th Regiment of Light Dragoons. Promoted major, he was appointed Deputy Adjutant-General in the East Indies on 29 June 1815, as a brevet lieutenant-colonel. He exchanged into the 47th Regiment of Foot while serving there and was appointed Deputy Quartermaster-General on 24 April 1817.

From late 1817 to 1818, Stanhope and his regiment took part in the Third Anglo-Maratha War. On 14 October 1818, he was appointed a Companion of the Bath for his service in the conflict.