Charlotte Canning, Countess Canning

Who was Charlotte Canning, Countess Canning?

Charlotte Canning, Countess Canning, one of the most prolific women artists in India, was the wife of Charles Canning, 1st Earl Canning. Two portfolios in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London contain some three hundred and fifty watercolours, the result of four major tours in India.

She was born Charlotte Stuart in Paris, a daughter of the British ambassador, Charles Stuart and was a Lady of the Bedchamber to Queen Victoria from 1842 to 1855. On 5 September 1835, she married Hon. Charles Canning a son of the ex-British Prime Minister, George Canning and the 1st Viscountess Canning. In 1837 Charles succeeded to his mother's title as Viscount Canning, whereupon Charlotte became Viscountess Canning.

Lady Canning arrived in India in 1856 as a flourishing, healthy woman when her husband was appointed Governor-General of India. She went with him to Calcutta and described her situation as being 'isolated to a degree I could never have imagined'. She kept a journal and wrote frequently to Queen Victoria, at one point describing 'strange and terrible outbreaks' of violence which were the start of the 'Indian Mutiny'.