The Duchess of Northumberland | |
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 The Duchess in 1845 byWilliam Oakley Burgess | |
| Born | Hon. Charlotte Florentia Clive (1787-09-12)12 September 1787 |
| Died | 27 July 1866(1866-07-27) (aged 78) |
| Burial place | Westminster Abbey |
| Spouse | |
| Parent(s) | Edward Clive, 1st Earl of Powis Lady Henrietta Herbert |
Charlotte Florentia Percy, Duchess of Northumberland (néeHon. Charlotte Florentia Clive; 12 September 1787 – 27 July 1866), was governess of the futureQueen Victoria.
Charlotte Florentia Clive was born inFlorence, the younger daughter and third child of the politicianLord Clive, and the mineral collectorHenrietta Clive (née Herbert). Through her father, she was the granddaughter of Major-GeneralRobert Clive, 1st Baron Clive and, through her mother,Henry Herbert, 1st Earl of Powis. Her father was created theEarl of Powis in 1804 after the title of his brother-in-lawGeorge Herbert, 2nd Earl of Powis became extinct upon the latter's death in 1801.
Lady Charlotte marriedHugh Percy, Earl Percy, son of GeneralHugh Percy, 2nd Duke of Northumberland, on 29 April 1817. On 10 July the same year, her father-in-law died and her husband succeeded to the dukedom.
In 1825, the Duke and Duchess of Northumberland attended thecoronation of King Charles X of France inReims as representatives of KingGeorge IV of the United Kingdom.[2] The Duchess accompanied her husband toDublin during his time asLord Lieutenant of Ireland from 1829 to 1830. In 1831, being a friend ofKing William IV, she was appointed governess of his niece andheir presumptive,Princess Victoria of Kent, who ascended the British throne in 1837. The role was mostly ceremonial, and Victoria continued to rely mostly on BaronessLouise Lehzen. The Duchess was dismissed in 1837 by the Princess's mother, theDuchess of Kent, for attempting to become more influential in the girl's education[3][4][5] and refusing to submit to the Duchess of Kent'scomptroller, SirJohn Conroy.[6] She had earlier opposed the harshness of theKensington System, designed by Conroy and the Duchess of Kent, and wrote toPrincess Feodora of Leiningen (the Duchess of Kent's daughter and Princess Victoria's elder half-sister) to ask her to tell the King to intervene.[7] Feodora and the Duchess of Northumberland were also determined to protect Baroness Lehzen from the hostility of Conroy and his friend,Lady Flora Hastings.[8]
The childless marriage of the Duke and Duchess of Northumberland ended with the Duke's death on 11 February 1847. The Duchess died inTwickenham on 27 July 1866.[9] As a Duchess of Northumberland, she isburied inWestminster Abbey.[10]
The Duchess was born into a plant-loving family and was an avid plant enthusiast herself.[11][12] She was the first person in Great Britain to cultivate and bring to flower[13] Southern African plants belonging to the genusClivia, named in her honour by the Kew botanistJohn Lindley in 1828.[14]
Media related toCharlotte Percy, Duchess of Northumberland at Wikimedia Commons| International | |
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