Sir George Hayter 1792-1871

This portrait of the two beautiful and talented daughters of Lord de Rothesay was painted in Paris in 1830. Hayter had settled in Florence in 1826, but he was forced to leave following a scandal invovling the suicide of his mistress and took up residence in Paris, where he was patronized by a number of distinguished expatriates. Foremost amongst these was Lord Stuart de Rothesay, British ambassador in Paris, whose portrait by Hayter was shown at the Paris Salon in 1831.

Charles Stuart, who was later made Lord Stuart de Rothesay, was the elder son of Sir Charles Stuart and grandson of John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute, the celebrated Prime Minister. After brief legal training he entered the diplomatic service in 1801. He was minister at Lisbon between 1810 and 1814 and was an important ally of Wellington . In 1815 he was made Ambassador to Paris. He held the post until 1824 and was then re-appointed in 1828, the year in which he was made a peer, and was in Paris at the time of the July revolution, which brought Louis Philippe to power. He left Paris in 1831. His last diplomatic post was as Ambassador to St. Petersburg in 1841. He was an enthusiastic collector, and his purchases, many bought in Paris, were taken to Highcliffe Castle, his picturesque house in Hampshire.

His elder daughter Charlotte was born in 1817, and at the age of eighteen married Charles Canning, son of George Canning, the Prime Minister. In 1842 she became Lady of the Bedchamber to Queen Victoria and was a great favourite at Court. She had a great talent for watercolours and often sketched the royal party on their travels. She was also very active in several charitable causes, and was responsible for Florence Nightingale's appointment to her charity's hospital in Harley Street. When her husband was made Govenor-General of India in 1855 she supported him through a difficult period, which included the India Mutiny. She died in Calcutta in 1861.

His younger daughter Louisa shared her sister's facility as an artist. In 1842 she married Henry 3rd Marquess of Waterford at the Royal Chapel, Whitehall. They lived at Curraghmore in County Waterford where, with her husband's encouragement, she was able to concentrate on her artistic work as well as on her interests in religion and philanthropy. Her ability as a draftsman, much assisted by several trips to Italy, was widely admired. She was a friend of Ruskin, and Rossetti called her work 'great in design'. When she died in 1891 the memorial on her grave was designed by G.F. Watts.

A portrait of Lady Stuart de Rothesay with her two daughters by Hayter, also painted in 1830, is in the Government Art Collection Fund. As with this portrait, the two girls are painted to look somewhat older than they actually were.