Charles Monck, 4th Viscount Monck

The Right Honourable the Viscount Monck GCMG PC
The Viscount Monck in 1880.
1st Governor General of Canada
In office 1 July 1867 – 14 November 1868[1]
Monarch	Victoria
Prime Minister	Canadian: John A. Macdonald British: Earl of Derby Benjamin Disraeli
Preceded by	himself, as Governor General of the Province of Canada
Succeeded by	The Lord Lisgar
Personal details
Born	10 October 1819 Templemore, Ireland
Died	29 November 1894 (aged 75) Enniskerry, Ireland
Nationality	Irish
Spouse(s)	Elizabeth Monck

Charles Stanley Monck, 4th Viscount Monck GCMG PC (10 October 1819 – 29 November 1894), was the last Governor-General of the Province of Canada and the first Governor General of Canada after Canadian Confederation. Prior to Confederation he was concurrently Lieutenant Governor of both Canada West and Canada East. He was the son of Charles Joseph Kelly Monck, the 3rd Viscount, and Bridget Willington.^[2]

Family

Lady Elizabeth Louise Mary Monck by William Notman

Charles Monck married 24 July 1844, his first cousin, Lady Elizabeth Louise Mary Monck, daughter of his uncle Henry, the 2nd Viscount. Lord and Lady Monck, and their two sons and two daughters, came to Canada, but they did not remain throughout his term of office as Governor General of Canada. The family resided at Spencerwood in Quebec during most of their stay in Canada. She died in June 1892, aged 78. Her husband died in November 1894, aged 75.^[3] They had issue:

• Frances Mary Monck (married Richard Aslatt Pearce, died 30 Oct 1930)
• Elizabeth Louise Mary Monck (died 16 May 1913)
• Henry Monck, 5th Viscount Monck (born 8 Jan 1849, died 18 Aug 1927)^[4]
• Richard Charles Stanley Mountjoy Monck (born 2 Aug 1858, died 13 Dec 1892)

The Viscount Monck in 1868

Career

Monck obtained a law degree from Trinity College, Dublin. He married his cousin Elizabeth Monck in 1844, and in 1849 he inherited his father's title of Viscount Monck. In 1852 he was elected MP for Portsmouth, and from 1855 to 1858 he served as Lord of the Treasury under Lord Palmerston.

In 1861 he was appointed Governor General of British North America as well as Governor of the Province of Canada. During this time, the Canadian colonies were beginning to organise themselves into a confederation. The American Civil War had just broken out, and the Trent Affair caused diplomatic tension between the United States and Britain. The Canadian government was eager to gain some measure of independence during this turbulent period. The Quebec Conference, the Charlottetown Conference, and the London Conference, at which the details of confederation were discussed, all took place during Monck's time as governor. Monck supported the idea, and worked closely with John A. Macdonald, George Brown, George-Étienne Cartier, and Étienne-Paschal Taché, who formed the "Great Coalition" in 1864.

In 1866 Viscount Monck became a peer with the title Baron Monck. When the Canadian colonies became a semi-independent confederation the next year, Monck became the country's first Governor General. Monck was also responsible for establishing Rideau Hall as the residence of the Governor General in Ottawa.

In 1869 Monck was succeeded by John Young, 1st Baron Lisgar. He returned home to Ireland, where he became Lord Lieutenant of Dublin in 1874. He died in 1894.

References

1. Office of the Governor General of Canada. "History > Former Governors General > The Viscount Monck". Queen's Printer for Canada. Retrieved 4 November 2012.
2. The Peerage – Bridget Willingtone.
3. Morgan, Henry James Types of Canadian women and of women who are or have been connected with Canada : (Toronto, 1903)
4. The Peerage – 5th Viscount Monck

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by the Viscount Monck
• Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online
• http://www.gg.ca
• Photograph: Governor General Monck in 1864. McCord Museum
• Photograph: Lord Monck, Governor General in 1866. McCord Museum