So when the bachelor Buchanan moved into the White House, the idea of a substitute official hostess was nothing new. Buchanan called on his twenty-seven year old niece, Harriet Lane, to serve as the official White House hostess during his term.
Harriet Lane was born in 1830. Her parents died when she was a child, and Buchanan assumed her guardianship in 1840, while serving as a U.S. Senator. Harriet was 27 when Buchanan moved into the White House. Harriet came to the White House with a wealth of social experience.
As a girl, Harriet attended an exclusive boarding school in Georgetown while her uncle served as Secretary of State in the cabinet of President Polk. Harriet visited the White House, and once had her picture taken (then a unique novelty) on the South Portico of the White House with the Polks and some fiends, including Dolley Madison. Harriet was a bright student, but had little use for school or the strict rules. A free spirit, she would much rather have been at a White House party than in a classroom. In one letter to her uncle, she wrote that she would much rather be with him attending balls and parties. He responded, “ After your education shall have been completed and your conduct approved by me . . . I shall be most happy to aid in introducing you to the world in the best manner.”
As firm as Buchanan tried to be with his niece, she had “Nunc” wrapped around her little finger. He could deny her nothing. When he went to England as Minister to the Court of St. James in 1853, she began writing him letters begging to be allowed to join him. In less than a month, she was on her way to England to visit.
Shortly after arriving, Harriet was presented to Queen Victoria. She appeared before the Queen in a gown made from 100 yards of white lace, her head crowned by diamonds and ostrich feathers. She quickly became a great favorite of the Queen, who broke with tradition and accorded Harriet the social rank of a minister’s wife.
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