Charles von Hügel (born Carl Alexander Anselm Baron von Hügel; 25 April 1795 – 2 June 1870), sometimes spelt in English Huegel, was an Austrian nobleman, army officer, diplomat, botanist, and explorer, now primarily remembered for his travels in northern India during the 1830s. During his lifetime he was celebrated by the European ruling classes for his botanical garden and his introduction of plants and flowers from New Holland (Australia) to Europe's public gardens. Early life Hügel was born in Regensburg, Bavaria, on 25 April 1795. In 1813, after studying law at Heidelberg University, he became an officer in the Austrian Hussars and fought in the armies of the sixth and seventh coalitions against Napoleon. After Napoleon's abdication, Hügel visited Scandinavia and Russia, before being stationed with other Austrian troops in southern France and then Italy. In 1824, Hügel took up residence in Hietzing, a district of Vienna, where he established his botanical garden and set up a company to sell its flowers. He also became betrothed to a Hungarian Countess, Melanie Zichy-Ferraris, but in 1831 she broke off their engagement to marry the Austrian chancellor, Klemens Wenzel, Prince von Metternich. Grand Tour of Asia Kashmir and Punjab In the wake of his misfortunes in love, Hügel undertook the grand tour of Asia that would establish his renown. From 1831 to 1836, he travelled to the Near East, the Indian subcontinent, the Far East, and Australasia, before returning to Europe by way of the Cape of Good Hope and Saint Helena. He seems to have been most intrigued by the Kashmir and Punjab regions of northern India, as he chose his experiences there to form the basis of the four-volume work published in the years following his return to Europe: Kaschmir und das Reich der Siek (literally "Cashmere and the Realm of the Sikhs"). The first and third volumes are an account of Hügel's journey across northern India, including his meetings with Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the Sikh ruler of the Punjab, in Lahore and a number of other European adventurers; the second volume provides descriptions of Kashmir's history, geography, and resources; and the fourth volume is a gazetteer. After the final volume's publication, Major Thomas B. Jervis translated, abridged, and annotated an English edition of Hügel's work, published in London in 1845 by John Petheram. Four years later, primarily on the basis of this publication, the Royal Geographical Society awarded