Henry Unwin Addington, a nephew of the former British prime minister, Henry Addington, had joined the Foreign Office at the age of 16 in 1806. After serving in various junior diplomatic posts in Europe he learnt in 1822 that he was to be promoted to secretary of legation in Washington. The appointment had an added attraction in that the British minister, Stratford Canning, would shortly be leaving the United States so that Addington would act as chargé d’affaires.