 His paternal grandfather Sir Joshua Vanneck, 1st Baronet, had emigrated from the Netherlands in 1722 and had become a prominent London merchant.In 1816 Huntingfield succeeded his father both as second Baron Huntingfield and as Tory Member of Parliament for Dunwich, a seat he held until 1819.The barony of Huntingfield was an Irish peerage and did not entitle him to a seat in the House of Lords.