 He was educated at Eton, and was commissioned a cornet and sub-lieutenant in the Royal Horse Guards, in 1821, before joining the diplomatic service.On 28 April 1826, he purchased an unattached infantry lieutenancy.In 1824, he was an Attaché to Berlin, then Vienna in 1825, and Secretary of the Legation to Florence in 1828, and to Berlin, from 1829 to 1831.