 He was educated at Eton, graduated from Magdalen College, Oxford in 1922 and entered the House of Commons as Member of Parliament (MP) for Lonsdale two years later, at the 1924 general election.He held his seat until he succeeded to his father's titles in May 1940 and was also Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in 1924 and to the Ministry of Health from 1931–40.In 1951, Lord Crawford was made a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire for his services to the Arts, having been a trustee of the Tate Gallery from 1932–37, the National Gallery from 1935–41, 1945–52 and 1953–60, the British Museum from 1940–73 and a member of the Standing Commission on Museums and Galleries from 1937–52, Chairman of the Trustees of the National Galleries of Scotland from 1952–72, the Royal Fine Arts Commission from 1943–57 and the Trustees of the National Library of Scotland in 1944.