 Exeter was the eldest son of William Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Exeter, and Lady Georgiana Sophia, daughter of Thomas Pakenham, 2nd Earl of Longford.Lord William Cecil and Lord John Joicey-Cecil were his younger brothers.Exeter was elected to the House of Commons for Northamptonshire North in 1877, a seat he held until 1895, and served under his kinsman Lord Salisbury as Vice-Chamberlain of the Household from 1891 to 1892.