Harenc was born in 1821 at Foots Cray in Kent,[1] the youngest son of Benjamin Harenc who owned Foots Cray Place,[2] an 18th-century neo-Palladian house built in the style of the Villa Rotunda which had been purchased by Charles' grandfather, also named Benjamin, in 1772.

[3][4][5] Harenc's father was an East India Company merchant and a keen cricketer, playing for Prince's Plain, a club which preceded the West Kent club; his mother, Sophia, was a member of the Berens family, which was closely associated with cricket in Kent; his first cousins Richard and Henry Berens both played first-class matches for the Gentlemen of Kent.

Whilst serving in the Army he played for Canada against the United States at Montreal in 1845.

[12] Harenc married Amy Farquharson in 1862 and Blandford Forum in Dorset; the couple had four children.

[6] His primary residence was recorded in his obituary as being Kimpton House near Welwyn in Hertfordshire.