Carnarvon was witty, hospitable and extravagant; Samuel Pepys records his saying that God provides timber so that men may pay their debts.

He rarely spoke on public affairs, but his intervention in the House of Lords debate on the impeachment of the Earl of Danby in December 1678 was crucial.

In a speech of great wit and humour, he drew examples going back over a century to show that managing the impeachment of another public figure was virtually a guarantee of being impeached oneself and cheerfully urged his fellow peers to "mark the man who first dares to run down Lord Danby and see what becomes of him".

He was a friend of the future Queen Anne, and was one of the few who remained loyal to her after her violent quarrel with William III and Mary II, which in 1692 led to her banishment from Court.

When Anne was reconciled with William after Mary's death in 1694, Carnarvon noted with cynicism the large crowds at her house, and said he hoped she would remember the time when none of them called on her.