Lawrence Harman King-Harman, the son of Robert King, 1st Viscount Lorton, and Mary Cecilia Johnstone.

He was educated at the University of Cambridge and entered the Colonial Service in 1874.

He served in the Bahamas, Cyprus and Barbados before working as Colonial Secretary in Mauritius between 1893 and 1897.

[1] He was administrator of Saint Lucia from 1897 to 1900, before serving as Governor of Sierra Leone from 1900 to 1904.

[2] He was High Commissioner of Cyprus between 1904 and 1911, and was the representative of the Mediterranean colonies at the coronation of George V in 1911.