[2] His father died in 1674 leaving him little except for the title and debts; in 1683, Charles married Lady Catherine Brudenell, (1648–1743), daughter of the Catholic Earl of Cardigan.

[3] Middleton was described by Gilbert Burnet as ‘a man of generous temper, but without much religion’; he remained a Protestant until 1701, when he converted to Catholicism at the request of the dying James II.

Middleton is thought to have spent 1669 to 1671 in France and Italy; in 1673, he was commissioned as a captain in the 3rd Foot, later the Buffs, which served in the 1672-1678 Franco-Dutch War as part of the Dutch Scots Brigade.

Parliament was suspended for refusing to repeal the Test Act, while James' reliance on a small circle of Catholics made Middleton suspect as one of the few remaining Protestants.

When James fled to France after the November 1688 Glorious Revolution, he remained in England; in 1692, he was held in the Tower of London for plotting to restore him and after his release, joined the exiled court at Saint-Germain.