Harvey was educated at Christ Church, Oxford and graduated in 1681; he joined the army in 1688, served as a Member of Parliament or MP for three different constituencies between 1708 and 1722 and was Governor of Guernsey from 1714 to 1732.

[1] Commissions were assets that could be bought, sold or used as an investment; at senior levels in particular, ownership and command were separate functions and many Colonels delegated their military duties to a subordinate.

Delamere quickly relinquished command to Theodore Russell, an experienced Irish Protestant soldier and the regiment was posted to Ireland during the 1689–1691 Williamite War.

During the War of the Spanish Succession, Harvey was promoted Major-General in May 1704 and his unit sent to Portugal to support Archduke Charles, Austrian candidate for King of Spain.

When George I came to the throne in 1714, the Whigs returned to power; Harvey was appointed Governor of Guernsey in 1714 and served as MP for Weymouth and Melcombe Regis from 1715 to 1722 but never achieved government office.