Blundell attended Waitaki Boys' High School and Trinity College, Cambridge.

Blundell was appointed by Prime Minister Keith Holyoake as High Commissioner for New Zealand in Britain and Ambassador to Ireland in 1968.

Blundell was appointed in 1972 by Queen Elizabeth II on the advice of her prime minister Jack Marshall to the office of Governor-General of New Zealand.

The Leader of the Opposition, Norman Kirk, did not support the appointment, because of Blundell's friendship with the Prime Minister.

[8] Blundell was the first New Zealand-born and resident Governor-General, and his appointment prompted David Lange to say "it sort of made us somehow mortal.

[10] In office Blundell dispensed with the traditional plumed helmet, stating "I'd feel an awful Joe underneath one of those hats.