After the end of the wars, he commanded colonial garrisons and served in administrative roles in Ireland, before retiring with the rank of colonel to take up a position at court as a Groom in Waiting under Queen Victoria.

After the war, he commanded the 92nd Gordon Highlanders at Jamaica—where he scandalised his regiment by ordering them to adopt trousers instead of the kilt—and the 90th Light Infantry in the Ionian Islands, before retiring from active duty in 1829.

He then held a number of administrative roles in Ireland, including the state secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant and the commissioner of police in Ulster, and after the accession of Queen Victoria in 1837 became a palace courtier.

In 1809 he was the aide-de-camp to General Alexander Mackenzie-Fraser in the Walcheren expedition, then served at Gibraltar and in southern Spain with the 28th, returning to England in September 1810.

[5][12] He prosecuted the case of Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Mullins when the force returned to the United Kingdom—Mullins, commanding the 44th Foot, had been charged with neglecting orders during the battle.

He appeared on parade in a cocked hat rather than the conventional highland bonnet, and attempted to order the regiment to wear trousers rather than the kilt.

[21][22] The 90th were in the Ionian Islands, where Stovin had been posted some years earlier, but his second tour was substantially quieter; he saw no further active service before he retired from the 90th on half-pay on 23 April 1829.

[30] When Lord Hill was retiring from the post of Commander-in-Chief of the Forces in 1839, Anglesey was suggested as a replacement to succeed him, although he eventually turned down the job; had he taken it up, Stovin was widely expected to become his personal secretary, the same capacity he had served in Dublin.

[31] On the accession of Queen Victoria, he took up roles in the Royal Household, becoming a groom-in-waiting on 27 July 1837,[14][32] and taking part in the coronation procession the following year.