He was educated at Westminster School and travelled abroad from 1685 to 1688, attending Padua University in 1685.

However, Boyle himself became a Whig, and in 1688 deserted the army of James II in favour of the Prince of Orange.

[2] He spent the next two years in Ireland managing the family estates and represented County Cork in the Irish House of Commons in 1692.

With the departure of Harley and his followers from the government, Boyle became Secretary of State for the Northern Department and Lord Treasurer Godolphin's principal lieutenant in the Commons.

With the Hanoverian succession in 1714, Boyle was raised to the peerage as Baron Carleton, and became Lord President in 1721, an office in which he continued until his death in 1725.