He was commissioned as a lieutenant in the 3rd (Militia) Battalion of the King's Own Scottish Borderers on 25 February 1893.

[5] He was also a member of the Royal Company of Archers, a ceremonial unit that serves as the sovereign's bodyguard in Scotland.

[6] He joined the family business and spent two years in the New York office of Jardines before he arrived in Hong Kong in 1895, the year before his Uncle James Johnstone Keswick left and became the taipan of the Jardine.

[5] He was appointed as Unofficial Member of the Legislative and Executive Councils during his time in Hong Kong.

[5] He returned to England in 1911 to represent Hong Kong at the coronation of King George V. He was still in England when his father died and succeeded him as the member of Parliament for the Conservative and Unionist in at the Epsom by-election in 1912, and held the seat until 1918.