[1] He was the son of John Peel (1798–1875), at the time of his birth a prebendary of Canterbury Cathedral then later Dean of Worcester, and his wife Augusta Swinfen (1794–1861); Robert Peel the prime minister of the United Kingdom, was his uncle.

[2] He was educated at Eton College, under Edward Craven Hawtrey as headmaster, and then spent two years as a private pupil of the Rev.

[2][4][5] Peel became a priest in the Church of England, ordained in 1854 and initially a curate at Hallow, Worcestershire to 1855.

[6] Retiring from the ministry in 1873, he spent two years travelling, in poor health with rheumatic fever.

[5][9] On 6 September 1853 at Hartlebury in Worcestershire, Peel married Georgiana Maria Baker (1830–1907), only daughter of the Reverend Thomas Baker, rector of Hartlebury, and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Bishop Robert James Carr.