The surviving son of John Egerton, 1st Earl of Bridgewater, and his wife Lady Frances Stanley, his maternal grandparents were Ferdinando Stanley, 5th Earl of Derby, and Lady Alice Spencer.

According to the Will of King Henry VIII, his mother, at one time, was second-in-line to inherit England's throne.

However, Frances, Countess of Bridgewater's elder sister, Lady Anne Stanley, was passed over in favour of King James VI of Scotland.

Styled Viscount Brackley before succeeding to the earldom in 1649, he served as Lord Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire (1660–1686), Cheshire (1670–1676), Lancashire (1670–1676), and Hertfordshire (1681–1686), as well as being sworn of the Privy Council in 1679.

In 1641, as Lord Brackley, he married Lady Elizabeth Cavendish (1626–1663), a daughter of William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Newcastle, and his first wife Elizabeth Basset.