[1] His father had distinguished himself at the Battle of Culloden by capturing the standard of Charles Edward Stewart and was later deputy paymaster in Gibraltar.
He then served as Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs between 1789 and 1795 before becoming a baronet on 21 October 1795[3] and knight marshal of his majesty's household in November of the same year,[4][5] where he played an important role in the coronation of George IV.
He wrote an introduction for William Henry Ireland's Shakespearian forgery and Thomas Dermody stole money from him.
In this introduction he revealed that the true author of the work was his gifted sister Mary Ann Burges.
His second marriage to Anne, third daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel Louis Charles Montolieu, Baron of St Hippolite produced the following children.