He was the eldest son of Sir Ralph Hare, 1st Baronet (died 1672), by his first wife; her name is unknown.
His guardian was Sir Horatio Townshend, but his tutor at Cambridge was Dr Robert Brady.
He headed his tenants at the county election in February 1679 but was still too young to replace Sir Christopher Calthorpe as MP for Norfolk in 1679.
Robert Paston nominated him as a pro-Charles II candidate for Norfolk in 1681, but he lost the election, only to win in 1685.
On questioning by the Lord Lieutenant of Norfolk he refused to support repealing the Penal Laws and Test Acts against Roman Catholics.