In part due to the urging of King Edward VII, a longtime acquaintance, Dudley was appointed Governor-General of Australia in 1908.

His extravagance and pomposity made him unpopular among the general public, and his attempts to interfere in political matters rankled both prime ministers he worked with (Andrew Fisher and Alfred Deakin).

In World War I, Dudley commanded the Hussars for the initial stages of the Gallipoli campaign, but he returned to England before its conclusion.

Dudley became part of the social circle of the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII), who attended his wedding to Rachel Gurney in 1891.

Dudley joined the Queen's Own Worcestershire Hussars as a supernumerary lieutenant on 18 April 1885[2] and was promoted to captain on 2 June 1888[3] and major on 23 September 1893.

[11][12] He was sworn in and formally installed as such in a ceremony at Dublin Castle on 16 August 1902,[13] and was also appointed Grand Master of the Order of St. Patrick, as was customary for the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland.

The Land Purchase (Ireland) Act 1903 and his cooperation with George Wyndham on a devolution scheme to deal with the Home Rule question were among important milestones.

He soon established a reputation for pomp, ceremony and extravagance which was unwelcome to many Australians, particularly the Labor Party and the radical press such as The Bulletin.

So when Dudley made a speech in support of the Dreadnought campaign, he was straying into party politics, leading to a tense relationship with Fisher.

But although Fisher was careful not to criticise Dudley in public, the Governor-General had acquired a reputation as "anti-Labor," which made him unpopular with half the Australian electorate.

Dudley's insistence on maintaining two very expensive Government Houses, in Sydney and Melbourne, on travelling around the country in vice-regal pomp, and on chartering a steam yacht to circumnavigate the continent, infuriated Fisher, a frugal Scottish socialist.

Alfred Deakin wrote of him: His ambition was high but his interests were short-lived … He did nothing really important, nothing thoroughly, nothing consistently … He remained … a very ineffective and not very popular figurehead.On 20 January 1912 Lord Dudley rejoined the establishment of the Worcestershire Hussars,[16] and on 10 November 1913 he was promoted to succeed Sir Henry Foley Grey as lieutenant-colonel commanding the regiment.

[22] On inheriting his Earldom he embarked in 1885–1886 on a round the world cruise in the 374 ton Steam Yacht Marchesa, built by Lobnitz, this voyage including meeting the Emperor of Brazil, and had a stop at Sydney to refit.

During his time as Viceroy of Ireland he was a member of the Dublin Bay and Lough Erne sailing clubs, as well as the Royal Yacht Squadron.

In Ireland, in 1903, she set up the Lady Dudley Nurses scheme to serve isolated rural communities in counties Connemara, Mayo, Donegal, and Kerry.

[26] On the outbreak of World War I Lady Dudley established the Australian Voluntary Hospital from doctors and nurse in London.