Attaché Paris embassy 1835–6.
Under-sec. of state, foreign office 1840 – 41; P.C. 1 Aug. 1846; vice-pres. of bd. of trade and paymaster-gen. 1848 – 51; sec. of state for foreign office 27 Dec. 1851 – 27 Feb. 1852, 1870- 1874, 1880 – 85; ld. pres. of the council 1852 – 54, 1855 – 58, 1859 – 66; chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster 21 June 1854 – 31 Mar. 1855; sec. of state for colonial dept. 1868 – 70, 6 Feb.-3 Aug. 1886.
Liberal leader of House of Lords, 1855 – 65, 1866 – d.; commr. of railways 1846 – d.
Master of buckhounds 9 July 1846–15 May 1848.
Cornet Staffs. yeomanry 1839; lt. col. 1854 – 61; hon. col. of Cinque ports adm. batt. of r.v. 9 Apr. 1866-Aug. 1872.
F.R.S. 1853; vice-pres. of royal comm. for 1851 exhibition; ambassador extraordinary to Russia for coronation of Alexander II 1856; chancellor of Univ. of London 1856 – d.; chairman of royal comm. for exhibition of 1862; hon. Ll. D. Camb. 1864; Lord warden, keeper and admiral of the Cinque ports and constable of Dover Castle, 23 Dec. 1865 – d.; eld. bro. of Trinity House, 1870 – d.