Background
He was a son of Anthony Grey, 11th Earl of Kent, and Mary Grey, 1st Baroness Lucas of Crudwell. He succeeded his father as 12th Earl of Kent in 1702, having succeeded his mother as 2nd Baron Lucas earlier the same year.
Lord Chamberlain Lord Steward Lord Privy Seal
He was a son of Anthony Grey, 11th Earl of Kent, and Mary Grey, 1st Baroness Lucas of Crudwell. He succeeded his father as 12th Earl of Kent in 1702, having succeeded his mother as 2nd Baron Lucas earlier the same year.
Having taken his seat in the House of Lords and though regarded as lacking talent and ambition he, as the politically expedient candidate, was made Lord Chamberlain and a Privy Counsellor in 1704. Unpopular, Grey was nicknamed Bug for his body odour. In 1710 he traded his position for a Dukedom and was succeeded as Lord Chamberlain by the Duke of Shrewsbury.
He may have been, for his time, the right man in the right place.
After 1710 he served in politically minor positions: lord of the bedchamber, constable of Windsor Castle, lord steward of the household from 1716 until 1718, and lord keeper of the privy seal from 1719 until 1720. Grey was one of the Lords Justices appointed during the absence of George I of Great Britain.
In 1719 he was one of main subscribers in the Royal Academy of Music (1719), a corporation that produced baroque opera on stage. At the age of 68, a year before his death, Grey took part, as a founding governor, in the creation of Britain"s first home for abandoned children, London"s Foundling Hospital.
lieutenant should be noted that contemporary commentators including John Macky and Jonathan Swift did defend Grey.