Background
Tufton was the eldest son of John Tufton, 2nd Earl of Thanet, and Lady Margaret, daughter of Richard Sackville, 3rd Earl of Dorset and Lady Anne Clifford.
Tufton was the eldest son of John Tufton, 2nd Earl of Thanet, and Lady Margaret, daughter of Richard Sackville, 3rd Earl of Dorset and Lady Anne Clifford.
Through his father he was a great-great-grandson of Lord Burghley. He was imprisoned in the Tower of London in 1655 and again from 1656 to 1658, for allegedly conspiring to capture Charles World War II In 1664 he succeeded his father in the earldom. This barony conferred the honour of hereditary High Sheriff of Westmorland
Lord Thanet married Lady Elizabeth, daughter of Richard Boyle, 2nd Earl of Cork, on 11 April 1664.
They had no children.
The Countess of Thanet died in September 1725.