He was first educated at Westminster School and later at Christ Church, Oxford. At Andover, during the Civil War, he got a life-long scar on the nose. From 1649 till 1658 he was secretary to the Duke of York. In March 1657 he was knighted and from 1658 until 1661 was envoy
for Charles II in Madrid where he acquired an equally life-long lasting pomposity.

In 1661, after the Restoration having returned to England, he became Keeper of the Privy Purse, then M.P. for Callington from 1661 till 1665. Together with Thomas Clifford, Sir William Coventry, Lord Ashley and the 2nd Duke of Buckingham, Henry Bennet belonged to the circle of King Charles II's friends. In 1663 he was created Baron Arlington and, in 1672, Earl of Arlington.

He was not the most scrupulous member of the unscrupulous Cabal, as Charles II's advisors known. In 1674 he was impeached as a promotor of popery, a self-aggrandizer and a betrayer of trust' and as the 'conduit-pipe' of Charles II's evil policy. Although the impeachment fell through, Arlington found it wiser to exchange the office of Secretary of State for that of Lord Chamberlain. Finally he retired to his Suffolk seat and died 28 July 1685. And like Charles II, he sent for a priest on his deathbed.
 

Source: Leo van de Pas