Born in Dublin on 29 April 1665, he was styled Lord James Butler till 30 July 1680 when he succeeded his father as Lord Butler of Moore Park and was then styled Earl of Ossory. In 1677 and 1678 he was educated in France and in 1678 and 1679 in Oxford where he matriculated.

At Burlington House on 20 July 1682 he married Lady Anne Hyde, a cousin of the Princesses Mary and Anne, both future Queens. However, Lady Anne died on 25 January 1685 after a miscarriage. In May 1684 he served with the French at the siege of Luxemburg. Although a minor, on 14 March 1685 he was summoned to Parliament; however, three days later a Standing Order was passed forbidding minors to sit in the House and he did not sit again until 15 February 1687 when he was of age.
On 3 August 1685 at Badminton he married Lady Mary Somerset who became a Lady of the Bedchamber to Queen Anne (1702-1714). In 1685 he took part in the oppression of the Monmouth rebellion and was appointed Colonel of the Regiment of Foot Guards on 29 January 1686. From 1685 until 1688 he was a Gentleman of the Bedchamber to King James II. On 21 July 1688 he succeeded his grandfather and became 2nd Duke of Ormonde, also succeeding him as Chancellor of the Universities of Oxford and Dublin.
At the Revolution he was in arms for the Prince of Orange and was attainted by James II's Irish Parliament in May 1689. However, in the Convention Parliament he voted against the throne being declared vacant. He was Lord High Constable of England at the coronation of William III on 11 April 1689. He served in all William III's campaigns, being present at the Battle of the Boyne (1 July 1690),
Steinkirk (24 July 1692) and Landen (19 July 1693). At Landen he displayed the highest courage, was wounded and taken prisoner. He was struck down in the 'press', but is said to have escaped death because one of the French guards, seeing the diamond ring on his finger, saved him as a valuable prisoner, which he was, and was soon exchanged for the Duke of Berwick.
In 1702 he commanded the land forces sent with Sir George Rooke's fleet against Cadiz. The attempt failed, but they received the thanks of both Houses for taking Redondela and destroying many Spanish and French ships at Vigo. In 1713 he was appointed Constable of Dover
Castle and Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports.
However, after the accession of George I in 1714 he was deprived of his various offices and commands, as it became known that late in 1713 he had been in communication with the Jacobites. On 17 June 1715 his impeachment was voted, whereupon he retired to Richmond, prepared
for a rising in the west and, in July, sent an urgent message to King James II to come to England without delay. However, upon hearing that the British Government was sending troops to arrest him, he fled to France on 21 July 1715. He was attainted 20 August 1715 by the British Parliament, whereby all his English and Scottish honours and estates were forfeited. King James II appointed him Captain General and Commander-in-Chief on 10 October 1715, Minister Plenipotentiary on 14 February 1717. 
In March 1719 he was Captain General of the King of Spain for the invasion of England. The Spanish fleet sailed from Cadiz with 5,000 men, intending to pick up the Duke of Ormonde at Corunna; but having been shattered by a storm on 29 March, it failed to round Cape Finisterre and returned to Cadiz. He died aged eighty in Avignon in November 1745 and on 22 May 1746
was buried in Westminster Abbey.
 

Source: Leo van de Pas