Upton was the second son of
John Upton, 1st Viscount Templetown of Botleys, Surrey and Lady Mary Montagu, daughter of
John Montagu, 5th Earl of Sandwich He joined the British Army in 1823 and was promoted lieutenant in 1825, captain in 1826, major in 1837, and lieutenant-colonel in 1841, all in the
62nd Foot, with the exception of the period 13 February 1827 to 8 June 1830 when serving as a Captain with 60th rifles. In 1842 he transferred to be captain and lieutenant-colonel in the
Coldstream Guards. He was a major and brevet colonel in command of 1st Battalion in the Crimea in 1854–55, taking part in the Battles of the
Alma and
Inkerman and was made
CB in 1855 and major general in 1858. He was made a commander of the
Legion of Honour in 1856 and awarded the
Order of the Medjidie (fourth class) in 1858. In 1859 he was returned to parliament for
County Antrim, a seat he held until 1863, when he succeeded his childless elder brother in the viscountcy. In 1866 he was elected an
Irish representative peer. Promoted lieutenant-general, he became general officer commanding
Western District at
Devonport in January 1865 and general officer commanding
Southern District at
Portsmouth in August 1870. He was briefly colonel of the
90th Foot in 1862 before transferring to be colonel of 2nd Battalion,
60th Rifles from 1862 to 1876 and then the
2nd Life Guards from 1876 until his death in 1890. He was elevated to
KCB in 1869 and promoted full general on 6 April 1873. He was further elevated to
GCB in 1886. Lord Templetown died in January 1890, aged 87, and was interred in the Templeton Mausoleum in the Old Templepatrick Burial Ground , next to the family seat at
Castle Upton, County Antrim. He had married Susan Woodford, the daughter of Field Marshal Sir
Alexander Woodford GCB and was succeeded in the viscountcy by his nephew,
Henry, son of his younger brother Edward John Upton. ==References==