Villiers received his education at
Eton College and then
Queens' College, Cambridge. Following his graduation, he became a
diplomat. Villiers became the British envoy to both the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and the
Electorate of Saxony from 1740 to 1747. At the time both realms were in
personal union under
Augustus III of Poland. He was also sent to
Vienna, capital of the
Archduchy of Austria, as an envoy to the court of
Maria Theresa of Austria from 1742 to 1743. He was last sent to
Berlin, capital of the
Kingdom of Prussia, as an envoy to the court of
Frederick II of Prussia from 1746 to 1748. Villiers was also involved in domestic politics as a member of the
British Whig Party, which at the time dominated the
Parliament of Great Britain. He was elected to Parliament in the
1747 British general election. He sat as a
Member of Parliament for
Tamworth from 1747 to 1756. He retired from all diplomatic offices at this time. He was a
Lord Commissioner of the Admiralty, one of seven members of the
Board of Admiralty exercising command over the
Royal Navy from 26 February 1748 to 17 November 1756. He served under First Lords of the Admiralty
John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, and
George Anson, 1st Baron Anson throughout his term. On 3 June 1756, the barony of Hyde held by his wife's ancestors the Earls of Clarendon was revived. Villiers was raised to the peerage as
Baron Hyde of
Hindon in the County of
Wiltshire. Hyde served as
Postmaster General from 1763 to 1765. On 9 September 1763, he was admitted to the
Privy Council. He also served as
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster from 1771 to 1782 and again from 1783 to 1786. On 14 June 1776 the earldom of Clarendon, which had become extinct with the death of
Henry Hyde, 4th Earl of Clarendon, in 1753, was revived and Hyde was made
Earl of Clarendon. In 1782 he was also made a Baron of the
Kingdom of Prussia, an honour which he received Royal licence to use in
Kingdom of Great Britain. Clarendon returned to the office of Postmaster-General in commission with
Henry Carteret, 1st Baron Carteret, in September 1786. This was to be his final political assignment. Lord Clarendon died in December 1786, aged 77. He was succeeded in the earldom by his eldest son
Thomas. ==Family==