 His grandfather was Sir Charles des Voeux, 1st Baronet.His great-grandfather was a Huguenot from Normandy, France, who settled in Ireland in the early 18th century.Des Vœux attended a public school in London before starting his studies at Charterhouse School (1845–1853) and Balliol College, Oxford (1854–1856), but left without a degree after his father gave him the choice of finishing his degree and become a clergyman or seeking his fortune in the colonies.