Born the son of Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey (a former Prime Minister), and Mary Elizabeth Ponsonby (daughter of William Ponsonby, 1st Baron Ponsonby), Grey joined the Royal Navy in January 1819 [REF].
Grey took command of the second-rate HMS Hannibal in March 1854 and conveyed 10,000 French troops to the Åland Islands off Finland before proceeding to the Bosphorus where he was deployed as principal agent of transports during the Crimean War [REF].