He was the son of Sir Roland Dudley Kitson, 3rd Baron Airedale and his first wife Sheila Grace, daughter of F. E. Vandeleur. He was educated at Eton College and Trinity College, Cambridge and was called to the Bar, Inner Temple, in  1941.
He was the son of Sir Roland Dudley Kitson, 3rd Baron Airedale and his first wife Sheila Grace, daughter of F. E. Vandeleur. He received an education at Eton College and Trinity College, Cambridge, and was admitted to the Inner Temple Bar in 1941.