The son of the John Thornton Leslie-Melville, 9th Earl of Leven and his second wife, Sophia, daughter of Henry Thornton MP, he was educated at Windlesham House School and Eton College. He matriculated in 1854 at Christ Church, Oxford, where he graduated B.A.
The son of John Thornton Leslie-Melville, 9th Earl of Leven, and his second wife, Sophia, daughter of Henry Thornton MP, was educated at Windlesham House School and Eton College. He enrolled in 1854 at Christ Church, Oxford, where he earned a B.A. degree.