Patrick was the second of five sons born to Earl Robert and his wife Lady Jean Kennedy. On the death of his uncle Lord Robert in 1581, he was given the gift of the Priory of Whithorn. On the death of his elder brother Henry around 1588, he became heir to the Earldom of Orkney. In his youth Patrick was a good friend of his cousin James VI; however, their relationship became strained in the 1590s after Patrick succeeded his father as Earl of Orkney.