Whakaotihia te rerenga e whai ake nei: I iriiria ia ki St Benet's i Ranana, ko ia te tama a Robert Dormer, 1st Earl o Carnarvon me Lady Anna Sophia Herbert, tamahine a Philip Herbert, 4th Earl o Pembroke. I whakaakona a Dormer i te Whare Wananga o Oxford, i puta ai ia hei Kaiwhakaako Toi i te tau 1648. I roto i te 1643, i runga i te mate o tona papa i te
I te Pakanga Tuatahi o Newbury i angitu ia ki nga taitara a tona papa, a ka waiho hei Tumuaki Avenor me te Kaitiaki o nga Hawks o te Kingi. I mate tona whaea i etahi marama i mua atu.