Bligh succeeded his father as earl in 1831. A Member of Parliament for Canterbury from 1818-1830, he also served as a lieutenant for county Meath, Ireland. He married Emma Jane [d. 1884], daughter of Sir Henry Parnell, Bt. (later 1st Baron Congleton). They had three sons and two daughters; son John Stuart Bligh succeeded his father as 6th earl of Darnley.
Bibliography
1982
Brigstocke, Hugh. William Buchanan and the 19th Century Art Trade: 100 Letters to His Agents in London and Italy. New Haven, 1982: 465.