Charles Perceval, 2nd Baron Arden

Charles George Perceval, 2nd Baron Arden, PC, FRS, was a British politician born on October 1, 1756, at Charlton, Kent. He was the son of John Perceval, 2nd Earl of Egmont, and his second wife, Catherine Compton, who was the 1st Baroness Arden and the daughter of Charles Compton. His younger brother was Spencer Perceval, who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

Perceval received education at Harrow School and attended Trinity College, Cambridge.

In his political career, he served as a Member of Parliament (MP) for three constituencies. He represented Launceston from 1780 to 1790, Warwick from 1790 to 1796, and Totnes from 1796 to 1802. In 1784, he succeeded his mother as the second Baron Arden, a title in the Irish peerage, which did not disqualify him from sitting in the House of Commons.

Perceval held several governmental positions. He was the Master of the Mint from 1801 to 1802 and served as a Commissioner of the India Board from 1801 to 1803. He was admitted to the Privy Council in 1801. The following year, in 1802, he was created Baron Arden of Arden in the County of Warwick, a peerage in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, which necessitated his seat in the House of Lords.

His other appointments included serving as a Lord of the Bedchamber from 1804 to 1812, Registrar of the Court of Admiralty from 1790 until his death in 1840, and Lord Lieutenant of Surrey from 1830 to 1840. As Registrar of the Court of Admiralty, he held a sinecure position, having waited 26 years for the office through reversion, with the actual duties performed by a deputy registrar.

In 1787, Perceval married Margaretta Elizabeth Wilson, daughter of General Sir Thomas Spencer Wilson, 6th Baronet. They had six sons and two daughters.

Charles George Perceval died on July 5, 1840, at St James's Place in London, at the age of 83. His third son and eldest surviving son, George, succeeded him as the 3rd Baron Arden and later also inherited the earldom of Egmont in 1841. Lady Arden, Margaretta Elizabeth, died in May 1851, aged 83.