Malden’s father, a nephew and political follower of the Duke of Bedford, being chronically in financial difficulties, relied on the royal bounty; in 1779 he had, among other things, a secret service pension of £900 p.a. Malden was returned for Westminster unopposed, but what expenses there were were probably paid by Government. The Public Ledger wrote about him: ‘From the conduct and dependence of his father, we may presume that he will vote constantly with the ministry.’ So he did in each of the five divisions for which lists are available between April 1779 and the dissolution. He did not stand at the general election of 1780. A man of fashion and a favourite of the Prince of Wales, he brought about the Prince’s acquaintance with Mrs. Robinson, his own mistress.
My eldest son got last year into a very improper connexion with an actress and woman of indifferent character through the friendly assistance of Ld. Malden. A multitude of letters passed which she has threatened to publish unless he in short bought them of her ... I have thought it right to authorize the getting them from her ...
At the cost of £5,000 he got his son ‘out of this shameful scrape’.
In Parliament Malden’s attendance and voting were again most regular: in each of the six divisions, December 1781-15 Mar. 1782, his name appears on the Government side. He did not vote on Shelburne’s peace preliminaries, 18 Feb. 1783, and in March 1783 was listed by Robinson ‘abroad’; and when Fox was whipping up his friends before the opening of the session, he sent to the Duke of Manchester, ambassador in Paris, a letter for Malden ‘whose direction I do not know’.
He died 23 Apr. 1839.