He was born in Mayfair, London, the son of Viscount Holmesdale (later 2nd Earl Amherst) and was baptised on 3 May 1836 in St. George's Church, Hanover Square, London.
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He was the fourth son of lawyer Jeffrey Amherst and Elizabeth Kerrill, of Riverhead, Kent, and his older brothers included Field Marshal Jeffery Amherst, 1st Baron Amherst and Lieutenant-General William Amherst.
William Tyssen-Amherst, 1st Baron Amherst of Hackney (1835–1909), British Conservative Member of Parliament
He died at Montreal Park, Sevenoaks, Kent, in March 1886, aged 80, and was succeeded by his eldest son, William.
In 1816 Havell was engaged in painting a series of pictures called 'Picturesque Views and Characteristic Scenery of British Villas', when he was appointed to the post of draughtsman with Lord Amherst's embassy to China.