The son of the first baronet (d. 1759) and nephew of Henry Thrale, he was a gambler, sportsman, and friend of the Prince of Wales whose wife Letitia had been a mistress of the Duke of York.

REFERENCES TO Sir John Lade, second baronet:

Thomas Creevey to Elizabeth Ord, 27 January 1838 in The Creevey Papers: A Selection from the Correspondence & Diaries of the late Thomas Creevey, M.P. (London: John Murray, 1903)