Sir Charles William Doyle was born in Bramblestown, County Kilkenny, Ireland, the son of William (-1792) and Cecilia Doyle, William having served as King's Council and master in chancery in Ireland and Cecelia having been the daughter of General Salvini of the Austrian service.

Charles William Doyle joined the British army as an ensign in April 1783, serving in the 14th Foot regiment that was commanded by his uncle Welbore Doyle. He was promoted to lieutenant in February 1793 and went with his regiment to the Netherlands to oppose the republican threat from the French Revolution. Doyle saw service in the Battles of Famars and Lannoy and was favored by Major-General Ralph Abercomby.

Doyle purchased his captain-lieutenancy in June 1794 and was soon in the 87th Foot regiment, which was commanded by his uncle John Doyle. Charles William Doyle went with the regiment to the West Indies in 1796, serving as first brigade major and then aide-de-camp to Abercromby. He received public thanks from both Abercomby in 1797 for covering the embarkation of troops from Puerto Rico and from the Governor of Barbados in 1798 for driving off a French privateer and retaking two prizes, in an open boat with only 30 soldiers.

Doyle thereafter saw service at Gibralter, Cadiz, Malta, and in Egypt. After the Peace of Amiens in 1803, he was appointed brigade major to Sir James Henry Craig. In 1804 he commanded the volunteers and directed the defences of Scotland, and in 1805 he was promoted to lieutnenat-colonel, thereafter commanding the 87th regiment for three years while his uncle Sir John Doyle served as lieutenant governor of the Guernsey island.

Doyle was sent to the Iberian Peninsula during the Peninsular War of 1808-1814. Early in the war, Doyle had orders to make contact with Spanish insurgents and conduct Spanish prisoners to Galicia to form part of a regiment called the Blendengues de Buenos Aires. Doyle, particularly among other officers with similar orders, was censured for becoming embroiled in insurgent politics and for promoting dubious, if patriotic, figures. Later in the war he distinguished himself at La Bisbal and served in the sieges of Tortosa and Tarragona, being wounded twice and having two horses shot from under him.

In 1813, Doyle was promoted to colonel and made an aide-de-camp to the Prince Regent, later King George IV. After the war, Doyle was knighted, and the Spanish government gave him many honors, including making him a lieutenant-general and decorating him with the Order of Charles III. In 1819 Doyle was promoted to major-general and appointed colonel of the 10th Royal Veteran Battalion. From 1825-1830 he commanded the southwestern district of Ireland, and in 1837 he was promoted to lieutenant general.

Doyle married Sophia Cramer in 1802, the daugther of Sir John Coghill. They had four children, one daughter and three sons. After her death, he remarried to Sophia, the widow of William Steir. Charles William Doyle died in Paris in 1842 and was buried at Pere Lachaise Cemetery.

[Information retrieved from Stephens, H.M. and Charles Esdaile, "Doyle, Sir (Charles) William," Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, 2009.]