Kammala jumla mai zuwa: Kingsley shi ne na huɗu na 'ya'ya biyar na Reverend Charles Kingsley da matarsa Maryamu; an haife shi a Barnack, Northamptonshire a ranar 14 ga Fabrairu 1826. Charles Kingsley da marubucin Henry Kingsley sun kasance 'yan uwansa, kuma marubucin Charlotte Chanter' yar'uwarsa ce. An horar da shi a Kwalejin Kwalejin King, London, a Jami'ar Edinburgh, inda ya kammala karatun M.D. a 1846, kuma a Paris, inda ya ji rauni a lokacin yakin basasa na Faransa.
shinge na 1848. Daga baya a cikin 1848 aikinsa na yaƙi da barkewar cutar kwalara a Ingila an yi bikin tunawa da ɗan'uwansa Charles a cikin hoton Tom Thurnall a cikin "Shekaru biyu da suka gabata".