Robin Wheeler was educated at Harrow and Trinity College, Cambridge. He was called to the Bar in 1979. From 1980 to 1985 he served as an officer in the 4th / 7 th Royal Dragoon Guards. From 1995 to 2003 he studied Theology at the University of Durham, taking a first in the BA, an M.A., and subsequently completing a doctorate on William Palmer of Magdalen.