B. R. Whiting was raised in Melbourne and joined the Australian Army in 1940. He saw active service in Burma during the Second World War and served as Aide-de-camp to Lord Mountbatten and then the Governor of Bengal. After the war, Whiting pursued a brief career as a beekeeper in Victoria and South Australia. He married the sculptor and painter Lorraine Fraser (sister of Malcolm Fraser) in 1948. They left Australia in 1952, living first in England and then, from 1955, in Italy.

In addition to poetry, Whiting published diaries and plays; his play 'Empress with Teapot' was produced at the Royal Court Theatre, London in 1961.

The Literature Board of the Australia Council maintains the BR Whiting Library in Rome, a residency studio donated by Whiting's widow in memory of her husband.