George Douglas of Longniddry (floruit 1580-1610) was a Scottish landowner and courtier. He was the son of Francis Douglas of Borg and Elizabeth Fairlie. His father's tutor was John Knox, and he joined Knox in

St Andrews Castle St Andrews Castle is a ruin located in the coastal Royal Burgh of St Andrews in Fife, Scotland. The castle sits on a rocky promontory overlooking a small beach called Castle Sands and the adjoining North Sea. There has been a castle standing a ...

in 1547. The lands of this branch of the Douglas family were at

Longniddry Longniddry ( sco, Langniddry, gd, Nuadh-Treabh Fada)
...

in East Lothian. Hugh Douglas of Longniddry, his uncle, became a supporter of pro-english policy during the war of the

Rough Wooing The Rough Wooing (December 1543 – March 1551), also known as the Eight Years' War, was part of the Anglo-Scottish Wars of the 16th century. Following its break with the Roman Catholic Church, England attacked Scotland, partly to break the ...

. When the English army came to Longniddry before the

battle of Pinkie The Battle of Pinkie, also known as the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh ( , ), took place on 10 September 1547 on the banks of the River Esk near Musselburgh, Scotland. The last pitched battle between Scotland and England before the Union of the Crow ...

in September 1547, the

Duke of Somerset Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are rank ...

heard that Hugh's pregnant wife in the house and ordered her to be protected from looters, although William Patten said some of the soldiers from the north of England ignored the order. In November 1547 Hugh Douglas wrote to the Duke of Somerset offering support. When Somerset captured Hailes Castle in February 1548 he made Hugh Douglas its keeper. Their castle at Longniddry was probably demolished on the orders of the governor,

Regent Arran A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state ''pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy, ...

. In August 1548 Hugh Douglas was reconciled with Arran, and Arran slighted Hailes by removing the

yett A yett (from the Old English and Scots language word for "gate") is a gate or grille of latticed wrought iron bars used for defensive purposes in castles and tower houses. Unlike a portcullis, which is raised and lowered vertically using mecha ...

s so the English could not garrison the place. In 1564

Lord Seton Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or a ...

and

William Maitland of Lethington William Maitland of Lethington (15259 June 1573) was a Scottish politician and reformer, and the eldest son of poet Richard Maitland. Life He was educated at the University of St Andrews. William was the renowned "Secretary Lethington" to ...

disputed the affairs of Francis Douglas of Longniddry. Seton hurt Longniddry. The

Earl of Morton The title Earl of Morton was created in the Peerage of Scotland in 1458 for James Douglas of Dalkeith. Along with it, the title Lord Aberdour was granted. This latter title is the courtesy title for the eldest son and heir to the Earl of Morto ...

sided with Lethington and the Laird of Longniddry. George Douglas was in Denmark with

James VI James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

in 1590. He became a servant of

Anne of Denmark Anne of Denmark (; 12 December 1574 – 2 March 1619) was the wife of King James VI and I; as such, she was Queen of Scotland from their marriage on 20 August 1589 and Queen of England and Ireland from the union of the Scottish and Eng ...

, wife of James VI. In July 1594 he was sent to England with Richard Cockburn of Clerkington and James Bellenden to ask Queen Elizabeth for sudsidy money. He returned to Edinburgh on 19 August and told the English ambassador Robert Bowes that he had seen wagons with presents for the baptism of Prince Henry at

Berwick-upon-Tweed Berwick-upon-Tweed (), sometimes known as Berwick-on-Tweed or simply Berwick, is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, and the northernmost town in England. The 2011 United Kingdom census reco ...

. James VI sent to him meet the

Earl of Sussex Earl of Sussex is a title that has been created several times in the Peerages of England, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom. The early Earls of Arundel (up to 1243) were often also called Earls of Sussex. The fifth creation came in the Peera ...

on the road and request that he would hurry up. In September 1594 he was a captain of horsemen in the army sent to the north of Scotland against the rebel earls. He carried a letter from Anne of Denmark, who was ill at Linlithgow Palace, to the king at Stirling Castle in July 1595.Annie I. Cameron, ''Calendar State Papers Scotland: 1593-1595'', vol. 11 (Edinburgh, 1936), pp. 443-4, 651.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Douglas, George Household of Anne of Denmark People from East Lothian 16th-century Scottish people