William Douglas, 4th Duke of Queensberry, (16 December 172423 December 1810) was a Scottish noble landowner. He was popularly known as Old Q and was reputed as a high-stakes gambler.
In 1799 he was estimated the eighth-wealthiest man (or small family unit) in Britain, owning £1M (). He is one of ten known British millionaires that year, the royal family excluded.
Family and royal appointee
Born in
Peebles
Peebles () is a town in the Scottish Borders, Scotland. It was historically a royal burgh and the county town of Peeblesshire. According to the United Kingdom census, 2011, 2011 census, the population was 8,376 and the estimated population in ...
, Queensberry was the only son of William Douglas, 2nd Earl of March, and his wife,
Lady Anne Hamilton. He was great-grandson of
the 1st Duke.
A friend of the
Prince of Wales, the future George III, Douglas was appointed
Gentleman of the Bedchamber
Gentleman of the Bedchamber was a title in the Royal Household of the Kingdom of England from the 11th century, later used also in the Kingdom of Great Britain. A Lord of the Bedchamber was a courtier in the Royal Households of the United Kingdo ...
to him when he became king in 1760.
He was appointed a
Knight of the Thistle in 1761 and was one of the 16
Scottish representative peers
This is a list of representative peers elected from the Peerage of Scotland to sit in the House of Lords after the Acts of Union 1707 abolished the unicameral Parliament of Scotland, where all Scottish Peers had been entit ...
for an elected term or possibly more from 1761, and was
Vice Admiral of Scotland from 1767 to 1776. However, due to behavior during the king's unusual, long-lasting, mental health latter-life illness he was deprived of his office as Gentleman of the Bedchamber in 1789, and for a while took refuge abroad. Later, he was
Lord Lieutenant of Dumfries from 1794 until 1810.
He succeeded his father in the Earldom of March in 1731 and his mother in the
Earldom of Ruglen in 1748. He succeeded his cousin Charles as Duke of Queensberry in 1778, and was created Lord Douglas, Baron Douglas, ''of
Amesbury
Amesbury () is a town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It is known for the prehistoric monument of Stonehenge which is within the parish. The town is claimed to be the oldest occupied settlement in Great Britain, having been first settl ...
in the
County of Wiltshire'' in the
Peerage of Great Britain
The Peerage of Great Britain comprises all extant peerages created in the Kingdom of Great Britain between the Acts of Union 1707 and the Acts of Union 1800. It replaced the Peerage of England and the Peerage of Scotland, but was itself repla ...
on 8 August 1786.
In 1799 he was estimated the eighth-wealthiest man (or small family unit) in Britain, owning £1M ().
He was one of ten known British millionaires in 1799.
[
He developed a strong passion for Miss Frances Pelham at the age of 28, so much so that he deliberately bought a house next door to her and had a bow window built so that he could sit and spy on her as she came and went. In his 60s he proposed to the teenage daughter of his next-door neighbour in Piccadilly on three occasions, but was turned down despite his immense wealth.
Queensberry never married. He had a daughter, Maria "Mie-Mie" Fagnani, by a mistress, the Marchesa Fagnani.][François-René de Chateaubriand, Béatrix d' Andlau, Pierre Riberette, ''Correspondance générale: Volume 5'' (Gallimard, 1986), page 540] In 1798, she became the wife of the 3rd Marquess of Hertford; Queensberry left much of his wealth to Maria, and left £10,000 to Lady Anne Hamilton who was a Lady in Waiting to Caroline of Brunswick
Caroline of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (Caroline Amelia Elizabeth; 17 May 1768 – 7 August 1821) was List of British royal consorts, Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Queen of Hanover from 29 January 1820 until her ...
. He was interred at St James's Church, Piccadilly
St James's Church, Piccadilly, also known as St James's Church, Westminster, and St James-in-the-Fields, is an Anglican church on Piccadilly in the centre of London, England. The church was designed and built by Sir Christopher Wren.
The churc ...
on 31 December 1810.
On death, the Dukedom and Drumlanrig Castle passed to his second cousin once removed, the third Duke of Buccleuch. The Marquessate of Queensberry passed to his fourth cousin once removed (and also third once removed) Sir Charles Douglas, 5th Bt, whose descendant is the current titleholder. His second cousin twice removed Francis Douglas, 8th Earl of Wemyss became Earl of Wemyss and March. The Earldom of Ruglen became extinct.
Horseracing
He was racehorse
Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...
owner and event attendee. His jockeys' racing silks were deep red with a black cap.[
]
He had some society repute as a high-stakes gambler.
Semi-fictional portrayal
As "Lord March", he is briefly portrayed or described in the William Makepeace Thackeray
William Makepeace Thackeray ( ; 18 July 1811 – 24 December 1863) was an English novelist and illustrator. He is known for his Satire, satirical works, particularly his 1847–1848 novel ''Vanity Fair (novel), Vanity Fair'', a panoramic portra ...
novel '' The Virginians'' as a dissolute gambler.
References
External links
*
Queensberry in St James's, London
Portrait by Opie in National Portrait Gallery
Caricature by James Gillray in National Portrait Gallery
Article in the Burns Encyclopedia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Queensberry, William Douglas, 04th Duke of
1724 births
1810 deaths
Burials at St James's Church, Piccadilly
104
Earls of March (Scotland)
William Douglas, 04th Duke of Queensberry
Knights of the Thistle
Lord-lieutenants of Dumfries
Nobility from Dumfries and Galloway
Marquesses of Queensberry
People from Peebles
Peers of Great Britain created by George III
Scottish representative peers