William Douglas, 10th Earl of Angus (15543 March 1611) was a Scottish nobleman. He was the son of

William Douglas, 9th Earl of Angus William Douglas, 9th Earl of Angus (1533 – 1 July 1591, at Glenbervie) was a Scottish nobleman and zealous supporter of Mary, Queen of Scots. Biography Douglas was the eldest son of Sir Archibald Douglas of Glenbervie, Knt., by his spouse Agnes ...

(1533–1591). He was a direct descendant of

King James I James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until hi ...

through his paternal grandmother, Agnes Keith, a daughter of

William Keith, 3rd Earl Marischal William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

Career

Douglas studied at St. Andrews University and joined the household of 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 ...

. Subsequently, while visiting the French court, he became a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, and was in consequence, upon his return, disinherited and placed under restraint. Nevertheless, Douglas succeeded to his father's titles and estates in 1591, and though in 1592 he was disgraced for his complicity in Lord Bothwell's plot, he was soon liberated and performed useful services as the King's Lieutenant in the north of Scotland. In June 1592 he was injured falling from his horse while hunting 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 ...

and sent for drugs from the surgeon Gilbert Primrose. In July 1592 he asked for help from Queen Elizabeth in a plot with the

Earl of Erroll Earl of Erroll () is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1453 for Sir William Hay. The subsidiary titles held by the Earl of Erroll are ''Lord Hay'' (created 1449) and ''Lord Slains'' (1452), both in the Peerage of Scotland. ...

and other lords against John Maitland of

Thirlestane Thirlestane Castle is a castle set in extensive parklands near Lauder in the Borders of Scotland. The site is aptly named Castle Hill, as it stands upon raised ground. However, the raised land is within Lauderdale, the valley of the Leader Wate ...

, the

Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

. Lord Maxwell accused him of misdemeanours including meeting the rebels

James Douglas of Spott James Douglas of Spott (died 1615) was a Scottish landowner and conspirator. Career He was a son of James Douglas, 4th Earl of Morton, the Regent Morton. He was appointed Prior of Pluscarden in 1577 by his father, and given a lease of lead mines ...

and the Countess of Bothwell. He protested his absolute rejection of Spanish offers, but in October he signed the

Spanish Blanks The Spanish blanks plot was an alleged pro-Spanish Catholic conspiracy in Scotland, discovered in late 1592. A number of letters to Spain were discovered, which included blank sheets signed by prominent nobles. Background The Spanish Armada had f ...

. On the discovery of this treason he was imprisoned in

Edinburgh Castle Edinburgh Castle is a historic castle in Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland. It stands on Castle Rock (Edinburgh), Castle Rock, which has been occupied by humans since at least the Iron Age, although the nature of the early settlement is unclear. ...

on his return to Scotland in January 1593. Douglas escaped from Edinburgh Castle on 13 February 1593 with the help of his Countess, joining the Earls of

Huntly Huntly ( gd, Srath Bhalgaidh or ''Hunndaidh'') is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, formerly known as Milton of Strathbogie or simply Strathbogie. It had a population of 4,460 in 2004 and is the site of Huntly Castle. Its neighbouring settlement ...

and Erroll in the north. They were offered an Act of "oblivion" or "abolition" provided they renounced their religion or quit

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. Declining these conditions they were declared traitors and "forfeited." They remained in rebellion, and in July 1594 an attack made by them on Aberdeen roused James's anger. Huntly and Erroll were subdued by James himself in the north, and Angus failed in an attempt upon Edinburgh in concert with the

Earl of Bothwell Earl of Bothwell was a title that was created twice in the Peerage of Scotland. It was first created for Patrick Hepburn in 1488, and was forfeited in 1567. Subsequently, the earldom was re-created for the 4th Earl's nephew and heir of line, F ...

. Subsequently, in 1597 they all renounced their religion, declared themselves

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

s, and were restored to their estates and honours. Angus was again included in the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

, and in June 1598 was appointed the King's Lieutenant in southern Scotland, in which capacity he showed great zeal and conducted the "Raid of

Dumfries Dumfries ( ; sco, Dumfries; from gd, Dùn Phris ) is a market town and former royal burgh within the Dumfries and Galloway council area of Scotland. It is located near the mouth of the River Nith into the Solway Firth about by road from the ...

," as the campaign against the Johnstones was called. At Christmas time in 1598 the English diplomat George Nicholson heard that people were saying Angus wore a jewel resembling a cross in his hat (which might be taken a sign of Catholicism), but the king said it was not and laughed at their daftness. Angus, offended at the advancement of

to a Marquessate, recanted, resisted all the arguments of the ministers to bring him to a "better mind," and was again excommunicated in 1608. In 1609 Douglas withdrew into exile, and died in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, France, on 3 March 1611. He is buried at the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés.

Household accounts

A household account for the Earl survives. It commences on 11 June 1608 when the Earl moved his lodging in Glasgow from the house of George Lyon to that of John Ross. In October he moved to the Canongate of Edinburgh. On 5 November he moved to Tantallon Castle.Alexander Curle, 'Kitchen and Buttery Accounts of the Earl of Angus's Household in Glagow and the Canongate', ''Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries Scotland'' (Edinburgh, 1909), pp. 191–207, extracts only.

Quotation

From ''The Scottish Nation'': :

Marriage and children

Douglas married Elizabeth Oliphant, a daughter of Lawrence, 4th Lord of Oliphant, in spring 1585, and they had three sons and three daughters. His second son, James, was created

Lord Mordington 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 ...

in 1641. His daughter Mary was married to

Alexander Livingston, 2nd Earl of Linlithgow Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

. Douglas was succeeded by his son William, as 11th earl of Angus, afterwards 1st marquess of Douglas (1580–1660). The title Earl of Angus is now held by the

Duke of Hamilton Duke of Hamilton is a title in the Peerage of Scotland, created in April 1643. It is the senior dukedom in that peerage (except for the Dukedom of Rothesay held by the Sovereign's eldest son), and as such its holder is the premier peer of Sco ...

, and is used as a courtesy title for the eldest son of the ''heir apparent'' to the current dukedom.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Angus, William Douglas, 10th Earl Of 1552 births 1611 deaths Burials at Saint-Germain-des-Prés (abbey) Converts to Roman Catholicism from Calvinism Alumni of the University of St Andrews Earls of Angus

William Douglas, 10th Earl of Angus William Douglas, 10th Earl of Angus (15543 March 1611) was a Scottish nobleman. He was the son of William Douglas, 9th Earl of Angus (1533–1591). He was a direct descendant of King James I through his paternal grandmother, Agnes Keith, a d ...

Members of the Privy Council of Scotland Scottish Roman Catholics