Charles Douglas, 3rd Duke of Queensberry, 2nd Duke of Dover, (24 November 169822 October 1778) was a Scottish nobleman, extensive landowner,

Privy Counsellor The Privy Council (PC), officially His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its membership mainly comprises senior politicians who are current or former members of ei ...

and Vice Admiral of Scotland.

Life

He was born in

Queensberry House Queensberry House is a building of 17th-century origin which is now a Category A listed building. It stands on the south side of the Canongate, Edinburgh, Scotland, incorporated into the Scottish Parliament complex on its north-west corner ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

on 24 November 1698. The younger son of

James Douglas, 2nd Duke of Queensberry James Douglas, 2nd Duke of Queensberry and 1st Duke of Dover (18 December 16626 July 1711) was a Scottish nobleman. Life He was the eldest son of William Douglas, 1st Duke of Queensberry and his wife Isabel Douglas, daughter of William Douglas ...

, 1st Duke of Dover, and Mary Boyle, daughter of

Charles Boyle, 3rd Viscount Dungarvan Charles Boyle, Viscount Dungarvan, 3rd Baron Clifford, FRS ( bapt. 12 December 1639 – 12 October 1694), was an English peer and politician. He was a member of a famous Anglo-Irish aristocratic family. Early life Charles Boyle was the son ...

, on 17 June 1706 while still a child he was created in his own right Lord Douglas of Lockerbie, Dalveen and Thornhill, Viscount of Tiberris and Earl of Solway. In 1711 he succeeded his father as Duke of Queensberry and inherited

, thanks to a grant of

novodamus ''Novodamus'' is a genus of Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an are ...

which excluded his mentally ill older brother James Douglas from the succession to the Dukedom, but left James the Marquessate of the same name. Upon his brother's death in 1715 he succeeded him as the 4th Marquess of Queensberry. In 1728 Queensberry took up the cause of John Gay, who was friendly with his wife, after a licence for his opera ''

Polly Polly is a given name, most often feminine, which originated as a variant of Molly (name), Molly (a diminutive of Mary (name), Mary). Polly may also be a short form of names such as Polina (given name), Polina, Polona (given name), Polona, Paula (g ...

'' was refused. He quarrelled with

George II George II or 2 may refer to: People * George II of Antioch (seventh century AD) * George II of Armenia (late ninth century) * George II of Abkhazia (916–960) * Patriarch George II of Alexandria (1021–1051) * George II of Georgia (1072–1089) ...

and resigned his appointments in the same year. In 1746 the Duke of Queensberry invested in the British Linen Company as one of the original proprietors, hoping to aid the development of the Scottish economy through the manufacturing of linen to be sold to the American colonies and Caribbean plantations. In 1762, after the death of

Archibald Campbell Archibald Campbell may refer to: Peerage * Archibald Campbell of Lochawe (died before 1394), Scottish peer * Archibald Campbell, 2nd Earl of Argyll (died 1513), Lord Chancellor of Scotland * Archibald Campbell, 4th Earl of Argyll (c. 1507–1558) ...

, 3rd Duke of Argyll, Queensberry became the Governor of the company until 1776. The period was one of turmoil and restructuring, as the directors of the company decided to stop manufacturing linen from factories owned in the Highlands and turn to financing independent manufacturers to continue their trade. It was an important moment in the history of Scottish finance and the future of the company. He was a founding governor of London's Foundling Hospital, created in 1739. He was appointed

Keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland The Great Seal of Scotland ( gd, Seala Mòr na h-Alba) is a principal national symbol of Scotland that allows the monarch to authorise official documents without having to sign each document individually. Wax is melted in a metal mould or matrix ...

in 1761 and was

Lord Justice General 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 are ...

from 1763 until his death in 1778. Queensberry was one of many who had lost heavily from the failure of the Douglas Heron and Co Bank in 1776. As there were no heirs, his English titles, including the dukedom of Dover, became extinct, but the Queensberry title passed to his cousin, William Douglas.

Family

On 10 March 1720 he married Lady Catherine Hyde, a daughter of

Henry Hyde, 4th Earl of Clarendon Henry Hyde, 4th Earl of Clarendon and 2nd Earl of Rochester, PC (June 1672 – 10 December 1753), styled Lord Hyde from 1682 to 1711, was an English Army officer and Tory politician who sat in the English and British House of Commons from 1692 u ...

. They had two sons, who both predeceased him: *

Henry Douglas, Earl of Drumlanrig Henry Douglas, Earl of Drumlanrig (30 October 1722 – 19 October 1754) was the eldest son of Charles Douglas, 3rd Duke of Queensberry, 2nd Duke of Dover, and his wife Catherine. He was educated at Winchester College and at Christ Church, Univer ...

(1722–1754) * Charles Douglas, Earl of Drumlanrig (1726–1756)

References

External links

* 1698 births 1778 deaths Members of the Privy Council of Great Britain 103 Charles Douglas, 3rd Duke of Queensberry Keepers of the Great Seal of Scotland Lords Justice-General Fellows of the Royal Society Marquesses of Queensberry Freemasons of the Premier Grand Lodge of England Dukes of Dover Peers of Scotland created by Queen Anne {{Scotland-duke-stub