William Douglas, 1st Duke of Queensberry PC (163728 March 1695), also 3rd Earl of Queensberry and 1st Marquess of Queensberry, was a Scottish politician.G. E. Cokayne; with Vicary Gibbs, H.A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, Duncan Warrand and Lord Howard de Walden, editors. The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant, new ed., 13 volumes in 14 (1910–1959; reprint in 6 volumes, Gloucester, U.K.: Alan Sutton Publishing, 2000), volume X, page 694.Record for ''William Douglas, 1st Marquess of Queensberry'' at ''www.thepeerage.com''
/ref> He was the son of James Douglas, 2nd Earl of Queensberry and his second wife Margaret Stewart, daughter of John Stewart, 1st Earl of Traquair. He succeeded his father as Earl of Queensberry in 1671 and took his seat in the

Parliament of Scotland The Parliament of Scotland ( sco, Pairlament o Scotland; gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba) was the legislature of the Kingdom of Scotland from the 13th century until 1707. The parliament evolved during the early 13th century from the king's council o ...

on 12 June 1672.

Career

He was appointed a Scottish

Privy Councillor 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 mo ...

in 1667,

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 1680 to 1682, and

Lord High Treasurer of Scotland The Treasurer was a senior post in the pre-Union government of Scotland, the Privy Council of Scotland. Lord Treasurer The full title of the post was ''Lord High Treasurer, Comptroller, Collector-General and Treasurer of the New Augmentation'', f ...

from 1682 to 1686. He was created Marquess of Queensberry on 11 February 1682 and Duke of Queensberry on 3 November 1684, with remainder to his heirs male. He refused to support James VII's measures against the

established church A state religion (also called religious state or official religion) is a religion or creed officially endorsed by a sovereign state. A state with an official religion (also known as confessional state), while not secular, is not necessarily a t ...

in 1685. He was Lord President of the Privy Council from 1686 to 1689. From 1685 he was one of the lords of 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 mo ...

for both Scotland and England, but in 1687 he was accused of maladministration by

James Drummond, 4th Earl of Perth James Drummond, 1st Duke of Perth KT PC (164811 May 1716), also 4th Earl of Perth and 7th Lord Drummond, was a Scottish statesman, and Jacobite. Family The eldest son of James Drummond, 3rd Earl of Perth by his spouse Lady Anne, daughter of ...

and was stripped of his appointments. He assented to the accession of William and Mary and again enjoyed the royal favour before he died, being appointed

Extraordinary Lord of Session Extraordinary Lords of Session were lay members of the Court of Session in Scotland from 1532 to 1762, and were part of the historical judiciary of Scotland. When the Court of Session was founded in 1532, it consisted of the Lord President, 14 ...

in 1693. He acquired what is now known as Queensberry House on the

Royal Mile The Royal Mile () is a succession of streets forming the main thoroughfare of the Old Town of the city of Edinburgh in Scotland. The term was first used descriptively in W. M. Gilbert's ''Edinburgh in the Nineteenth Century'' (1901), de ...

in 1689 and died there.Cassell's Old and New Edinburgh

Personal life

He married Lady Isabel Douglas, daughter of William Douglas, 1st Marquess of Douglas and Lady Mary Gordon, in 1657, and they had issue: #Lady Anne Douglas, Countess of Wemyss (died from injuries following her clothes going on fire, 23 February 1700) #

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 ...

(1662–1711) #William Douglas, 1st Earl of March (died 9 September 1705) #George Douglas

References

1637 births 1695 deaths 101 Marquesses of Queensberry William Douglas, 1st Duke of Queensberry Members of the Privy Council of England Members of the Privy Council of Scotland Presidents of the Privy Council of Scotland Lords Justice-General Lords High Commissioner to the Parliament of Scotland Lord High Treasurers of Scotland Members of the Parliament of Scotland 1669–1674 Members of the Convention of the Estates of Scotland 1678 Members of the Parliament of Scotland 1681–1682 Members of the Parliament of Scotland 1685–1686 Members of the Convention of the Estates of Scotland 1689 Members of the Parliament of Scotland 1689–1702 Commissioners of the Treasury of Scotland Queensbury Extraordinary Lords of Session {{Scotland-duke-stub