Archibald Douglas, 1st Duke of Douglas (15 October 1694 – 21 July 1761) was a Scottish nobleman.

Early life

He was the second son of

James Douglas, 2nd Marquess of Douglas James Douglas, 2nd Marquess of Douglas (c.1646 – 25 February 1700)David Menarry, 'Douglas, James, second Marquess of Douglas (c.1646–1700)’, ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004. was the son of Archiba ...

, by his second marriage to Lady Mary Kerr, daughter of

Robert Kerr, 1st Marquess of Lothian Robert Kerr, 1st Marquess of Lothian (8 March 1636 – 15 February 1703), known as the 4th Earl of Lothian from 1675 to 1701, was a Scottish nobleman. He was styled Lord Kerr until 1661 and Lord Newbattle from 1661 to 1675. The eldest son of Wi ...

and Lady Jean Campbell. His elder brother, William, died in infancy in 1694, and Archibald was thereafter styled Earl of Angus. Douglas succeeded his father in 1700, and on 10 April 1703, was created Duke of Douglas, Marquess of Angus and Abernethy, Viscount of Jedburgh Forest, and Lord Douglas of Bonkill, Prestoun, and Robertoun. The bearer of the

Crown of Scotland The Crown of Scotland (, ) is the centrepiece of the Honours of Scotland. It is the crown that was used at the coronation of the monarchs of Scotland, and it is the oldest surviving crown in the British Isles and among the oldest in Europe. A ...

on state occasions, he conveyed it to

Edinburgh Castle Edinburgh Castle is a historic castle in Edinburgh, Scotland. It stands on Castle Rock (Edinburgh), Castle Rock, which has been occupied by humans since at least the Iron Age. There has been a royal castle on the rock since the reign of Malcol ...

after the closing of the last

Parliament of Scotland In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

Career

During the

Jacobite rising of 1715 The Jacobite rising of 1715 ( ; or 'the Fifteen') was the attempt by James Francis Edward Stuart, James Edward Stuart (the Old Pretender) to regain the thrones of Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland and Kingdom of Scotland ...

, Douglas took the Hanoverian side, and led the volunteer horse at the

Battle of Sheriffmuir The Battle of Sheriffmuir (, ) was an engagement in 1715 at the height of the Jacobite rising of 1715, Jacobite rising in Scotland. The battlefield has been included in the Inventory of Historic Battlefields in Scotland and protected by Histor ...

. In maturity, Douglas grew eccentric, and perhaps insane, slew Captain John Kerr (the natural son of his uncle, Lord Mark Kerr) at

Douglas Castle Douglas Castle was a stronghold of the Douglas (later Douglas-Home) family from medieval times to the 20th century. The first castle, erected in the 13th century, was destroyed and replaced several times until the 18th century when a large man ...

, while the latter was guesting with him there, and was forced to flee for some time to

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former provinces of the Netherlands, province on the western coast of the Netherland ...

.Douglas Archives
Accessed 31 August 2010 His residence of Douglas Castle was plundered by Highlanders during the

Rising of 1745 The Jacobite rising of 1745 was an attempt by Charles Edward Stuart to regain the British throne for his father, James Francis Edward Stuart. It took place during the War of the Austrian Succession, when the bulk of the British Army was fightin ...

Personal life

He fell out with his sister, Lady Jane Douglas, when he discovered her secret marriage to Sir John Stewart, 3rd Baronet of Grantully, and treated her with great cruelty. In 1755, Douglas Castle burned, and he hired

Robert Adam Robert Adam (3 July 17283 March 1792) was a British neoclassical architect, interior designer and furniture designer. He was the son of William Adam (architect), William Adam (1689–1748), Scotland's foremost architect of the time, and train ...

to rebuild it, although the work was never finished, being halted by the Duke's death. In 1758, Lord Douglas married

Margaret Douglas Margaret Douglas, Countess of Lennox (8 October 1515 – 7 March 1578), born Lady Margaret Douglas, was the daughter of the Scottish queen dowager Margaret Tudor and her second husband Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus, and thus the granddau ...

, daughter of James Douglas of Mains, who succeeded in reconciling him with Archibald, his nephew by Lady Jane (who had died in 1754). Ultimately, the Duke was persuaded to entail his estates upon Archibald, a decision which led to the celebrated

Douglas Cause The Douglas Cause was a cause célèbre and legal struggle contested in Great Britain during the 1760s. The main parties were Archibald Douglas, 1st Baron Douglas, Archibald Douglas (1748–1827) and James Hamilton, 7th Duke of Hamilton, James Do ...

upon his death, when 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 Duke of Rothesay, Dukedom of Rothesay held by the sovereign's eldest son), and as such its holder is the pr ...

(who inherited the Marquessate of Douglas) and his kin unsuccessfully contested Archibald's legitimacy.

Ancestry

References

* 1694 births 1761 deaths Nobility from South Lanarkshire Dukes in the Peerage of Scotland Archibald Douglas, 01st Duke of Douglas People of the Jacobite rising of 1715 03 {{Scotland-duke-stub