Robert Douglas, Earl of Morton (died 12 November 1649) was a Scottish nobleman and

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 Morton. ...

. He was the son of

William Douglas, 7th Earl of Morton William Douglas, 7th Earl of Morton (1582 – 7 August 1648) was a grandson of the 6th Earl of Morton. He was Treasurer of Scotland, and a zealous Royalist. Life He was the son of Robert Douglas, Master of Morton, and Jean Lyon, daughter of ...

and Lady Anne Keith, daughter of

George Keith, 5th Earl Marischal George Keith, 5th Earl Marischal (c. 1553–1623) was a Scottish nobleman and Earl Marischal. He succeeded as earl on 7 October 1581, upon the death of his grandfather, William Keith, 4th Earl Marischal. Early life George Keith was the s ...

Life

In April 1627, Robert Douglas, then known as Lord Dalkeith, married Anne Villiers, a daughter of Sir Edward Villiers.

George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham ( ; 20 August 1592 – 23 August 1628), was an English courtier, statesman, and patron of the arts. He was a favourite and self-described "lover" of King James VI and I. Buckingham remained at the heigh ...

, promised to pay his father, William Douglas, 7th Earl of Morton, £5,000 and settle a landed income of £3,000 yearly on Lord Dalkeith of which £1,000 would be Anne's

jointure Jointure was a legal concept used largely in late mediaeval and early modern Britain, denoting the estate given to a married couple by the husband's family. One of its most important functions was providing a livelihood for the wife if she became ...

and £1,000 used for the couple's expenses. After his father's death, Robert acted in a high-handed way in

Orkney Orkney (), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago off the north coast of mainland Scotland. The plural name the Orkneys is also sometimes used, but locals now consider it outdated. Part of the Northern Isles along with Shetland, ...

, overriding

udal law Udal law is a Norsemen, Norse-derived legal system, found in Shetland and Orkney in Scotland, and in Manx law in the Isle of Man. It is closely related to Odelsrett; both terms are from Proto-Germanic Odal (rune), *''Ōþalan'', meaning "herita ...

, to raise money for the royalist cause. The Morton interest in Orkney was a royal grant of

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

, to compensate the 7th Earl for his subsidies and losses in the royal cause. At this point of the

War of the Three Kingdoms The Wars of the Three Kingdoms were a series of conflicts fought between 1639 and 1653 in the kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland, then separate entities in a personal union under Charles I. They include the 1639 to 1640 Bishops' Wars, ...

the Morton control of Orkney assumed importance, because the forces of

James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose (1612 – 21 May 1650) was a Scottish nobleman, poet, soldier and later viceroy and captain general of Scotland. Montrose initially joined the Covenanters in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, but subsequ ...

intended in 1649 to land there and re-open the fighting in Scotland. Robert Douglas died on 12 November 1649, in

Kirkwall Kirkwall (, , or ; ) is the largest town in Orkney, an archipelago to the north of mainland Scotland. First mentioned in the ''Orkneyinga saga'', it is today the location of the headquarters of the Orkney Islands Council and a transport hub wi ...

Family

He was succeeded by his son,

William Douglas, 9th Earl of Morton William Douglas, Earl of Morton (died before 1 November 1681) was a Scottish nobleman and Earl of Morton. He was the son of Robert Douglas, 8th Earl of Morton, and Anne Villiers. He succeeded as the 9th Earl of Morton on 12 November 1649. Willi ...

. He also had two daughters by his wife: Lady Anne Douglas, who married the

Earl Marischal The title of Earl Marischal was created in the Peerage of Scotland for William Keith, the Great Marischal of Scotland. History The office of Marischal of Scotland (or ''Marascallus Scotie'' or ''Marscallus Scotiae'') had been hereditary, held ...

, and Lady Mary Douglas, who married Sir Donald Macdonald.

Notes

1649 deaths Year of birth missing 17th-century Scottish people Earls of Morton {{Scotland-earl-stub