William Alexander Archibald Hamilton, 11th Duke of Hamilton and 8th Duke of Brandon (19 February 1811 – 8 July 1863) styled Earl of Angus and Arran before 1819 and Marquess of Douglas and Clydesdale between 1819 and 1852, was a Scottish nobleman and the Premier Peer of Scotland.

Biography

Hamilton was the son of Alexander Hamilton, 10th Duke of Hamilton and Susan Euphemia Beckford, daughter of English novelist William Beckford. He was educated at Eton and

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

. He was Knight Marischal of Scotland from 1846 and Lord Lieutenant of Lanarkshire from 1852 until his death. At the

Mannheim Palace Mannheim Palace () is a large Baroque architecture, Baroque palace in Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It was originally the main residence of the Prince-electors of the Electorate of the Palatinate of the House of Wittelsbach until 177 ...

, on 23 February 1843, he married

Princess Marie Amelie of Baden Princess Marie Amelie of Baden (Marie Amelie Elisabeth Caroline; 11 October 1817 – 17 October 1888) was the youngest daughter of Charles, Grand Duke of Baden and Stéphanie de Beauharnais. In 1843, she married the Scottish nobleman William H ...

, daughter of the Grand Duke Charles of Baden and

Stéphanie de Beauharnais Stéphanie Louise Adrienne de Beauharnais (28 August 1789 – 29 January 1860) was a French princess and the Grand Duchess consort of Baden by marriage to Karl, Grand Duke of Baden. Biography Early life Born in Versailles at the beginning of the ...

, the adopted daughter of

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

I. After his marriage, he lived chiefly in Paris and Baden, taking very little interest in British affairs. They had three surviving children: * Unnamed son (stillborn 7 February 1844), at

Holyrood Palace The Palace of Holyroodhouse ( or ), commonly known as Holyrood Palace, is the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland. Located at the bottom of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, at the opposite end to Edinburgh Castle, Holyrood has s ...

* William Douglas-Hamilton, 12th Duke of Hamilton (1845–1895), also succeeded as 8th Earl of Selkirk in 1886 * Lt. Lord Charles George Douglas-Hamilton (1847–1886),

11th Hussars The 11th Hussars (Prince Albert's Own) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army established in 1715. It saw service for three centuries including the First World War and Second World War but then amalgamated with the 10th Royal Hussars (Pri ...

, succeeded by special remainder as 7th

Earl of Selkirk Earl of Selkirk is a title in the Peerage of Scotland, used since 1646. It has rules of inheritance subject to unusual and unique provisions. History The title was created on 14 August 1646 for William Douglas-Hamilton, Duke of Hamilton, Lord W ...

in 1885, died unmarried * Lady Mary Victoria Hamilton (1850–1922), married firstly

Albert I, Prince of Monaco Albert I (Albert Honoré Charles Grimaldi; 13 November 1848 – 26 June 1922) was Prince of Monaco from 10 September 1889 until his death in 1922. He devoted much of his life to oceanography, exploration and science. Alongside his expeditions, ...

, latterly to Prince Tassilo Festetics de Tolna Though he had married in 1843, the duke did not succeed to his title until 1852. In that year, he purchased the house located at 22 Arlington Street in

St. James's St James's is a district of Westminster, and a central district in the City of Westminster, London, forming part of the West End. The area was once part of the northwestern gardens and parks of St. James's Palace and much of it is still owned ...

, a district of the

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in central London from Henry Somerset, 7th Duke of Beaufort for £60,000 (). The duke lavished expenses on the house for approximately a decade, including installing iron firebacks with his coronet and motto. Upon his death, the house passed to his widow who sold it to

Ivor Guest, 1st Baron Wimborne Ivor Bertie Guest, 1st Baron Wimborne, 2nd Baronet, DL (29 August 1835 – 22 February 1914) was a British industrialist and a member of the prominent Guest family. Early life Ivor Bertie Guest was born at Dowlais, near Merthyr Tydfil, the so ...

via auction in 1867.

Legacy

He was a close friend of the French

Empress Eugenie The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother/grandmother ( empress dowager/ grand empress dowager), or a woman who rul ...

. According to Lady Helena Gleichen, they accidentally caused a scandal at the French Court when courtiers were told that Lord Hamilton would not be joining them for the hunt because of an injury and the Empress said: "Yes, I saw the bruise on his leg. It is very bad." This shocked the French court and later, the Empress had Lord Hamilton come down to show everyone that

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

lords wore kilts, and thus, their legs were visible to everyone.

Ancestry

References

External links

* * William, 11th Duke of Hamilton
Hamilton Palace
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Hamilton, William Hamilton, 11th Duke Of 1811 births 1863 deaths Nobility from South Lanarkshire Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford 111 108 08

William Douglas-Hamilton, 11th Duke of Hamilton William Alexander Archibald Hamilton, 11th Duke of Hamilton and 8th Duke of Brandon (19 February 1811 – 8 July 1863) styled Earl of Angus and Arran before 1819 and Marquess of Douglas and Clydesdale between 1819 and 1852, was a Scottish noblem ...

Lord-lieutenants of Lanarkshire People educated at Eton College

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...