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William Hamilton, 11th Duke of Hamilton

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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.

His Grace

The Duke of Hamilton
11th Duke of Hamilton
8th Duke of Brandon
Tenure1852–1863
PredecessorAlexander Hamilton, 10th Duke of Hamilton
SuccessorWilliam Douglas-Hamilton, 12th Duke of Hamilton
Born(1811-02-19)19 February 1811
London, England
Died8 July 1863(1863-07-08) (aged 52)
Hôtel Bristol, Paris, France
OfficesKnight Marischal, Lord Lieutenant of Lanarkshire
Spouse(s)Princess Marie Amelie of Baden
(m. 1843)
IssueWilliam Douglas-Hamilton, 12th Duke of Hamilton
Charles Douglas-Hamilton, 7th Earl of Selkirk
Lady Mary Victoria Douglas-Hamilton
ParentsAlexander Hamilton, 10th Duke of Hamilton
Susan Euphemia Beckford

Biography

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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. He was Knight Marischal of Scotland from 1846 and Lord Lieutenant of Lanarkshire from 1852 until his death.[1]

At the Mannheim Palace, on 23 February 1843, he married Princess Marie Amelie of Baden, daughter of the Grand Duke Charles of Baden and Stéphanie de Beauharnais, the adopted daughter of Napoleon I. After his marriage, he lived chiefly in Paris and Baden, taking very little interest in British affairs. They had three surviving children:

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, a district of the City of Westminster in central London from Henry Somerset, 7th Duke of Beaufort for £60,000 (equivalent to £8,235,000 in 2023). 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 via auction in 1867.[3]

Legacy

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He was a close friend of the French Empress Eugenie. 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 lords wore kilts, and thus, their legs were visible to everyone.[4]

Ancestry

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References

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  • "Douglas, William Alexander Anthony Archibald" . Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.
  1. ^ Doyle, J.E. (1886). Abercon-Fortescue. The Official Baronage of England: Showing the Succession, Dignities, and Offices of Every Peer from 1066 to 1885, with Sixteen Hundred Illustrations (in Spanish). Longmans, Green, and Company. p. 217. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
  2. ^ "Births". Carlisle Journal. 17 February 1844. p. 3. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  3. ^ Chancellor, E. Beresford (1908). The Private Palaces of London Past and Present. London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co Ltd. pp. 366–367. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  4. ^ Gleichen, Lady Helena (1940). Contacts and Contrasts. Butler & Tanner Ltd. p. 72.
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Masonic offices
Preceded by Grand Master of the
Grand Lodge of Scotland
1833–1835 		Succeeded by
Honorary titles
Preceded by Knight Marischal
1846–1863 		Vacant
Preceded by Lord Lieutenant of Lanarkshire
1852–1863 		Succeeded by
Peerage of Scotland
Preceded by Duke of Hamilton
1852–1863 		Succeeded by
Peerage of Great Britain
Preceded by Duke of Brandon
1852–1863 		Succeeded by
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