The Douglas Archives

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Angus Alan Douglas-Hamilton, Duke of Hamilton, has died

One of Scotland's most senior noblemen, and potential chief of the House of Douglas, the Duke of Hamilton, has died, Buckingham Palace has announced.

Angus Alan Douglas-Hamilton, who suffered from dementia, died on Saturday 5th June 2010 at the age of 71.

A spokesman for Buckingham Palace said: "The Queen is sending a personal message of sympathy to the family."

The duke was the Premier Peer of Scotland and was the Hereditary Keeper of the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the Queen's official residence in Scotland. He could not assume the title of Douglas chief since the Lord Lyon King of Arms requires him to assume the single name Douglas. The Duke of Hamilton is the Chief of Clan Hamilton.

He could trace his ancestry back to Mary Queen of Scots and was custodian of the family's 14th Century seat, Lennoxlove House in East Lothian.

The Hamilton dukedom is the oldest in Scotland, dating back to the mid-17th century.

Born in London in 1938 and the eldest son of the 14th Duke of Hamilton, the duke is survived by his wife Kay.

It is understood his eldest son, the Marquis of Clydesdale, will become the 16th Duke of Hamilton.

The Daily Telegraph has reported that the Duke led a "turbulent and troubled life" where he fought a lifelong battle with alcoholism and spent two periods in a psychiatric hospital.

The paper also said the Duke was "furious" about becoming a member of the House of Lords.

But he took his work as custodian of Lennoxlove House seriously, where he employed no live-in staff and carried out many of the repairs himself.

He was also a keen racing driver, breaking 47 land speed records and winning more than 60 British national and international land speed and racing titles.

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Comment by William Douglas on June 7, 2010 at 11:15
We have heard that a private funeral for friends and family will be held this week and a memorial service is being planned for later in the summer.

A full obituary is now in the Douglas Archives.

Making conections

The more information you can give about the people you mention, the more chance there is of someone else connecting with your family.

Dates and places of births, deaths and marriages all help to place families.

Professions also help.

'My great-grandmother mother was a Douglas from Montrose' does not give many clues to follow up! But a bit of flesh on the bones makes further research possible. But if we are told who she married, what his profession was and where the children were baptised, then we can get to work.

Maybe it is time to update the information in your profile?


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