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William Douglas-Hamilton, 12th Duke of Hamilton

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His Grace

The Duke of Hamilton

KT
Portrait by Franz Xaver Winterhalter, 1863
Tenure1863–1895
PredecessorWilliam Hamilton, 11th Duke of Hamilton
SuccessorAlfred Douglas-Hamilton, 13th Duke of Hamilton
Other titles9th Duke of Brandon
2nd Duke of Châtellerault
8th Earl of Selkirk
Born(1845-03-12)12 March 1845
Paddington, London, England
Died16 May 1895(1895-05-16) (aged 50)
Algiers, Algeria
Buried1895 Hamilton Mausoleum;
1921 Isle of Arran
Spouse(s)Lady Mary Montagu
IssueMary Louise Graham, Duchess of Montrose
ParentsWilliam Hamilton, 11th Duke of Hamilton
Princess Marie Amelie of Baden

William Alexander Louis Stephen Douglas-Hamilton, 12th Duke of Hamilton, 9th Duke of Brandon, 2nd Duke of Châtellerault KT (12 March 1845 – 16 May 1895), styled Marquess of Douglas and Clydesdale until 1863, was a Scottish nobleman.

Early life and education

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Pictured in Suffolk Celebrities, 1893

Hamilton was born at Connaught Place, London, the second but first surviving son of William Hamilton, 11th Duke of Hamilton and Princess Marie of Baden, the adoptive granddaughter of Napoleon Bonaparte. Through his mother, Hamilton was related to numerous European royal families. Among his first cousins were King Carol I of Romania and Queen Stephanie of Portugal (children of his aunt Princess Josephine) and Queen Carola of Saxony (daughter of his aunt Princess Louise Amelie of Baden).

Although his name was listed on the registrar at Eton College, he never attended and was educated privately. He spent much of his childhood at his mother's home in Baden-Baden, Villa Stephanie, while he spent summers in Paris. Thus he was fluent in German and French.[1]

At age 18, he went to Christ Church, Oxford. A description of Hamilton pertaining to this period in his life has this description of him to offer:

"At Christchurch, he went in for boxing, as he went in later for horse-racing, yachting and other amusements... He was full bodied, of a rudely ruddy complexion, had a powerful neck, and seemed strong enough to fell an ox with his fist... He had a frankness of speech bordering on rudeness".[2]

Dukedom

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Hamilton's daughter Mary, Duchess of Montrose. Portrait by Philip de László, 1912.

In July 1863, Hamilton's father died suddenly in Paris, and 18-year-old Hamilton became the 12th Duke of Hamilton.[1] His inheritance was not great, for the 11th Duke, having married a princess, had lived in befitting style. Among other things, he had purchased a Wimbourne House in London from the Duke of Beaufort for the vast sum of £60,000 (equivalent to £8,235,000 in 2023) and lavished further monies on that property over the period of a decade.[3]

The 11th Duke had also built extensively in Scotland, almost tripling the size of Brodick Castle and remodeling it in Bavarian style in honour of his wife. At his death, he left an estate valued at £140,000 (equivalent to £16,920,000 in 2023), to be divided between his wife and three children. Hamilton did inherit a significant portion of this estate, but by 1867, he was close to financial ruin when providentially, his race horse Cortolvin won the Grand National Steeplechase at Aintree. In addition to substantial prize money, Hamilton also took some £16,000 (equivalent to £179,000 in 2023) from the bookmakers, restoring his fortune substantially. However, his mother (who had inherited the house in London), still found it necessary or prudent to sell that property, and it was auctioned in that same year (1867). He owned 157,000 acres mostly in Bute, Lanark and Suffolk.[4]

In 1869, Hamilton's younger sister, Mary, married Albert I, Prince of Monaco. She left her husband within two years of marriage, was later divorced from him and then married a Hungarian count, but her son would nevertheless succeed to the throne of Monaco as Louis II, Prince of Monaco; all future rulers of Monaco are descended from her.

Marriage and issue

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On 10 December 1873, Hamilton married Lady Mary Montagu, daughter of William Montagu, 7th Duke of Manchester, at Kimbolton Castle and they had one daughter:

Hamilton died at Algiers in 1895, aged 50, of dropsy, after several year of suffering from Bright's disease.[1][5]

The title passed to his fourth cousin, who became the 13th Duke of Hamilton.

Ancestry

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "Obituary: The Duke of Hamilton". The Times. The Times Digital Archive. 18 May 1895. p. 14.
  2. ^ Cokayne, G.E.; Vicary Gibbs, H.A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, Duncan Warrand and Lord Howard de Walden, editors. The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant, new ed.. 13 volumes in 14. 1910–1959. Reprint in 6 volumes, Gloucester, U.K.: Alan Sutton Publishing, 2000.
  3. ^ Chancellor, Edwin Beresford (1908). The Private Palaces of London Past and Present. K. Paul, Trench, Trübner & Company Limited. p. 367. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
  4. ^ Bateman, John (1883). The Great Landowners of Great Britain and Ireland. London, Harrison. p. 202. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
  5. ^ "The Duke of Hamilton". The Times. The Times Digital Archive. 24 May 1895. p. 7.
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[edit]
Peerage of Scotland
Preceded by Duke of Hamilton
1863–1895 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Earl of Selkirk
1886–1895
Peerage of Great Britain
Preceded by Duke of Brandon
1863–1895 		Succeeded by
French nobility
Preceded by Duke of Châtellerault
1864–1895 		Disputed
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